TEKS Lesson Plan/Unit Plan



Focus Plan

Texarkana Independent School District

|GRADING PERIOD: |2nd 6 weeks |PLAN CODE: | |

|WRITer: |Ulmer |Course/subject: |Reading |

|Grade(s): |3 |Time allotted for instruction: |5 class periods |

[pic]

|Title: |Can you prove it? |

|Lesson TOPIC: |Distinguishing between fact and opinion in various texts. |

|TAKS Objective: |Objective 4 |

| |The student will apply critical-thinking skills to analyze culturally diverse written texts. |

|Focus`` TEKS and Student Expectation: | Reading/Comprehension. The student uses a variety of |

| |strategies to comprehend selections read aloud and selections |

| |read independently. The student is expected to: |

| |(J) Distinguish fact from opinion in various texts, including |

| |news stories and advertisements. |

|Supporting TEKS and Student Expectations: |Reading/Literary Response. The student responds to various |

| |texts. The student is expected to: |

| |(C) support interpretations or conclusions with examples drawn |

| |from text. |

[pic]

|Concepts |Enduring Understandings/Generalizations/Principles |

| |The student will understand that |

|Fact |A fact is something known to be true, something that actually exists, or something that is |

| |reality. Facts can usually be proven. |

|Opinion |An opinion is a belief, judgment, view, or attitude held by a person. Opinions are not |

| |certainties and cannot be proven. |

|Comprehension |Facts and opinions are used by authors to help readers better understand a reading selection. |

| |Facts are often used to provide information, to inform, and opinions are often used to persuade, |

| |or entertain. |

|Author’s Purpose |Authors include facts and opinions in reading selections for various reasons. These reasons |

| |include but are not limited to: to inform, to persuade, and to entertain. |

[pic]

[pic]I. Sequence of Activities (Instructional Strategies)

A. Focus/connections

1. Explain to students they are going to learn the difference between facts and

opinions.

2. Read the teacher sentence strip (see Handout 1 for teacher example to be copied

onto a sentence strip) with a fact written on it aloud to the class. Explain briefly to

class that a fact is something known to be true, something that actually exists, or

something that is reality. Facts can usually be proven. State that the sentence strip

states a fact. Next, place the sentence strip with the fact written on it on one side of

the classroom. Perhaps, tape it to the wall.

3. Next, read the teacher sentence strip with an opinion written on it aloud to the class.

(See Handout 1 for teacher example to be copied onto a sentence strip) Explain briefly to the class that an opinion is a belief, judgment, view, or attitude held by a person. Opinions are not certainties and cannot be proven. State that the sentence strip states an opinion. Next, place the sentence strip with the opinion written on it on the opposite side of the classroom. Perhaps tape it to the wall.

4. Explain to students that they will be learning to differentiate between fact and

opinion. Ask students why they think it is important to differentiate between fact

and opinion.

B. Instructional activities

(demonstrations, lectures, examples, hands-on experiences, role play, active learning experience, art, music, modeling, discussion, reading, listening, viewing, etc.)

Day 1

1. Provide each student with a sentence strip on which either a fact or opinion is written. (See Handout 1 for fact and opinion statements to copy onto sentence strips). Save 2 sentence strips (1 fact sentence and 1 opinion sentence) to be used

by the teacher for demonstration and explanation. Give students a moment to read the sentence strip they have been given.

2. Call on one student to stand up and read his/her sentence aloud to the class. Ask the class to determine whether the sentence read aloud is a fact or an opinion.

Once a decision is made, have the student place the sentence strip on the appropriate side of the classroom (the fact side or the opinion side.)

3. Call on all remaining students individually to read aloud his/her sentence strip. Allow class discussions to ensue on whether sentence strips are facts or opinions. Each time a decision is made, have the students place the sentence strip on the appropriate side of the classroom (the fact side or the opinion side.)

4. Once all students have placed their sentence strip on either the fact side of the room, or the opinion side of the room, review all sentences with students. Ask questions of students to solidify understanding of activity and of fact vs. opinion. (See sample discussion questions)

Day 2

1. Review the definitions and differences of facts and opinions with students.

2. Explain to students that facts and opinions are found in many places. Explain that when students read, it is important to understand whether something is a fact and whether it is an opinion.

