Facts and Opinions Background Information for Teachers, Parents, and Caregivers
This page contains information to support educators and families in teaching grade K-3 students about fact and opinion. Designed to complement the BrainPOP Jr. movie Facts and Opinions, you will find ideas for developing related understandings and ways to use other BrainPOP Jr. resources to scaffold and extend student learning.
Encourage children to be active readers by taking notes, asking questions, making predictions and inferences, and identifying facts and opinions. This movie explores fact and opinion and provides different examples. Students will discover words that signal opinions, how to verify facts, and much more!
Review with children that a fact is a statement that can be proven true. Give an example, such as “The weather today is rainy” or “I’m wearing a red shirt today.” Point out that some facts, like your examples, are observable, meaning they can see that the weather is rainy or that you’re wearing a red shirt. Explain that not all facts are observable. For example, roots take in water from the soil is not something we can see, so to prove it’s true we need to verify it. Tell students that to verify, we research the fact by asking an expert or looking it up in a source, such as a book or a reliable website. Show a website that looks reputable, but has false information. Why might we want to verify a fact using more than one source? Discuss with your students.
Review that an opinion is a belief that a person has about someone or something. Provide an example, such as “Cats are the best pets.” Tell students that they can agree or disagree with an opinion, but they can’t prove it right or wrong. Finally, explain that while opinions can’t be proven, you can make a case for your opinion by supporting it with facts. For example, you might think Jackie Robinson is a great athlete. That’s an opinion. You can support your opinion with facts about Robinson, such as, he broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball and he won awards for batting and stolen bases. Point out that some words and phrases signal an opinion including I think, I believe, I feel, favorite, good/better/best, bad/worse/worst, boring/exciting (as well as many other adjectives).
Help children understand that recognizing the difference between fact and opinion helps them to know what to believe and allows them to intelligently interpret information.
For enrichment or extension, we recommend exploring other BrainPOP Jr. movies that address reading and comprehension skills including Make Inferences, Reading Nonfiction, and Listening and Speaking
