RSU 16 Teacher Evaluation and Professional Growth System

Lesson Description Template

Note: This template is only a suggestion and may be changed or expanded as desired
Teacher: Amy Hughes Date: January 12, 2016

Subject: Writing Grade Level: 1st Grade

Lesson Topic: How to tell the difference between a fact and an opinion as we prepare
to write opinion pieces.

Objectives:
Students will be able to distinguish between a fact and opinion.
Students will be able to develop a unique fact and opinion.
Standards lesson addresses:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.1.1: Write opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic or
name the book they are writing about, state an opinion, supply a reason for the opinion,
and provide some sense of closure.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.1.1: Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse
partners about grade 1 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.

Essential Question: How can we use writing to share our opinions?

Lesson Outline:
Hook (5 minutes):
-Teacher will ask students to go to their chairs.
-Teacher will tell students that they can come to the carpet when she says something
that they agree with.
-Teacher will bring students to the carpet by saying:
- Come to the carpet if you think dogs are the best pet ever.
- Come to the carpet if you think ice cream should be served with every meal.
- Come to the carpet if you think chocolate milk is better than white milk.
- Continue as needed until all students are on the carpet.
- Teacher will ask students if what she said to call them down were facts or opinions
and why they think that.
- Teacher will remind students that one of our We Can statements is that we can write
opinion writing pieces, but before we can write about our opinion we need to learn
about facts and opinions.
Model Mini Lesson (10 minutes):
- Teacher will review the fact and opinion sort that was finished yesterday during the
lesson.
- Teacher will ask the students how do we know that something is a fact?
- Students will respond (because it is true, everyone knows it, its in a book).
- Teacher will chart responses and guide students to notice that a fact is true, can be
proven, is usually about science or social studies, has dates or numbers, and is
nonfiction.
- Teacher will ask students what makes something an opinion?
- Students will respond (its what you say, I think it, everyone is different)
- Teacher will chart responses and guide students to notice that an opinion is what you
think, feel, usually says something is the best or worst, and is not true.

Guided Practice (5 minutes):

- Teacher will give students paddles with colored circles on the top, one side of the
circle reading Fact and the other reading Opinion.
- Teacher will tell students that they will be using these paddles to vote on if what I say
is a fact or opinion. They will show me the side of the paddle that says fact when they
think what I said is a fact or show me the opinion side if they think it is an opinion.
- Teacher will review the sides of the paddle by asking students to show each side a
few times. Reviewing the directions with BJ before continuing any further.
- Teacher will say the following statements:
- Grass is green.
- My cat is the best cat in the world.
- We are in first grade.
- Snakes have no legs.
- Frozen is my favorite movie.
- Chocolate ice cream is the best kind.
- Teacher will call on one student to explain why they said the statement was a fact or
opinion after each. Monitoring understanding of all students as the activity continues.

Independent Practice (10 minutes):

- Teacher will tell students that now it is their turn to show me what they know.
- Teacher will explain that she has two colors of post its: yellow and blue. The yellow
post its are for facts and the blue post its are for opinions. We will be collecting as
many facts and opinions as we can.
- Teacher will tell students that it is their job to decide what is a fact and what is an
opinion.
- Teacher will make one of each with the class then release them to each complete one
fact and one opinion independently, reviewing directions with BJ before releasing
him.
- Students will work independently to make facts and opinions.
- Teacher will check in as students work correcting misconceptions and providing
guidance as needed.
- Students will return completed post its to the front of the classroom where there is a
divided chart paper waiting for their notes.
- The teacher will review the post its as they arrive and provide additional post its for
early finishers.

Closure:
- Teacher will call students back to the rug to discuss the notes on the board.
- Teacher will read a few of the facts and opinions to the class then take a thumbs up or
thumbs to the side vote on how well we did.
- Teacher will end with a discussion of the essential question: how can we use writing
to share our opinions?
- Students will brainstorm ideas of ways writing could be used to share what we feel.
- Teacher will inform students that tomorrow they will begin to learn some ways to use
writing to share their opinions with the world.
- Teacher will dismiss students to pack up based on opinions, similar to how students
came to the carpet.

Assessment tools/activities:
Assessment will be collected formatively through the use of paddles and discussion
during the guided practice. The teacher will note students repeatedly struggling to
identify facts and opinions then provide additional support for them when they go to
work independently. The teacher will ask for students to explain their answers as well,
thus collecting data on the depth of understanding of a fact and opinion within the
class.
Assessment will also be collected in the form of post it notes containing facts and
opinions. The collection of post its will reveal which students were able to distinguish
between a fact and opinion and those who could not. Further lessons or strategy groups
may be needed on the concept depending on the results.