3. Show students large representation of Attachment 1 (copied onto chart paper/white board)

4. Ask students to begin to brainstorm places they might find facts and opinions. Guide students to understand the places they might find each. Call on students to volunteer ideas for where facts and opinions might be found. Record ideas on large representations of Attachment 1. Through the discussion and brainstorming, students should understand that facts are often found in: encyclopedias, dictionaries, almanacs, atlases, textbooks, Guiness Book of World Records, news reports (birth announcements, rainfall measurements, calendar of events), biographies, non-fiction books, etc… Students should understand that opinions are found in: journals, science fiction, fiction books, biographies, self-help books, some sections of the newspaper (advice columns, astrology reports, weather prediction, movie reviews), advertisements, etc…

5. Explain to students that some pieces of writing contain both facts and opinions.

6. Tell students that you are going to read aloud a piece of writing that contains both facts and opinions. Explain to students that while you are reading aloud, they must listen for facts and opinions. Show students a large representation of Attachment 2 (copied onto chart paper). Ask students to raise their hand when they hear either a fact or an opinion. Begin to read Attachment 2 aloud to students. Call on students when they raise their hand to state whether they just heard a fact or an opinion. Ask the student to state what fact or opinion they heard.

7. Underline the facts using a marker as students identify facts heard. Circle the opinions using a different color marker as students identify opinions heard. While doing this, also ask students why the fact or opinion is classified as fact or opinion. (ex: Why is this statement an opinion?, Why is this statement a fact?)

8. Once finished, review the facts and opinions recorded on the large representation of Attachment 2 with students. Discuss what all of the facts have in common. Repeat this for all of the opinions.

Day 3

1. Review facts and opinions with students.

2. Explain to students that they will be choosing a piece of writing from a variety of print resources. Explain that you have brought newspaper articles, magazine articles, and advertisements. Show students the print resources you have brought in. (Be sure to have a variety of different resources from each type of print resources)

3. Tell students that they will be choosing 2 of the print resources to take to their seats. Explain that their job is to find facts and opinions from the print resources you have brought to class.

4. Ask students to take out a blue crayon and a red crayon. Remind students (using same criteria as Day 2) that blue is used to underline facts and red is used to circle opinions.

5. Model for students the steps they must take to complete the task: 1) Read the print resource. 2) Read each sentence to determine if the sentence is a fact or an opinion. (Explain here that some sentences are part fact and part opinion. Explain how to show this using the 2 colors of crayons) 3) Underline the sentence in blue if it is a fact and circle the sentence in red if it is an opinion.

Day 4

1. Explain to students that at times, they will be asked to use their knowledge of facts and opinions when they write. Tell students that they may be asked to write research papers (factual) or opinion papers in the future.

2. Tell students that they are going to practice writing factual sentences and opinion sentences.

3. Show students Handout 4. Explain to students that Handout 4 contains directions for what to write. Tell students that you will complete #1 and #2 with them. Explain that students will then complete the rest of Handout 4 independently.

4. Place a transparency of Handout 4 on the overhead. Distribute Handout 4 to students.

Day 5

1. The teacher will briefly review facts and opinions with students.

2. Students will take a quiz on differentiating between facts and opinions.

C. Guided activity or strategy

Day 1

1. Show students Handout 2. Explain that the first three questions will be done together and that they will do the remaining questions independently.

2. Distribute Handout 2 to each student. Place a transparency of Handout 2 on the overhead to do with the students. (Do first 3 questions with students, then correct with students when everyone finishes).

3. Guide students through completing first 3 questions on Handout 2. Ask students to complete remaining questions independently.

4. When all students finish Handout 2, correct as a class for immediate feedback.

Day 2

1. The teacher will inform class that they will now practice this again. This time, however, students will have a copy of an article to do along with the teacher.

2. Show students first page of Handout 3. Place transparency of first page of Handout 3 on overhead and ask students to take out a red crayon and a blue crayon. Explain to students that you will be doing this activity together. Ask students not to work ahead. Explain to students that the blue crayon will be used to underline FACTS and the red crayon will be used to circle OPINIONS.

