Virginia SOL 2.RI.1.C
The Standard
Differentiate facts from opinions within a text.
Virginia Standards of Learning for English · Key Ideas and Confirming Details
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students decide whether a statement can be checked and proven or expresses a belief, feeling, or judgment. They use details and clue words to explain each decision.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students correctly sort statements as facts or opinions. They explain that facts can be checked, while opinions show a belief, feeling, or judgment.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think a statement is a fact because they agree with it. They may also treat opinions from experts as facts or assume every sentence with numbers is factual.
How to Assess It
- Give students four sentences from a short animal article. Ask them to label each fact or opinion and explain one choice using evidence.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs sentence cards from a short article to sort onto labeled fact and opinion mats, then check each choice together.
Read two statements about the same animal and ask students to write which is factual, which is an opinion, and why.
Play Fact or Opinion Corners by reading statements aloud and having students move to a labeled corner, then defend their choice.
Examine a cereal box and identify checkable nutrition claims and opinion-based phrases such as delicious, best, or fun to eat.
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Related Standards
- 9.RI.1.C
Distinguish among, facts, reasoned judgments, and/or speculation in texts to determine where a position/argument is to be confirmed, disproved, or modified.
- 4.RI.1.C
Distinguish between fact and opinion and explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support opinions within texts.
- 1.RI.1.C
Explain the difference between facts and opinions in a text.
- 10.RI.3.A
Evaluate how different authors write about the same topic and shape their presentations or viewpoints of key information using facts, opinions, and reasoning.
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