TEKS Lesson Plan/Unit Plan



Focus Plan

Texarkana Independent School District

|GRADING PERIOD: |According to Scope and Sequence |PLAN CODE: | |

|Writer: | |Course/subject: | |

| |G. Peterson | |Reading |

|Grade(s): | |Time allotted for instruction: |Three – thirty minute sessions |

| |4th | | |

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|Title: | |

| |Is That a Fact? |

|Lesson TOPIC: | |

| |Fact and Opinion |

|TAKS Objective: | |

|FoCUS TEKS and Student Expectation: | 4.10 The student comprehends selections using a variety of strategies. The student is expected |

| |to: |

| | |

| |(J) Distinguish fact and opinion in various texts |

| | |

| |Including applying the concepts: |

| |•A “fact statement” contains no value language. |

| |•An “opinion statement” contains value language (e.g., good, difficult, easy, beautiful, should, |

| |etc.) |

|Supporting TEKS and Student Expectations: | |

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|Concepts |Enduring Understandings/Generalizations/Principles |

| |The student will understand that |

| | |

|Fact |Real or true statement which can be verified |

| | |

|Opinion |Belief or judgment that cannot be verified; it may or may not be true |

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[pic]I. SEQUENCE OF ACTIVITIES (Instructional Strategies)

A. Focus/connections/anticipatory set

1. Direct each student to turn to the student next to them and tell them one fact and one opinion. Share a sample of facts and opinions. Use this time as an introduction and discussion. Allow student statements to stand.

2. Select a story or movie all of your students are familiar with. Ask the students to share what they know about the book or movie; list their statements on the chalkboard, a chart, or overhead transparency.

Post definition of fact and opinion, and discuss with class. Then read each of the students’ previous statements, discuss, and put in correct column of the Graphic Organizer. Use the two-column Graphic Organizer (attached); add the title of the book or movie.

B. Instructional activities

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

Show the Power Point “Fact and Opinion” (included). Discuss new points or questions.

C. Guided activity or strategy

Use Transparency 1 (attached) to show students sample paragraphs. Read the first together. Reread each sentence and have the students show an F for Fact or an O for Opinion with silent hand signs.

Give groups of students each a newspaper. Challenge the students to cut out articles and advertisements and to separate into Fact and Opinion piles. They may be surprised at the amount of opinion in the newspaper!

Organize a fact-finding scavenger hunt with each student providing different questions. In groups of three or four, students should create five different questions about the school, the staff, or the curriculum. After collecting the questions, the teacher should distribute a list of questions to each group so they may hunt for the answers. Do not give any student their own question.

Sample Questions (Transparency 2) will give the students some ideas. Remind the students the questions must have a factual answer.

Allow each group to decide the best place to look up or find the answers to their questions. Reference materials such as an encyclopedia, dictionary, atlas, and almanac should be available to look up facts. Challenge the groups to locate the answers as quickly as possible, but note that points will be subtracted for wrong answers.

Scoring the Scavenger Hunt: Teams will be awarded five points for each correct answer, but they will lose five points for each incorrect answer. Other teams may challenge their answers, and will be given the opportunity to prove their challenge. First team to finish will receive a bonus of five points. Second team to finish will receive a bonus of four points, third team three points, etc. Team that successfully challenge an answer and prove it wrong are awarded the points from the team with the incorrect answer.

D. Accommodations/modifications

Any and all activities may be modified as needed.

E. Enrichment

Allow each student to select a work of art. They should do some research on it, and write at least three facts and three opinion statements for it. If time, share with the class. You may want to use a tree graphic organizer. Use the title of the piece of art as the trunk, and the words “fact” and “opinion” at the top of two branches that emerge from the trunk. Students should be able to explain the reason they chose the branch they did.

Challenge each student to write two short essays: one factual and one with opinions. Allow use of reference material, as needed. Allow the students to read their essays to the class; post them on the wall.

II. STUDENT PERFORMANCE

A. Description

The student will share one fact and one opinion with neighbor, and then discuss with class.

The student will share memories on a specific story or movie. After learning the definitions, the student will assist the class is sorting their prior statements into of fact and opinion.

After watching and discussing the Power Point, the student will

use hand signs to denote fact and opinion from sample paragraphs.

Student will cut articles and advertisements out of a newspaper and sort into Fact and Opinion piles.

Student will work with a small group to create questions and to search for and locate correct answers to another group’s questions as quickly as possible. They will challenge other groups’ facts, if possible.

B. Accommodations/modifications

Any and all activities may be modified as needed.

B. Enrichment

Student shall select a work of art. They should do some research on it, and write at least three facts and three opinion statements for it. If time, share with the class.

Each student shall write two short essays: one factual and one with opinions. If time, the student should read their essays to the class, and then post them on the wall.

III. ASSESSMENT OF ACTIVITIES

A. Description

Fact and Opinion Assessment (attached) consists of 25 questions for the student to label F or O. For your convenience, an answer key is provided.

B. Rubrics/grading criteria

Use the standard grading scale.

C. Accommodations/modifications

Any and all activities may be modified as needed. Students may utilize help with cutting, writing, and/or sorting activities.

D. Enrichment

Assess students’ creative writing for accuracy regarding facts and opinions as well as normal writing standards.

E. Sample discussion questions

What have you noticed about Facts?

What have you noticed about Opinions?

Can you list some words that can be used as “clue words?”

What topics include more opinions?

What topics include more facts?

What can you do to ascertain whether a statement is fact or opinion?

IV. TAKS PREPARATION

A. Transition to TAKS context

See Step Up to the TAKS (Fourth Grade Reading, February 2006 edition, GF Educators, Inc.) pages 98-101 for a teaching model, guided practice, and independent TAKS practice.

B. Sample TAKS questions

TAKS practice – Making Life Safer (attached) – a one page story and four practice questions with answers provided on the following page. Use as a Transparency or practice sheet.

V. KEY VOCABULARY

Fact, opinion, encyclopedia, dictionary, almanac, atlas

VI. RESOURCES

A. Textbook

B. Supplementary materials/equipment

C. Technology

Fact or Opinion – online tasks for copying



Fact VS Opinion – interactive game

Teaching and Learning Resources – interactive game

Fact or Opinion Game #1



Fact or Opinion Game #2



Fact or Opinion Game #3



Fact and Opinion Online Quiz



MLK Fact and Opinion Worksheet



VII. FOLLOW UP ACTIVITIES

(reteaching, cross-curricular support, technology activities, next lesson in sequence, etc.)

Discuss healthy and unhealthy comments. Students should understand that just because something has been said to them, it is not necessarily a fact. Note that generally negative messages are not facts, but are opinions. Only if the recipient agrees with that opinion and considers it a fact, does it become real. Some opinions can encourage and help us to grow and improve, but others discourage and inhibit us from growing. Have students create a list of comments they have heard recently – note whether they are facts or opinions. Discuss possible healthy reactions and positive self-esteem. Practice sharing positive comments (opinions) with each other.

VIII. TEACHER NOTES

Students commonly believe all that is printed, seen on TV, or found on the internet. It’s critical for them to be able to distinguish between what people say is so, and what actually is so. They also need to be able to discern factual information from fiction. Otherwise, it will be easy for children to believe everything others say is true. They need to become aware of the false promises made in advertising and how to make valid judgments regarding so-called facts.

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