Prestwick House
Author’s Purpose in Reagan’s “Tear Down This Wall” Speech
President Ronald Reagan's "Tear Down This Wall" speech, delivered on June 12, 1987 before the Berlin Wall, provides class members with an opportunity to examine three key aspects of informational text: author bias, the use of facts and...
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8th Grade Reading Comprehension Success
Augment your eighth grade language arts curriculum with a thorough set of reading comprehension activities and assessments. Focusing on a variety of skills, including vocabulary in context, text structure, main idea, and author's style,...
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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.
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Active Reading with American History
Explore connections within and between informational texts with this lesson about encyclopedia articles. Middle schoolers write encyclopedia articles focusing on topics in American history. They discuss how to determine credibility...
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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...
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Fact or Opinion?
Third graders design a political cartoon. In this fact and opinion activity, 3rd graders examine political cartoons and distinguish fact from opinion. Students create a political cartoon on the topic of their choice.
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Fact vs. Opinion
Students explore fact versus opinion in reading material. They listen to sentences and use hand signals to identify if the sentences are facts or opinions. After reading a story, they vote on sentences for facts and opinions and stae a...
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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.
Prestwick House
Understanding Language: Slant, Spin, and Bias in the News
We live in a time of fake news, alternative realities, and media bias. What could be more timely than an activity that asks class members to research how different sources report the same topic in the news?
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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!
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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.
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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.
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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...
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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...
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What Has Brown Done for You?
Learners review the facts of the court case Brown v. Board of Education. Next, they research recent court cases that uphold contrasting views on the landmark decision. They write opinions about these recent court cases from a 1954...
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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...
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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...
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"It's Verifiable!"
Students examine the differences between fact and opinion. They define fact and opinion, evaluate their favorite fact or opinion on a website, and in small groups write sentences using facts and opinions about school and their favorite...
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Let Us Do Your Selling
Sixth graders analyze several types of propaganda techniques and create a book cover using the techniques. In this propaganda techniques lesson, 6th graders analyze the propaganda techniques used in various ads. Students analyze the...
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Nutty About Peanut Butter
Students brainstorm list of lunchtime sandwiches, identify difference between fact and opinion, research facts about peanut butter online, complete Nutty About Peanut Butter worksheet, and create their own fact and opinion worksheets...
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Is That a Fact?
Fifth graders use physical activity to help them distinguish between facts and opinions. They are broken up into pairs and students give a fact or opinion (based on the call by the teacher) when the ball is bounced to them.
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Bias
Students apply techniques of distinguishing between fact and opinion. Students identify words associated with persuasion and argument. Students read and categorizer a variety of newspapers and articles. Students identfy bias in a...
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Water and Sewage Critical reading
Learners read three articles with different points of view on the water and sanitation issues in the Florida Keys. They identify the facts and opinions in each article and write a summary. In addition, they write an essay expressing...
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Two Truths and a Lie: Internet Research Skills
It's tough for high schoolers to assess what is a credible resource and what is not. A helpful resource prompts class members to research a particular topic and record two facts—and create one lie—while documenting the sources. They...