3. Distribute Handout 3 to students. Together, read selection aloud once through without noting any facts or opinions.

4. After reading selection once, read each statement one at a time. Following each statement, determine as a class through discussion whether the statement is a fact or an opinion. Using the appropriate color, underline or circle each statement once it is classified as fact or opinion.

5. When finished, ask students to complete second reading selection independently following the same procedures.

6. Correct as a class for immediate feedback once all students finish independent activity.

Day 3

1. Provide each student with 2 print resources. (Students can also be offered the opportunity to choose their 2 print resources).

2. Ask students to begin activity.

3. While students work independently, provide guidance to any student who has questions. Also, ask questions of individuals as they are working to solidify their understanding. (see sample discussion questions)

4. When students finish, pair him/her up with a classmate to share print resources and findings. Explain that partners should be listening carefully to determine whether classmate correctly identified facts and opinions.

5. Collect finished products to review/assess for student understanding.

Day 4

1. Guide students through #1 and #2 on Handout 4.

2. Ask students to complete the rest of Handout 4 independently.

3. When all students finish Handout 4, call on students to read aloud sentences they wrote for each question. Discuss as a class if statement written is indeed a fact/opinion.

4. Collect Handout 4 to assess individual student papers.

Day 5

1. Distribute copies of quiz to each student.

2. Explain directions of quiz to students.

3. Students take quiz.

4. Collect quiz for assessment as individuals finish.

D. Accommodations/modifications

Students who experience difficulty differentiating between fact and opinion should be given additional help through more direct instruction. The teacher should explain in more detail how to differentiate between facts and opinions. The teacher should also provide students who experience difficulty with differentiating between fact and opinion with direct guidance when completing Handouts and independent work.

E. Enrichment

Students in need of enrichment may be asked to change factual sentences in reading passages and reading selections into opinion statements. This activity will be very challenging, but will prove to be a beneficial enrichment of understanding.

II. STUDENT PERFORMANCE

A. Description

Day 1

Students should be able to complete Handout 2 with little guidance and few mistakes. Students should be able to earn a 75% or better on Handout 2.

Day 2

Students should be able to identify facts and opinions within a short article. Students will complete Handout 3 with little guidance and few mistakes. Students should be able to earn a 75% or better on Handout 3.

Day 3

Students should be able to identify facts and opinions correctly in various print resources.

Day 4

Students should be able to write fact and opinion statements. Performance will be to complete Handout 4 with little guidance and few mistakes. Students should be able to earn a 75% or better on Handout 4.

B. Accommodations/modifications

1. Students who experience difficulty differentiating between fact and opinion statements concepts should be given more guidance when completing Handout 2.

2. Students who experience difficulty identifying facts and opinions within short articles (Handout 3) should be given more practice on Day 3 with short articles, rather than assigning 2 print resources in which facts and opinions need to be identified.

3. Struggling learners can be paired with more capable learners during Day 3 activities to promote understanding through student discussion.

C. Enrichment

Students requiring enrichment may be asked to write a paragraph containing both facts

and opinions. Students who complete this enrichment activity can switch writings to identify facts and opinions in each other’s work. This assignment can take the place of Day 4 activities, or anywhere seen fit.

iii. Assessment of Activities

A. Description

The teacher will perform an informal assessment Day 1 through 4 by circulating through students as they complete assignments and by questioning students on their work. This allows for immediate intervention and feedback.

The teacher will perform a formal assessment on Day 1 by reviewing and grading Handout 2.

The teacher will perform a formal assessment on Day 2 by reviewing and grading Handout 3.

The teacher will perform an informal assessment by circulating through students as they complete assignment for Day 3 and by questioning students on their work. This allows for immediate intervention and feedback.

The teacher will perform a formal assessment on Day 4 by reviewing and grading Handout 4.

The teacher will perform a formal assessment of student understanding and ability to identify and differentiate between fact and opinion by collecting and grading Day 5 quiz.

B. Rubrics/grading criteria

See Handout 2 for grading criteria on Day 1.

See Handout 3 for grading criteria on Day 2.

See Handout 4 for grading criteria on Day 4.

See Quiz for grading criteria on Day 5.

C. Accommodations/modifications

D. Enrichment

Students who wrote paragraphs containing both fact and opinions will be assessed formally based on the quality of work. Teacher decides grading criteria, if any, for this activity.

