Exploring Fact and Opinion in Biographies
Exploring Fact and Opinion in Biographies
Objectives
In this lesson, students will explore the use of fact and opinion in nonfiction texts, such as biographies. Students will:
- identify the characteristics of a biography.
- distinguish between facts and opinions.
- identify and examine fact and opinion statements in biographies.
- infer the author’s opinion in a biography.
- provide reasons and evidence from the text to support the author’s views.
Essential Questions
How do strategic readers create meaning from informational and literary text?
How does interaction with text provoke thinking and response?
What is this text really about?
- How does interaction with text provoke thinking and response?
- How do strategic readers create meaning from informational and literary texts?
- What is this text really about?
- How do readers know what to believe in what they read, hear, and view?
Vocabulary
- Biography: The story of a person’s life written by someone other than the subject of the work.
- Nonfiction: Writing that is not fictional; designed primarily to explain, argue, instruct, or describe rather than entertain. For the most part, its emphasis is factual.
- Fact: Statement that is provable, observable, and measurable.
Opinion: A person’s beliefs or judgments not founded on proof or certainty.
Duration
90–135 minutes/2–3 class periods
Prerequisite Skills
Prerequisite Skills haven't been entered into the lesson plan.
Materials
- Odd Boy Out: Young Albert Einstein by Don Brown. Sandpiper, 2008. This text was selected because it has easily identifiable examples of fact and opinion. Alternative texts should be easy to read, allowing students to focus on the skill of identifying facts and opinions. Use a biography from a basal reading series or one of the following examples:
- Young Thomas Edison by Michael Dooling. Holiday House, 2005.
- Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin. Sandpiper, 2009.
- Once Upon a Time in Chicago: The Story of Benny Goodman by Jonah Winter. Hyperion Books, 2000.
- When Marian Sang by Pam Munzo Ryan. Scholastic Press, 2002.
- A Picture Book of Harriet Tubman by David A. Adler. Holiday House, 1993.
- Eleanor Roosevelt: First Lady of the World by Ryan Jacobson. Capstone Press, 2006.
- Teachers may substitute other books with easily identifiable examples of fact and opinion to provide a range of reading and level of text complexity.
- Biographical sketches of authors. Examples include the following:
- Fact and Opinion graphic organizer (L-5-3-1_Fact and Opinion Graphic Organizer.doc)
- Fact and Opinion statements for sentence strips (L-5-3-1_Fact and Opinon Sentence Strips.docx)
- Biography Reading Guide (L-5-3-1_Biography Reading Guide.docx)
- chart paper
Related Unit and Lesson Plans
Related Materials & Resources
The possible inclusion of commercial websites below is not an implied endorsement of their products, which are not free, and are not required for this lesson plan.
Alternative books may be used with students who need additional practice with identifying fact and opinion in biographies. Suggested titles are listed below. Teachers may substitute other books to provide a range of reading and level of text complexity.
- Who Was Neil Armstrong? by Roberta Edwards. Grosset & Dunlap, 2008.
- A Picture Book of George Washington by David Adler. Holiday House, 1990.
- A Picture Book of Amelia Earhart by David Adler. Holiday House, 1999.
- DK Biography: Gandhi by Primo Levi. DK Children, 2006.
- Louis Braille: The Boy Who Invented Books for the Blind by Margaret Davidson. Scholastic, 1991.
Formative Assessment
Suggested Instructional Supports
Instructional Procedures
Related Instructional Videos
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Instructional videos haven't been assigned to the lesson plan.
Final 05/31/2013