Lesson 4: Fact and Opinion
Lesson Plan
Rosa Parks: My Story | 970L

- Learning Goal
- Identify explicit and implicit opinions in a text.
- Duration
- Approximately 2 Days (35-40 minutes for each class)
- Necessary Materials
- Provided: Stated and Unstated Opinions Chart 1, Stated and Unstated Opinions Chart 2, Stated and Unstated Opinions Worksheet (Student Packet, pages 19-20)
Not Provided: Chart paper, markers, Rosa Parks: My Story by Rosa Parks
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Before the Lesson
Read Chapter 10: “Stride Toward Freedom” – Chapter 12: “The Years Since;” Complete Student Packet Worksheets for Chapter 10: “Stride Toward Freedom” – Chapter 12: “The Years Since”
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Activation & Motivation
I will review a film I recently saw with an explicit opinion. For example, tell students, “I recently watched the movie UP, which I thought was a wonderful film. It was full of exciting, beautiful animations, funny story lines, and had a great ending.” Then, I will review a different film I saw using only facts, but implying my opinion. For example, tell students, “I saw the movie Transformers, which had violence and was darker in color than UP. “ Then, I will ask the class to tell me my opinion about the two films
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Teacher Modeling
will explain that though autobiographies are the factual account of a person’s life, they also include the author’s opinion about the people, places, and events around them. I will define opinion as a person’s personal belief or judgment about a subject. Opinions can only be verified or supported by the person who has the opinion.
I will explain that sometimes the author gives an explicit, or stated, opinion, like the way I spoke about the movie, UP. Stated (explicit) opinions are easy for readers to identify because the author states his feelings or thoughts about a subject. Authors might use language such as “I like,” “I believe,” “I thought,” or they might describe something that shows their personal belief or preference. For example, “I thought that movie was wonderful,” is a good example of a stated (explicit) opinion because not only do I say what “I thought,” but I also describe it in a way that someone else might disagree. It is not a verifiable fact. Other times, a reader has to figure out the author’s opinion because it’s not explicitly stated. These are called implicit or unstated opinions. Readers have to infer the author’s opinion based on the facts and details in the story, just like you did with my review of the second movie, Transformers. I told you that the film had violence and was dark, which are facts, but you could infer how I felt
I will create a T-Chart on chart paper or the board to identify the two kinds of opinions about topics in Chapter 10: “Stride Toward Freedom” of Rosa Parks: My Story. Note: See Stated and Unstated Opinions Chart 1 for sample responses.
First, I want to know what the author’s opinion is about the bus company and city commissioners during the negotiation process. I will record this as a question on the Stated and Unstated Opinions Chart 1. I will skim Chapter 10 to see if the author states her opinion about the bus company and city commissioners. I see that the author does not state (or explicitly give) her opinion.
Next, I will look for facts and descriptive language to infer the author’s unstated or implicit opinion about this topic. I will draw a conclusion and record it under the “Unstated (Implicit) Opinion” column on the Stated and Unstated Opinions Chart 1. For example, the author believes that the bus company is racist and dishonest. I know this because she presents facts about how they lied about discourteous drivers and refused to hire black drivers on predominantly black routes. (p. 142) She also thinks that the city commissioners are stubborn and unreasonable. I know this because she says that they would not go along with any of the demands. (p. 146) I will continue modeling finding stated (explicit) and unstated (implicit opinions) in Chapter 10: “Stride Toward Freedom,” by answering the remaining questions on the Stated and Unstated Opinions Chart 1.
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Think Check
Ask: "How can I identify an author’s stated (explicit) and unstated (implicit) opinions in an autobiography?" Students should answer that they can look for explicitly stated opinions in a text by looking for words that describe what the author feels or thinks about a topic. An unstated (implicit) opinion can be inferred by the events and words the author chooses to include in a story.
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Guided Practice
will create a T-Chart on chart paper or the board to identify the two kinds of opinions about topics in Chapter 11: “We Move to Detroit” of Rosa Parks: My Story. Note: See Stated and Unstated Opinions Chart 2 for sample responses. We will read the chapter aloud and record the stated opinions under the “Stated (Explicit) Opinion” column on our Stated and Unstated Opinions Chart 2. For example, in answering the question about what the author’s opinion is about nonviolence and Martin Luther King, Jr., we can identify her stated (explicit) opinion on page 174—“I believe that is the only way African Americans were able to win so many victories over segregation.” (p. 174) I will continue to find quotations of the author’s stated (explicit) opinion on pp.174-175.
After we have recorded the stated (explicit) opinions on our chart and have read the chapter, we will think about the author’s unstated (implicit) opinions. For example, we can infer that the author has a high opinion of Dr. King because she describes how Dr. King kept his cool at the SCLC conference and refused to harm the person that attacked him. (p. 165) We will continue answering the opinion questions on the Stated and Unstated Opinions Chart 2, identifying either stated or unstated (implicit or explicit) opinions to help us determine the answer.
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Independent Practice
will complete the Stated and Unstated Opinions Worksheet in your Student Packet by answering four opinion questions about Chapter 12 with evidence from the text. (See pages 19-20 in the Student Packet.)
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Reflective Practice
will come together to discuss the stated (explicit) and unstated (implicit) opinions we have found in Chapter 12. We will informally discuss the question: Why is it necessary for an author to include his or her opinion in their autobiography? Why is it important for a reader to infer the author’s opinion on certain facts or ideas in the text?
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