Lesson plan
Fact or Opinion: Part 1
Learning Objectives
Students will be able to distinguish facts and opinions.
The adjustment to the whole group lesson is a modification to differentiate for children who are English learners.
Introduction
(5 minutes)
- Tell the students that today they are going to learn about facts, true statements, and opinions, which are personal views or attitudes that might change.
- Activate prior knowledge by asking questions. For example: What is a fact? What is an opinion?
- Have students write the words fact and opinion and copy down the definitions onto a piece of loose leaf paper.
Explicit Instruction/Teacher modeling
(20 minutes)- Draw a KWL (know, want to know, learned) chart on the board, and have students tell you what they think they know about howler monkeys, or whatever your chosen topic is, and what they want to know about them.
- Pre-read by looking over the pictures and seeing if there are any "facts" on the KWL chart that can already be marked as either an opinion or falsehood (something that can be disproved).
- Read Meet the Howlers aloud to the class.
- Discuss what "facts" turned out not to be facts and why some are opinions. For example, the idea that howler monkeys don't have tails is a falsehood because it can be disproved, and the idea that monkeys like to sing is an opinion.
Guided Practice
(5 minutes)- Hand out the Fact or Opinion worksheet.
- Read the first passage together, and determine as a class whether or not the passage contains facts or opinions.
- Answer any questions your students may have before independent working time.
Independent working time
(15 minutes)- Ask students to complete the second case of the Fact or Opinion worksheet.
- Next, tell students to write their favorite howler monkey fact that they learned on the back of the completed worksheet. Have them write an opinion about the monkeys.
- Write what your students learned in the L column of the chart.
Differentiation
Enrichment: Encourage your students to use other resources to find information on the howler monkeys. Have them research another topic and write a paragraph that has both facts and opinions.
Support: Give your students the coloring page to complete, and have them write their own opinions about monkeys on the other side of the paper.
Technology Integration
Computers or tablets can be used for students to research facts.
Assessment
(5 minutes)Assess students through observation of interaction during the KWL chart and working periods.
Review and closing
(5 minutes)- Remind your students of the definitions of fact and opinion.
- Close by having your students reflect on the importance of distinguishing facts and opinions.
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