Lesson Plan: The Buzz about Fact and Opinion
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Print Lesson PlanOverview
Students watch a video clip about bees in order to determine which statements on a handout are facts and which are opinions.
Why is this an important concept?
It is important for learners to be able to recognize differences between facts and opinions so they know what to believe and what to consider as someone's perspective. Separating fact from opinion is central to interpreting information intelligently.
Grade Level:
3-5Suggested Time
60 minutes
Media Resources
- Bee-ing in a Swarm QuickTime Video
Materials
The Lesson
Part I: Learning Activity
1. Before watching the video, discuss the difference between fact and opinion. Guide the class in coming up with a definition of a fact and an opinion that is clearly displayed while students are watching the segment.
2. Provide the purpose for viewing the video "Bee-ing in a Swarm": to learn facts about bees from an expert, etymologist Mace Vaughan. Students should watch and listen for facts, referring to the definition they came up with as a class.
3. After viewing, ask students to recall facts about bees from the video. Discuss what makes these statements facts as opposed to opinions.
4. Distribute the Bees Fact and Opinion handout. Do the first two statements together as a class, discussing the reasons why statement #1 is a fact and statement # 2 is an opinion. Refer to the definitions on the board as necessary.
5. Allow students to complete the handout either on their own or in pairs.
6. Discuss students' answers and reasoning.
For students who need additional teacher guidance:
1. Form a small group with students who need support differentiating between a fact and an opinion.
2. Replay the video, pausing when you reach a statement from the handout, and explain why the statement is a fact or opinion. (Most of time, the expert etymologist will be the source of the facts and the opinions are based on feelings.)
3. Ask students to find a fact within an isolated segment of the video.
4. Review the handout together.
Part II: Assessment
1. Distribute the Being a Queen Bee handout .
2. Ask students to read the passage.
3. After reading, ask students to underline the facts and circle the opinions.
4. Completed passages may be placed in student portfolios to demonstrate mastery of this skill.
We assign reference terms to each statement within a standards document and to each media resource, and correlations are based upon matches of these terms for a given grade band. If a particular standards document of interest to you is not displayed yet, it most likely has not yet been processed by ASN or by Teachers' Domain. We will be adding social studies and arts correlations over the coming year, and also will be increasing the specificity of alignment.Media Resources Used in this Lesson:
Bee-ing in a Swarm
(QuickTime Video)
Resource Produced by:
Collection Developed by:
Collection Funded by:
Funding for the VITAL/Ready to Teach collection was secured through the United States Department of Education under the Ready to Teach Program.