Fact vs. Opinion

An Interactive Exercise

Directions:• Lets use what we learned yesterday and practice

telling the difference between a fact and an opinion.

• Each slide contains a statement. Read the statement carefully, then click on either the fact or opinion button at the bottom of the slide.

• Use the back button to proceed to the next question and continue this same process for all questions.

Question #1

Abraham Lincoln was the greatest president.

Fact Opinion

Question #2

Marilyn Monroe was a movie actress.

Fact Opinion

Question #3

Tiger Woods is the best golfer who ever played the game.

OpinionFact

Question #4

Tiger Woods was the first African American to win the Masters Golf Tournament.

Fact Opinion

Question #5

Dale Earnhardt died in a NASCAR race crash.

Fact Opinion

Question #6

All Rap lyrics are offensive.

Fact Opinion

Question #7

Charles Lindbergh was brave to attempt to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.

Fact Opinion

Response #1: Incorrect

Although Abraham Lincoln was a president, whether or not he was the greatest president is an opinion.

Response #1: Correct!

Although Abraham Lincoln was a president, it is an opinion that he was the greatest one.

Response #2: Correct!

Marilyn Monroe was in 29 movies. Since she acted in those movies, that is a fact.

Response #2: Incorrect! Marilyn Monroe was in 29 movies. This is a fact, not an opinion.

Although Tiger Woods has won many golf titles, whether he is the greatest golfer is an opinion. It can be debated based on the amount of titles he has won, but even this might not be the only basis for evaluating him as the greatest.

Response #3: Incorrect

Response #3: Correct!

Although Tiger Woods has won many golf titles, calling him the greatest is an opinion. It is a topic open to debate.

Response #4: Correct!

In the history of the Masters Tournament, this is a fact. Tiger Woods was the first African American to win the Masters.

Response #4: Incorrect!

Since no African American had ever won the Masters before Tiger Woods did, this is not an opinion, but a fact.

Response #5: Incorrect!

Dale Earnhardt died on February 18, 2001 as a result of a crash during the 2001 Daytona NASCAR race. This is a fact, not an opinion.

Response #5: Correct!

Dale Earnhardt died on February 18, 2001 as a result of a crash during the 2001 Daytona NASCAR race. This is a fact.

Response #6: Incorrect!

Although Rap lyrics often contain questionable language, whether they are offensive or not is an opinion, not a fact.

Response #6: Correct!

Although Rap lyrics often contain “bad” or questionable language, whether this makes them offensive or not is an opinion.

Response #7: Incorrect!

Many people thought Lindbergh’s attempt to fly nonstop across the Atlantic Ocean was foolhardy rather than brave. Although he was successful, calling him brave is a value judgment and an opinion rather than a fact.

Response #7: Correct!

Many people thought Lindbergh’s idea was foolhardy rather than brave. Calling this a brave act may be considered a reasonable argument, but it is not a fact.

Share with a Partner

• Turn and talk to the person next to you. Give them one fact and one opinion statement about yourself. See if they can determine the fact vs the opinion.

Students Need More Sleep!!!!Please help your sixth grade teachers convince the Lunsford administration that middle school students need more sleep and should be able to come to school later.List 3 reasons why sixth graders should start school at 9:00A.M. Please be ready to share your reasons for the class list.

What is this list missing?

• In order to be persuasive, we need facts that back up our claim.

FACTS!!!!

Claim

+ Factual Information

= A strong persuasive argument

Persuasion should include facts to support your claim.

Facts that students require more sleep.

• 60% of all middle school kids report extreme daytime sleepiness.

• Over 25 percent fall asleep in class at least once a week

• moodiness, depression, and even binge eating—are actually symptoms of chronic sleep deprivation.

• Students that are fully rested outperform Drowsy students by more than 15%

After the Facts:After the facts are added to our list, we now have a strong argument!

Practice Identifying facts and opinions in a passage.

Area 51

Area 51 is a military facility approximately 90 miles north of Las Vegas. At the center of the site there sits a large air base. Area 51 is also the site of a U.S. Government UFO cover-up. This is one of the strangest places that you can ever visit. "The government is hiding the remains of alien spacecraft there," says Sarah Mitchell, a long-time resident from the surrounding area.

AREA 51 (continued)

The possibility of aliens draws visitors

to the area. There is even a book for visitors seeking information. Written by Glenn Campbell, it is titled Area 51 Viewers Guide. It is the best and

most informative book available on Area 51. More than 100,000 people purchased this book