Just the Facts

Introduce various perspectives of the civil rights movement to your middle schoolers by having them take on roles in groups. They read a projected excerpt describing a house (linked) from either the perspective of a real estate agent or...

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...

How can you tell when an author is expression an opinion or stating a fact? Use two short reading selections to emphasize the difference between a statement that you can prove and one that you can't. The first passage explains food...

What does it mean to be a citizen, and how has that definition changed over the course of history in the United States? Address this question with your learners through a reading activity, graphic organizer, worksheets, and in-class...

Learners distinguish between fact and opinion when reading material. They use statements of objects to determine if they are facts or opinions.

Want to learn some quick facts about Victorian England? Check out a series of fact cards that include information about class structure, education rights, public health, and Queen Victoria herself.

Examine several key issues covered in the October 8, 2004, presidential debate between George W. Bush and John Kerry. Young readers analyze the opponents' use of both fact and opinion in their arguments. Use the lesson plan to reinforce...

Where does the comma go? Study the use of dialogue and voice in writing. Learners listen to Margie Palatini's parody The Web Files. To build background knowledge, they listen to an old episode of the show Dragnet before responding to...

Who is more trustworthy when it comes to marijuana: a high school student, or The National Institute on Drug Abuse? Sources matter when reading informational text. Help teenagers discern which facts are true with an activity that focuses...

Encourage your learners to explore the differences between hard news and news analysis. They outline a complex news analysis about the upcoming presidential election, then endeavor to write an analysis of the same topic, using local...