Curated OER
"The Clever Monkey"
Second graders complete a variety of activities related to the book "The Clever Monkey" by Rob Cleveland. They answer story comprehension questions, and rewrite the story. Students also complete a comprehension and fact or opinion...
EngageNY
The Painted Essay for Opinion Writing: Writing Proof Paragraphs
It's time to proof read! Pupils read and analyze proof paragraphs from a model essay. They then practice writing their own proof paragraphs to express an opinion about offshore oil drilling.
Curated OER
Persuasive Writing - Anticipating Opposing Views
Persuasion, when used effectively, is a powerful and effective tool. In groups, young writers develop a persuasive letter about something that they would like their parents to allow them to do. Then, independently, they use proper...
Curated OER
School Newspaper
Fifth graders run a school newspaper on a school website and discover how to use various literary forms as they relate to the writing process. In this school newspaper instructional activity, 5th graders synthesize information from...
Curated OER
Form an Opinion Based on Facts
Explore fact and opinion through higher level thinking and literacy. Kids listen to the beginning of A Picture Book of Helen Keller by David A. Adler and identify facts in the text. They follow along as the teacher models how to form an...
Curated OER
Expository Writing (Informational Brochure)
Design an informational brochure to urge people to move to a specific community. The purpose of this activity is to expose pupils to expository writing. After creating the brochure, they write a three-paragraph persuasive or...
Prestwick House
Reading Nonfiction: Analyzing Joseph McCarthy's "Enemies from Within" Speech
Looking for a lesson that teaches class members how to analyze nonfiction? Use Joseph McCarthy's famous "Enemies from Within" speech as a instructional text. Worksheet questions direct readers' attention to the many historical...
Curated OER
Persuasive Writing
Use a quick bell-ringer to interest your class in the art of persuasion. They brainstorm where they find examples of persuasion in their lives and identify who is trying to persuade them. Then they either fish through magazines or look...
Curated OER
Fact and Opinion Detectives
Third graders see how to distinguish facts from opinions in a child's news magazine. After a lecture/demo, 3rd graders utilize a sample story and a worksheet which gives them practice in distinguishing fact from opinion.
Curated OER
Distinguishing Fact and Opinion
Students pick up clues in the wordage of a sentence to determine if it is factual and give reasons for their feelings. They explain difference between statements of hard fact as found on the front page of a newspaper from that of an...
Curated OER
Telling Our Stories of Giving - Writing to Persuade
After identifying the parts of a persuasive piece of writing, young writers explore different prewriting activities for the persuasive essay. They have the option to write a news article, personal narrative, or persuasive essay to...
Curated OER
Fact V. Opinion
Students distinguish between fact and opinion when reading material. They use statements of objects to determine if they are facts or opinions.
Curated OER
Identifying Facts and Opinions
Students understand the difference between a fact and an opinion. They identify facts and opinions in a news report. They identify facts and opinions in print and color code them with different colors.
Curated OER
Media Literacy Skills
You're on camera! Third graders find a news story and research it to get more information. Everyone uses their found information to write a script and create their own news broadcast!
Curated OER
Fact or Opinion
In this fact or opinion worksheet, students read sentences and label them as either being facts or opinions. Students complete 12 problems.
Curated OER
CHRISTMAS FILM REVIEW
Students write reviews of films they have seen over the Christmas holidays. They study what the ingredients of a film review are, and examine the difference between fact and opinion.
Curated OER
In My Opinion
Young writers craft letters to the government stating their opinion on different topics. They pick an environmental or ocean issue, research it, and craft their formal persuasive letter. Ensure your learners include supporting facts and...
Curated OER
Convey Ideas in Writing
Use the platforms of the 2004 presidential candidates to bring persuasive writing to your class. Young voters identify the three issues most important to them in the election and research the issues and candidates' positions. They write...
Curated OER
Determining Author's Point of View: The Sneeches
Determine the author's point of view in a text. Young readers read Dr. Seuss' The Sneeches and identify the author's purpose in the story. They identify persuasive techniques in writing, asking and answering questions to better...
Curated OER
Fighting Fake News
Fake news. Alternative facts. Internet trolls. In an age of Newspeak, it's increasingly important to equip 21st century learners with the skills needed to determine the legitimacy of claims put forth on social media, in print, and in...
Curated OER
Persuasive Practice: A Mt. Rushmore Addition
Budding authors research a US President and persuade the National Park Service to add him to Mt. Rushmore. In addition to the persuasive essay, individuals are required to develop a visual presentation using a web-based software that...
The New York Times
Looking for Answers: Making Sense of the Boston Marathon Bombing
How should America respond to acts of domestic terrorism? What motivates or prompts a terrorist attack? After reading an opinion piece on the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, your learners will critically analyze factors that could have...
Curated OER
Editorials
Students investigate editorials. In this literacy critical thinking activity, students compare and contrast two newspaper editorials and two letters to the editor by completing a Venn diagram. Students work in groups to write...
Curated OER
It's Your Opinion
Everyone has a different opinion about the characters they read about in books. Have your class explore forming an opinion and finding evidence to support it as they read and discuss what they think about a particular character. They...