Lessons & Units :: Fact and Opinion 3rd Grade Unit

Lesson 3: Proving Facts and Forming Opinions

Lesson Plan

Time for Kids: Butterflies!

Time for Kids: Butterflies!
Learning Goal
Locate and verify facts in nonfiction.
Create and identify opinions based on facts from a text.
Duration
Approximately 50 minutes
Necessary Materials
Provided: Direct Teaching and Guided Practice Worksheet
Not Provided: Time for Kids: Butterflies! with David Bjerklie, chart paper, markers, lined paper, nonfiction books from classroom or school library

  • Teacher Modeling

    will explain that today we are going to use some of the resources we have been learning about to identify fact and opinion statements. I will use Time for Kids: Butterflies! to model this, using the first two sentences on the chart. (Direct Teaching and Guided Practice Worksheet provided below in Teacher and Student Materials.) I will model how to use chapter names, headings, and skimming for key words to locate facts for proof. I will model how to create opinion statements based on these facts.

  • Think Check

    Ask: How did I distinguish facts from opinions in a text? Students should respond that you looked at the sentence and then found the "proof" in the text that proves it to be a fact. You then identified which sentences could not be proven because it was a thought or feeling.

  • Guided Practice

    will determine if the remaining sentences on the chart are facts or opinions. We will use textual features from the book to find the facts and to prove that they are true. We will develop an opinion about the book.

  • Independent Practice

    will use a book where facts can be found and write 4 facts from the book and create 4 opinion statements about the topic. You will trade papers with a partner and identify which statements from your partner’s paper are fact and opinion. You will prove the facts by finding the information in the book and recording the page.

Build Student Vocabulary sturdy

Tier 2 Word: sturdy
Contextualize the word as it is used in the story A butterfly may look delicate, but it is one sturdy insect.
Explain the meaning student-friendly definition) Sturdy means strong and healthy. The author of the book tells us that butterflies are strong insects, even if they look weak or delicate.
Students repeat the word Say the word sturdy with me: sturdy.
Teacher gives examples of the word in other contexts Shoes that are sturdy give good support. They do not wear out easily. A sturdy ship is built well and is able to sail through storms at sea. The table is sturdy. It will not break when I sit on it
Students provide examples Describe something that is sturdy. Start by saying, “Something that is sturdy is _____________.”
Students repeat the word again. What word are we talking about? sturdy
Additional Vocabulary Words flutter, pollen

Build Student Background Knowledge

After teaching the lesson, explain that butterflies migrate, not hibernate for the winter. This means that they travel to a warmer climate. The monarch butterflies store fat in their abdomens for energy and fly from Canada to Central Mexico. Trace the butterflies' journey on map for your students and explain that scientists think butterflies have an internal "sun compass" that helps them determine where to go each year. Thousands of butterflies cover the small towns and mountaintops of Central Mexico.

Texts & Materials

Standards Alignment

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

User Comments

So as a teacher, will use one book to model, what about the students? should they be using the same book? or they can choose whatever non-fiction book to find out facts from and form their opinions about it?
Thank You!

Submitted by koteetosarah_2652942 on 2/21/17

I am astonished by the superb quality of the work on this site. Every teacher implementing Common Core needs to use these lessons and strategies. Thank you for an amazing job with content and organization!

Submitted by Fran Kramer on 1/22/14

This is a great resource! I love how the lessons are organized.

Submitted by D.J. on 1/30/13