E. Sample discussion questions

Day 1

How are the sentences on this side of the room alike?

What is the difference between facts and opinions?

How can you tell the difference between a fact and an opinion?

Day 3

How did you know that was a fact/opinion?

What is your article about?

Do you think your article has more fact or more opinion?

Does that sentence seem like something that can be proven?

IV. TAKS Preparation

A. Transition to TAKS context

The teacher will transition the context of this activity to the context of TAKS by explaining to students that the TAKS test will provide students with a passage to read (like they did on Day 3). Explain prior to taking the quiz on Day 5, that the questions they are answering are sample TAKS questions.

B. Sample TAKS questions

These questions correspond to reading passages from released tests. Questions students are given should all be phrased the way taks tests phrase the questions. Students should also be given reading passages for additional practice.

[pic]

[pic]

V. Key Vocabulary

Fact, Opinion, Prove, Believe, Comprehension, Author’s Purpose

VI. Resources

A. Textbook

3rd grade reading basal may have resources to use for extensions/support

B. Supplementary materials

• Handout 1 sentences copied on sentence strips

• Tape

• Handout 2 (1 copy per student)

• Transparency of Handout 2

• Large Representation of Attachment 1

• Large Representation of Attachment 2

• Markers (2 colors)

• Handout 3 (1 copy per student)

• Transparency of first page of Handout 3

• A variety of print resources from newspaper articles, magazine articles, and advertisements.

• Crayons (1 blue and 1 red per student)

• Handout 4 (1 copy per student)

• Transparency of Handout 4

• Quiz for Day 5 (1 copy per student)

C. Technology

• Overhead Projector

VII. follow up activities

Students can visit the following websites for additional practice with fact and opinion. The websites offer students a fun and interactive way to practice this valuable skill.





VIII. Teacher Notes

All previously released tests ask students to read a passage. Students have only been asked to identify statements that are facts.

Handout 1

|Teacher Fact Example: There are seven continents on Earth. |

|Teacher Opinion Example: Pizza is delicious. |

| |

|Student Facts and Opinions: |

|There are seven days in one week. |

|Winter is the best season of the year. |

|Watching the news is the best way to get information about the world. |

|Rap music is good. |

|Most dogs have tails and hair. |

|Birds have beaks to help them eat. |

|The internet is a good place to get information. |

|There are 60 seconds in 1 minute. |

|The weekends are fun. |

|Horses are pretty animals. |

|The sun helps warm the earth. |

|To stay healthy, it is important to exercise. |

|Birthdays are the best holidays. |

|Swimming is easy. |

|Snow and rain are types of precipitation. |

|Many beaches have sand and waves. |

|Movie popcorn is tasty. |

|Kids learn a lot by playing video games. |

|School is a place where students are taught lessons. |

|The Statue of Liberty is in New York. |

|The capitol of the United States is Washington, D.C. |

|It is fun to roast marshmallows. |

|Chocolate chip cookies are better than sugar cookies. |

|Visiting the dentist is terrible. |

|Texarkana should be the capitol of Texas. |

|It is illegal to drive without a drivers license. |

|New Years day is January 1st. |

|Night and day are opposites. |

|Drawing is fun to do with crayons and markers. |

|The Tiger is the mascot of Texarkana Independent School District. |

Handout 2

Name: _________________________

Directions: Read the following sentences. Decide if each sentence is a fact or an opinion. Circle your decision.

1. Breakfast foods, like eggs, toast, and bacon are the best part of waking up.

Fact Opinion

2. All people must breathe to live.

Fact Opinion

3. Fire needs oxygen to burn.

Fact Opinion

4. Blue is the best color.

Fact Opinion

5. I don’t like broccoli.

Fact Opinion

6. George Bush is a United States President.

Fact Opinion

7. He is a very smart student.

Fact Opinion

Handout 2 (continued)

8. Most people have 2 arms and 2 legs.

Fact Opinion

9. Texas is a southern state.

Fact Opinion

10. All people like football.

Fact Opinion

11. Most fish can breathe in water.

Fact Opinion

12. The United States is south of Canada and north of Mexico.

Fact Opinion

13. Non-fiction books contain true information.

Fact Opinion

Attachment 1

Where can we find...

|Facts? |Opinions? |

| | |

| | |

| | |

| | |

| | |

| | |

| | |

| | |

| | |

Attachment 2

We live on a planet called Earth. Earth is the third planet from the sun and is in the Milky Way solar system. Many people and things live on Earth. Some of the things that live on Earth should go away. I believe all of the mosquitoes, snakes, spiders, and ticks should become extinct. If all of the mosquitoes, snakes, spiders, and ticks became extinct other animals might suffer, however.

