Virginia SOL 4.RI.1.C
The Standard
Distinguish between fact and opinion and explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support opinions within texts.
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 separate statements that can be checked from statements that express a belief or judgment. They find the author’s reasons and supporting details, then explain the connection.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students accurately identify checkable statements and personal judgments in a passage. They point to reasons and details, then explain how those details support the author’s judgment.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think a statement is factual because it includes a number or sounds confident. They may also confuse an author’s reason with evidence that can be checked.
How to Assess It
- Give students a short paragraph with one judgment and three supporting details. Ask them to label each statement and explain which detail best supports the judgment.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give groups sentence strips from an article to sort into facts, opinions, reasons, and evidence, then connect matching strips with yarn.
Ask students to write: Which statement shows the author’s judgment, and which two details make it more convincing?
Play Evidence Match by having students pair opinion cards with the strongest supporting reason or detail card.
Examine a food advertisement and list its checkable claims, opinions, and supporting evidence before deciding whether the message is convincing.
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Printable 4.RI.1.C Worksheet
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Related Standards
- 3.RI.1.C
Identify and explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support specific points in texts.
- 5.RI.1.C
Describe how an author uses reasons, evidence, and opinions to support points in a text, by identifying (and accurately quoting) which reasons and evidence supp...
- 2.RI.1.C
Differentiate facts from opinions within a text.
- 1.RI.1.C
Explain the difference between facts and opinions in a text.
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