Teacher Education Lesson Plan Template 

Teacher: ​Faith Ferrulli  Date: ​3/12/21 

**Pre-Assessment on 3/10/21 

Title of Lesson:​ Fact vs Opinion  Grade: ​3rd  

 

Core Components 

Subject, Content Area, or Topic 

ELA - Fact & Opinion 
Virginia Essential Knowledge and Skills (SOL) 
English (SOL) 
3.8 The student will write in a variety of forms to include narrative, descriptive, 
opinion, and expository. 
Lesson objectives 
ELA.3.6.3 Distinguish between fact and opinion 

Materials/Resources 
Pre-Assessment & Post-Assessment (same assessments, just reassigned) 

 
Fact & Opinion Foldable 
Colored paper 
Colored pencils 
Regular pencils 
Starburst 
Writing Notebooks 
Small Sticky Notes 
Glue Sticks 
Practice 
Exit Task 

McDonald’s Draft (2010). Modified by Kreassig and Gould (2014) for use with student teachers.  
Revised August 2015  
Safety 
N/A 
 
Time 
Process Components 
(min.) 
10  *Anticipatory Set 
TSW: Complete a Pre-Assessment for Fact vs Opinion two days prior to the lesson 
(Wednesday 3/10/21) 
 
TTW: Explain to students that they will be completing foldable for fact versus opinion 
which means that we will be looking at definitions, clue words, and example 
statements for each type of statement. 
 
TSW: Share what they already know about facts and opinions. 
 
TTW: Develop the concept of fact and opinion by choosing statements the students 
provide to categorize them into fact or opinion. 
1   *State the Objectives (grade-level terms). The student should be able to say: 
I can distinguish (tell the difference) between fact and opinion. 
15  *Instructional Input or Procedure  
TTW: Hand out the colored paper to students (allow them to decide between two 
colors to allow them to feel like they have more control over their learning). 
 
TTW: Walk students through how to fold the foldable (the foldable is attached). ​First, 
fold the paper in half so that it is a short rectangle (not long and skinny). Opening the 
foldable back up and keeping it horizontal, fold each outer edge to the middle crease 
that was just made.  
 
TSW: Follow directions and fold the foldable with the teacher (take anecdotal notes 
on which students are able to follow directions well). 
 
TTW: Inform students that they will be writing the definition for fact (left side) and 
opinion (right side) on the outside part of the foldable.  
 
What do you think the definition of fact is? 
What about opinion? 
 
TSW: Discuss what they think the definition is for each. 
 
TTW: Guide students into creating appropriate definitions for each. 
 
Fact is a statement that we can prove true or false. 
Opinion is a statement that says what someone thinks or feels. 
 

McDonald’s Draft (2010). Modified by Kreassig and Gould (2014) for use with student teachers.  
Revised August 2015  
 **for ESL students, make sure to have visuals in simple picture form to help 
them remember 
 
TSW: Record the definitions on the outside part of the foldable and then open up the 
left side to record Clue Words in the left most section and then an example statement 
for fact in the left middle section. (Guide students into creating clue words - think, 
pair, share.) 
 
Clue Words: dates, numbers, nonfiction, historical events 
Example: The Starburst candy was introduced in England in 1959. 
 
**be sure to ask students how we know the example statement is a fact using 
our clue words 
 
TTW: Record what the students are to write on the board so everyone knows what to 
write. 
 
TSW: Open up the right side to write clue words on the right most side and then an 
example on the right middle section. (Guide students into creating clue words - think, 
pair, share.) 
 
Clue Words: believe, think, feel, always, never, best, worst 
Example: The best flavor of Starburst is ___________. (let students pick their 
favorite flavor, hand them the candy, let them eat it, tape it in the foldable 
under their statement) 
 
**be sure to ask students how we know the example statement is an opinion 
using our clue words and looking at what their peers put - highlight how they 
are all different 
 
Once students finish, have them paste their foldable in their writing notebooks and 
add a sticky to the page with the “Fact vs Opinion” label. 
 
TSW: Complete the Practice, Exit Ticket and the Post-Assessment. 
2  *Modeling  
TTW: Model how to decipher what words let them know when a statement is a fact or 
an opinion while generating the foldable. 

-  *Check for Understanding 

TTW: Observe students understanding through the whole group discussion and through 
the practice, exit ticket, and assessments.  
 
**the majority of the understanding check will take place after analyzing the 
data from the pre-assessment to alter the flow and level of the lesson 

McDonald’s Draft (2010). Modified by Kreassig and Gould (2014) for use with student teachers.  
Revised August 2015  
 5  *Guided Practice 
TTW: Explain to students that they will continue this process of reading text, thinking 
about the author’s word choice and identifying any facts and opinions during small 
group instruction with each group’s appropriate reading level text/ 
 
TSW: Read the text in small group and discuss the fact and opinion statements 
included in the reading. 
-  *Independent Practice 
TSW: Complete the​ P
​ ractice​ on their own (each slide is prerecorded to support the 
lower level students). 
 
TSW: Complete the​ E
​ xit Task​. 
 
**Independent Practice will be done during the small group rotations 
-  Assessment (formal or informal) 
TTW: Look at the data from the pre and post-assessment to view student growth. 
 
TTW: Look at the students’ practice and exit ticket. 
 
TTW: Take anecdotal notes as to how students perform during the whole group lesson 
and on the assessments. 
2  *Closure  
TTW: Have students reflect on the “I Can” statement. Pose the following questions: 
Why do readers monitor when authors use facts and opinions? 
How can readers distinguish between a fact and an opinion? 
 
TSW: Reflect on “I Can” statement and respond to questions. 
 
TSW: Complete the Post-Assessment for Fact vs Opinion (same assessment as the 
pre-assessment) 
Differentiation Strategies (enrichment, accommodations, remediation, or by learning style).  
For the pre and post-assessments, pre-record the directions for the students; especially for 
ESL students. Do the same for the practice and allow the text to speech tool to be on for the 
exit ticket. 
For the foldable, make sure to add visuals, color coded words, and pictures for the students 
who are struggling putting the definitions and clue words together. 
For students who are already at an AP level for fact and opinion, have them create their own 
facts and opinions in the foldable. 
Classroom Management Issues 
If students are having a hard time following directions, have them watch the creation of a 
foldable from start to finish first and then walk through it with them step by step.  

McDonald’s Draft (2010). Modified by Kreassig and Gould (2014) for use with student teachers.  
Revised August 2015  
Lesson Critique. To be completed following the lesson. Did your students meet the 
objective(s)? What part of the lesson would you change? Why? 
Given the data from the pre and post-assessment, the overall average of student 
understanding increased and the majority of students met the objective being taught! 
The foldable did take longer than expected to create so I would change either the amount of 
content put into the foldable or break it up over the course of a few days to really solidify the 
points. For instance, doing the definitions on one day, the clue words the next, and then finally 
have the students put examples as another form of assessment. 
**Adapted from the district lesson plan. 
         
Intern Signature    Cooperating Teacher    Date 
Signature 
 

McDonald’s Draft (2010). Modified by Kreassig and Gould (2014) for use with student teachers.  
Revised August 2015