Earth also has land and water. The water on Earth is safe to drink and the land is good for growing crops. The people who live on Earth can grow their own food if the soil supports the crop they want to grow. People can also catch their own food by hunting other animals on land, or by fishing for animals that live in the water. The best way to search for food, though, is in the grocery store.

Handout 3

Name:_____________________

School is a place students can go to learn new things. In elementary school, students learn about interesting subjects. One of the best subjects learned in elementary school is Math. In elementary school math, students learn about addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Each year, students learn more and more about Math. This knowledge will be very helpful for any student who wants to grow up to be a writer.

Teachers in school want students to feel safe. Any student with a problem can talk about it with a teacher, a principal, or another adult. My teacher is very nice. If I ever have a problem, I will talk to my teacher.

Handout 3 (continued)

Name:_________________

Recycling can help save the earth. One of the best ways to help save the earth is by recycling aluminum cans. Aluminum cans, like soda cans, can be collected and taken to a recycling center. Here, the people are very friendly and care a lot about saving the earth. The people who work at the recycling center take cans, crush them into small pieces of metal, and help melt the cans into liquid aluminum. This is a very hard job. Once the aluminum cans are in liquid form, the aluminum can be used again. I think it should be used to make more soda cans. Recycling is just one way to help save the earth. Saving the earth is important. Everyone should recycle.

Handout 4

Name: ______________________

1. Write a fact about school.

_________________________________________________________

2. Write an opinion about winter.

_________________________________________________________

3. Write a sentence that contains a fact about food.

_________________________________________________________

4. Write a sentence that contains an opinion about reading.

_________________________________________________________

5. Write a sentence that contains a fact about the water cycle.

_________________________________________________________

6. Write a sentence that contains both a fact and an opinion.

_________________________________________________________

Quiz

Name:__________________________

Directions:

Read the passage.

Answer each question following the passage.

Score:

Student earned _____ points out of 6 possible points .

________%

[pic]

Name:____________________

[pic]

Which of the following is an OPINION from the story?

Nosy is the smartest hamster.

She couldn’t find Nosy anywhere.

Nosy used the exercise wheel.

Nosy was given his name because he wiggled his nose.

Which of the following is a FACT?

Nosy was a very smart hamster.

Lydia took good care of Nosy.

Lydia’s mother was nice.

Lydia took a carrot from the refrigerator.

[pic]

[pic]

Which of the statements below is an OPINION?

Beautiful pictures are made with crayons.

Crayons come in over 100 colors.

Crayons are made from wax.

Machines sort the crayons into boxes.

Which of the following sentences is a fact?

Crayons are easy to make.

Crayons are made from hardened wax.

All crayon colors are pretty.

Crayon making is interesting.

Supplemental Resource: Practice Sheet

Matching exercise

Match the items on the right with the items on the left.

Winter is better than summer. Fact

Most birds can fly. Opinion

Dogs should learn to protect their owner. Opinion

Pizza tastes better than fish. Fact

The flag is a symbol of our country. Opinion

Write whether the statements below are facts or opinions. Explain your answers.

Baseball takes a lot of skill to play. __________________________

What makes this statement a fact or an opinion? ________________________________

_______________________________________________________

Candy is tasty. ___________________________

What makes this statement a fact or an opinion? ________________________________

_______________________________________________________

There are 60 minutes in 1 hour. _______________________

What makes this statement a fact or an opinion? ________________________________

______________________________________________________Top of For____Bottom of Form

-----------------------

Score:

________ out of 10 = ________%

Score:

Student correctly identified _______ facts. (1 pt. each)

Student correctly identified _______ opinions. (1 pt. each)

Student earned _____ points out of 11 possible points.

Score:

_________ out of 4 points = ________ %

Quiz

Quiz

Quiz

Quiz

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download