Lessons & Units :: Fact and Opinion 2nd Grade Unit

Lesson 1: Distinguish Fact from Opinion in Passage

Lesson Plan

Learning Goal
Distinguish between fact and opinion.
Duration
Approximately 50 minutes
Necessary Materials
Provided: "Dear Diary" Passage, Direct Teaching and Guided Practice Worksheet, Independent Practice Worksheet
Not Provided: Chart paper, markers
 

  • Teacher Modeling

    will discuss the differences between facts and opinions. I will orally provide several examples of fact and opinion statements and discuss how I was able to identify each as either fact or opinion (true or can be proven, an expression of a feeling, clue words). I will give the students the following example: “In my opinion, reading is the best time of the school day. It is a fact that cats have four legs.” I will explain that dates and times are clues that the statement is probably a fact and adjectives or descriptive words are clues that the sentence is probably an opinion. I will explain that we will read a short passage and identify and explain whether statements from the passage are facts or opinions. I will read the first passage (see Direct Teaching and Guided Practice Worksheet in Teacher and Student Materials below) and model how to determine and explain that the first sentence is a fact. I will repeat this with the second example sentence (opinion).

  • Think Check

    Ask: How did I determine if each sentence was a fact or an opinion? Students should respond that you read the sentence and thought about if it could be proven to be true or if it was someone's thoughts or feelings.

  • Guided Practice

    will work together to determine if the last two sentences of the passage are facts or opinions. We will discuss how we knew these sentences were facts or opinions. (See Direct Teaching and Guided Practice Worksheet below.)

  • Independent Practice

    will read the second passage (Student Independent Practice is provided below) and determine if the sentences from the passage are facts or opinions. You will explain in writing how you knew each sentence was a fact or an opinion.

Build Student Vocabulary huge

Tier 2 Word: huge
Contextualize the word as it is used in the story In the diary entry, the child wrote, “I am having a huge party.”
Explain the meaning student-friendly definition) Huge means very big or large. When the child wrote about having a huge party, he meant that he invited many people to his party.
Students repeat the word Say the word huge with me: huge.
Teacher gives examples of the word in other contexts The size of the crowd at the football game was huge. The dog was huge. It was almost as large as my older brother
Students provide examples Describe something that is huge. Start by saying, “Something that is huge is ___________________.”
Students repeat the word again. What word are we talking about? huge

Build Student Background Knowledge

After modeling the second sentence in the passage (opinion), ask students why they think people love chocolate. Explain that chocolate is made from the cacao tree, a tree that grows in the shade of the rain forest. The first chocolate was made into a drink by the people of Central America, but it was not sweet like the hot chocolate we are used to drinking today. It was very bitter!

Texts & Materials

Standards Alignment

(To see all of the ReadWorks lessons aligned to your standards, click here.)

User Comments

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Submitted by sue.funderburk_2660660 on 2/23/17

i greatly appreciate the lesson plans and the materials. Thank you.

Submitted by robertsvara on 1/11/16

I LOVE this lesson helped ME and my CHILDREN learn this quickly

Submitted by kaylie.madison_1748182 on 12/5/15

Your website is a great guidance to guide our little ones. Love it. Thank you so much.

Submitted by Gia on 7/9/15

Thanks!

Submitted by haylee.dryden_1452900 on 6/2/15

I am an ELL teacher, and I agree that this lesson will help my ELLs differentiate between fact and opinion. Love the idea of looking for clue words (dates/times vs adjective/descriptive words) to help differentiate between the two types of statments. Thanks!

Submitted by kboyens_1139609 on 4/20/15

I work with ELLs and I know this lesson will really help my students better understand fact and opinion.

Thanks very much

Submitted by ddrummer53 on 4/16/15

GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!!!!!

Submitted by rodgers.troy_1291511 on 4/15/15

Thank you so much!

Submitted by hollyschwieg_1259400 on 2/19/15

This was AWESOME.

Submitted by tcole42 on 10/20/14

I love this lesson. I like the questions students can ask themselves to decide if something is fact or opinion. Great lesson and so far love this site!

Submitted by Kenziee on 4/25/14

Excellent Material! I am glad I found it.

Submitted by Carlos Cardona on 2/26/14

Thank you so much. I'm a first year teacher as well and it was very helpful.

Submitted by Maria on 1/20/14

very helpful...first year second grade teacher

Submitted by maria rogers on 3/4/13