Fact or Opinion

Middle to upper elementary and above

  • Comprehension
  • Critical reading/thinking skills
  • Monitor comprehension

Strategy steps:

  1. Explain the difference between fact and opinion and give examples.
  2. Starting with the examples, ask the students what clues are in the text that can alert the reader to whether it is a fact or an opinion.
  3. Have students add other clues from their own experiences.
  4. Discuss why it is important to distinguish fact from opinion.
  5. Show the students a list of statements that they will evaluate as fact or opinion.
    • If the statement is fact, students determine where they can find information to verify it (e.g., encyclopedias, dictionaries, textbooks, newspapers, internet).
    • Students write their proof by the statement.
    • Work with the students for the first three to four statements.
    • Ask students to circle the clues in each statement.
    • Students complete the rest of the statements independently, in small groups, or in pairs.
  6. For a supplement to this activity, copy paragraphs out of the students’ textbooks. Have the students work in pairs to underline opinion statements in red and factual statements in blue.
  7. After completing the task, the students discuss their responses.