Fact vs Opinion

fact vs opinion

by Barbara Benjamin-McManus

Multiple Choice

What is an opinion?

• Something you can prove. 
• Someone's thoughts on a topic. 

Why do we need to know the difference?

• Facts keep things real.

• Opinions can be misleading.

Multiple Choice

A giant tortoise can live to be 150 years old.

• fact
• opinion

What are facts?

• Simple: Facts are provable and measurable.  

• Facts do not contain feeling descriptors.  

Multiple Choice

Valentine's Day is in February.

• fact
• opinion

Multiple Select

Facts are something that is:

• Measurable.

• Filled with feelings.

• Provable.

• Biased.

Multiple Choice

Christmas is the best holiday of the year.

• fact 
• opinion

Opinions, what are they?

• Opinions contain feelings.

• Opinions are based on personal beliefs.

• Opinions cannot be proven or measured.

• Opinions have certain descriptors like; thought, ought, would, could, should and best.

Multiple Choice

Sharks are scary ocean animals.

• fact 
• opinion

Multiple Select

An example of an opinion would be:

• George Washington was the first President of the United States.

• Tricycles have three wheels.

• Schools should've opened fully instead of going remote.

• Wakanda is a country created by Marvel.

Multiple Choice

Baseball is the best game ever played.

• Fact
• Opinion

A way to look at something and figure out whether it is a fact or opinion.

Does the writer use any of the following: Extreme positives or negatives, descriptive words, emotional language? If so, it is an opinion. If not, it needs a little more investigation. Is there evidence: no? Then it is an opinion. Yes? If it comes from a reliable source then it is a fact. If the source is sketchy, then it is an opinion.

Multiple Choice

Basketball is the best sport ever

• fact
• opinion 

Opinions can have facts to support them.

One has to be careful and understand that while opinions usually have facts at their center, facts will not have opinions supporting them. Propaganda is usually an opinion with a factual center. An example might be: The lake, at 70 degrees F, is too cold for swimming.

The fact is the temperature, which is proveable. The opinion is that 70 degrees is too cold to swim in a lake. Some people might like that temperature, while others may feel it is too cold.

Multiple Choice

The talent show will begin at 8 p.m.

• Fact
• Opinion

Multiple Select

What is the fact in this statement; While some people do not believe in global warming, others have felt that the planet is worse now than it ever has been. They point to the temperature rise of .5 degrees annually since 2000 as the best way to show that.

• That the temperature has risen .5 degrees per year since 2000.

• The planet is worse today than it ever has been.

Multiple Choice

Computer games quickly become boring.

• Fact
• Opinion

Open Ended

Write one fact and one opinion.

Multiple Choice

There are twelve months in a year.

• fact 
• opinion

Multiple Choice

The STAAR test is the hardest test ever. 

• fact
• opinion

Multiple Choice

What is a fact?

• Your thoughts on something.
• Something you can prove.