Which animal is best for you—a dog or cat? Why? Engage third graders in an opinion writing assessment that prompts them to read facts about both pets, and then write and decide which pet is best for them.

Difficult redistricting concepts are covered in a context that will make it understandable to your government scholars. They begin with a KWL on the term redistricting and then watch a video to answer some questions. They...

Scholars read newspaper articles relating to a longer school day and complete note-taking organizers as they read. They then form opinions and complete outlines before writing essays supporting their point of view. 

What should young people think about before drinking alcohol? Have your class consider the eight reasons listed here, some of which are facts, and others opinions. Pupils rank each statement from one to eight, where one is the most...

Who was Vincent van Gogh? Most of the questions can be answered in two or three sentences; however, there is at least one essay prompt and one personal response question that require longer answers. Questions call for a good mix of...

Should the student population wear uniforms to school? Pupils express whether they strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree with a controversial statement, moving to a designated corner of the room to indicate their stance....

This set of worksheets constitutes enough work and materials to be considered a lesson. They guide readers through a process of exploring characters and their motivations, and writing a paragraph about them. Here are seven handouts that...

Teach kids how to watch television, specifically the news, with this creative idea for learners of all ages from the Media Awareness Network. The elementary school plan focuses on presenting news as a story and uses Jon Scieszka's story...

Discuss the difference between legitimate debate on a political issue and arguments that are based on hate through a science-fiction scenario that shows how a controversial issue can be discussed in both ways. Then learn how purveyors of...

Middle schoolers read and review informational texts, analyze cause and effect, and distinguish fact from opinion. They assess a "one-minute mystery" you read aloud for cause and effect relationships. Resource includes complete set of...

Divide your class into groups to study the validity of online sources. One group looks at the authority and accuracy of four listed websites, another group looks at advocacy and objectivity, and the third group looks at currency and...

Part of a series aimed at breaking down cultural bias from the Canadian Media Awareness Network, this activity identifies where opinions do and don't belong in a newspaper. Pupils review handouts about the purpose of editorial comments...

High-interest content captures your most reluctant readers and class participants. Lady Gaga's Born This Way Foundation, in collaboration with Harvard University, seeks to nurture a culture of kindness and reduce bullying. Excerpts from...

Can you guess how many hits YouTube gets in one day? If you said two billion, you're wrong. If you said three billion, you're getting closer, but you're still over a billion hits away! Use this article to bring current events into the...

This worksheet that accompanies a reading of A Beautiful Mind includes over 20 questions that address theme, fact and opinion, supporting details, characterization, and quote comprehension.

Show your class how fascinating a text can be by asking them to focus on interesting facts they learned while reading. There are boxes for six facts as well as one large box where pupils can record the most important fact from their...

Learners examine the differences between fact and opinion, and brainstorm ideas for a keyword list by analyzing facts. They listen to poems, and create posters listing three keywords about each creature featured in the poetry.

Did you know that Pocahontas was 12 when Jamestown was established? Did you know that she later married John Rolfe? Did you know that she lived in London for two years? Did you know that she died of small pox? Class members study the...

Introduce your young readers to the book review. Groups of writers practice the basic steps of writing a book report and complete an Accordion-Book Summary activity. The lesson includes book report basics and directions to make...

Learn about the events that helped shape the United States of America. Elementary schoolers explore the Civil War with six different activities. Each activity has a different focus: literature connections, primary sources, vocabulary,...

Four thought-provoking questions encourage readers to develop and support their opinions about strategies to end a friendship after exploring excerpts from a New York Times article. The reading is brief so this could be a lead-in to...

Supplement a lesson on the Inca with this worksheet. Highlighted are 2 image documents which are analyzed to answer 5 fact or opinion questions. Pupils need to provide examples and evidence to support their answers.

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 lesson, 5th graders synthesize information from different sources,...

Students inquire about life for pioneer children. In this pioneer period lesson, students analyze photographs of children, make information foldables, and create a covered wagon that was typical of the ones of the past. Students will...