Fact and Opinion Language Arts—Grade 2

English Language Arts

Grade 2

Lesson Objective: To understand and differentiate between facts and opinions. To be able to use both in appropriate situations and to be able to pull information accurately from given texts.

Common Core Standards: 

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.2.1

Write opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic or book they are writing about, state an opinion, supply reasons that support the opinion, use linking words (e.g., because, and, also) to connect opinion and reasons, and provide a concluding statement or section.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.2.2

Write informative/explanatory texts in which they introduce a topic, use facts and definitions to develop points, and provide a concluding statement or section.

Materials: 

• Paper
• Scissors
• Writing utensils
• Box, bag, or bowl
• Popsicle sticks
• Card stock
• Glue

Starter: 

Say: Did you know there are differences between what makes something true and what makes something you think or believe? These are called "facts" and "opinions." Facts can be proven, something that has happened, or something that exists in the world that we can see. Opinions are things that we feel and believe to be true, but others can believe differently. 

For example, I could say, "The best food in the world is pizza." But that would not be a fact because many of you may think that other foods are the best. What makes this an opinion is that none of us can prove our opinions to be the only true and correct thing. On the other hand, I could say, "Pizza was served at lunch today." And that would be a fact because it has already happened, and we can prove that it is true. We can prove pizza was served today by reading the menu and going to the kitchen to see that the cafeteria prepared and served it. 

Main:

Say/Do: 

Hand out two small rounds of cardstock and popsicle sticks to students. On one round, have them print the word "fact," and on the other, have them print "opinion." Now have them glue each of the rounds to the popsicle sticks, with the words facing out. This should create a paddle that says "fact" and "opinion" on each side. When your students have created their paddles, hand out small strips of paper or squares.

Say: Now that we have our paddles made, I want each of you to take one piece of paper and write on it a fact about yourself. It can be anything you want your classmates to know about you.

Give students a few moments to write.

Say: Once we are done with our facts, I want you to write an opinion on the other piece of paper. Something you think and believe.

Again, allow a few moments for each student to write. Once students have finished, gather all fact/opinion slips from your students and place them in a bag or container of some kind.

Say: Now that we have each shared one fact and opinion about ourselves let's draw from this bag. Each time I read aloud a strip of paper, show me on your paddle whether you believe this to be a fact or an opinion.

After you have gone through each paper and discussed with your students the facts and opinions they have shared, ask them to take out their notebooks and write a paragraph about each fact or opinion they shared with the class. 

Examples: Jonny shared that his favorite television show is Power Rangers. He could write about the show and why he thinks it's the best show. Susan shared that she has three younger sisters. She could share information on their ages and names to prove this is true.

Closing: 

Say/Do:

Once students have finished and turned in their short writing assignments, thank the group for sharing information about themselves and being open with how they think.

Say: Thank you, class, for sharing your opinions and some facts about yourselves. I think we all enjoyed learning more about each other! Are there any additional questions I can answer?

Written by Alynne White

Education World Contributor

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