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LiteracyB e n c h M a r k

Make Connections/Distinguish and Evaluate Fact and Opinion

Unit 9/Week 1 at a Glance

Day Mini-Lessons

ONE • Introduce the Comprehension Strategy: Distinguish and Evaluate Fact and Opinion

• Think Aloud and Use the Metacognitive Strategy: Make Connections

• Find Fact and Opinion in a Picture

• Connect Thinking, Speaking, and Writing

• Reflect and Discuss

TWO • Review the Metacognitive Strategy: Make Connections

• Use the Comprehension Strategy: Distinguish and Evaluate Fact and Opinion

• Connect Thinking, Speaking, and Writing


THREE • Extend the Comprehension Strategy: Distinguish and Evaluate Fact and Opinion

• Observe and Prompt for Strategy Understanding • Reflect and Discuss

FOUR • Read and Summarize

• Answer Text-Dependent Comprehension Questions: Distinguish and Evaluate Fact and Opinion (Level 3: Prove It!)


FIVE • Metacognitive Self-Assessment

• Constructed Written Response • Ongoing Comprehension Strategy Assessment

Teacher’s Guide Grade 5 • Unit 9

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GenesGenes are tiny cell parts that determine

certain traits, such as the shape of your eyes or the color of your hair. Genes determine not only how you look, but how you grow. Genes can affect how healthy you will be, too.

You are born with your genes. It is important that you understand what your genes can and cannot do. You should understand what genes mean to your health, your personality, and how you look.

Scientists are trying to learn more about genes and how they work. Perhaps through research, scientists will be able to control genes, and cure diseases caused by faulty genes.

Regions of Canada

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Canada is the second largest country in the world. It includes many different geographical regions. In the Arctic north are the frozen plains, or tundra. In the southeast is a hilly, rocky region.

Western Canada consists of several geographical regions, too, including wide-open prairies. The prairies are mostly flat, and have very fertile soil. Farther west, the Rocky Mountains rise abruptly, creating a region of towering mountains and dramatic valleys.

One of the most beautiful regions of western Canada is the coast of the Pacific Ocean. The coastal region has the country’s wettest and mildest climate. Parts of Vancouver Island, just off Canada’s western coast, get as much as 262 inches (665 centimeters) of rain per year!

Canada is a country of vastly ranging geographical regions.

Opinions: Facts:

Belmopan

Bogota

San Jose

Tegucigalpa

Mexico City

Panama

CaracasSan Salvador

Guatemala

Managua

Ontario

Manitoba

Saskatchewan

Alberta

BritishColumbia

YukonTerritory

Québec

NorthwestTerritories

NewBrunswick

Nova Scotia

Prince Edward Island

Newfoundlandand

Labrador

NunavutTerritories

PacificOcean

AtlanticOcean

ArcticOcean

ChukchiSea

Beaufort Sea

Caribbean Sea

Hudson Bay

Gulf ofAlaska

Baffin Bay

Gulfof

Mexico

Norwegian Sea

BeringSea

Disappearing Forests

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Forests disappear for many reasons. Wildfires burn hundreds of thousands of trees around the world every year. Powerful storms can rip up trees by their roots. People cut down and burn trees to prepare land for farming and ranching, or to make way for new homes and roads.

Today, the most rapid deforestation, or loss of forests, takes place in tropical rain forests. Thousands of square miles of South America’s

Amazon rain forest are cleared each year for farms, ranches, homes, and roads.

Deforestation is dramatically changing Earth’s landscapes, and not in a good way. Protecting the world’s forests is among the most important environmental challenges of this century. Keeping Earth’s forests healthy is everybody’s job.

Facts: • The most rapid deforestation takes

place in tropical rain forests.• Thousands of square miles of the


Facts: • Wildfires burn hundreds of thousands

of trees around the world every year.

• Powerful storms can rip up trees by their roots.

• People cut down and burn trees to prepare land for farming and ranching, or to make way for new homes and roads.

Opinions: • Deforestation is dramatically

changing Earth’s landscapes, and not in a good way.

• Protecting the world’s forests is among the most important environmental challenges of this century.

• Keeping Earth’s forests healthy is everybody’s job.

Two Wonders of the Ancient World

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Day One

Benchmark Literacy • Grade 5 • Unit 9/Week 1 ©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC2

Read-Aloud (10 minutes)

Select a favorite fiction read-aloud from your classroom or school library with which to model the metacognitive strategy “Make Connections.” Use the sample read-aloud lessons and suggested titles in the Benchmark Literacy Overview.

Mini-Lessons (20 minutes)

Introduce the Comprehension Strategy: Distinguish and Evaluate Fact and Opinion

Say: I know about a water tower in Chicago that was built a long time ago. It was built in 1869. I think it is a beautiful tower.

Ask: Listen to these two statements: It was built in 1869. I think it is a beautiful tower. How are these two statements different?

Turn and talk. Ask students to turn to a partner and share ways the two statements differ. Ask a few students to share with the whole group.

Explain: The statement that it was built in 1869 is a fact. We can prove a fact by observing it or looking it up in a book. The statement that I think it is a beautiful tower is an opinion. It is a belief that may or may not be based on fact. An opinion often includes a signal word such as think or believe. Writers use both facts and opinions, too. Good readers know how to tell the difference between facts and opinions. We’re going to practice recognizing facts and opinions this week.

Think Aloud and Use the Metacognitive Strategy: Make Connections

Display Poster 1.

Draw students’ attention to the pictures. (Whiteboard users can use the highlighter tool.)

Explain: When I look at these pictures, the first thing I need to do is figure out what they are trying to show me. One way I can do that is by making connections. I can make connections to my own experiences and to other texts. Let me show you how I do it.

Lesson Objectives

Students will:

• Identify facts and opinions based on pictures.

• Identify and use the signal language for opinions.

• Make connections to the pictures.

• Use academic sentence frames to discuss strategies.

Related Resources

• Whiteboard CD-ROM

• Home/School Connections (BLM 1)

About the Strategy

• A fact is a statement that can be proven true or false.

• An opinion is a belief that may or may not be based on fact.

• Signal language, including verbs, such as think or believe, and adjectives, such as best or worst, can help readers recognize opinions.

• Recognizing facts and opinions helps readers make judgments about whether information is accurate and reliable.

Comprehension Anchor Poster 1

Two Wonders of the Ancient World

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©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC Benchmark Literacy • Grade 5 • Unit 9/Week 1 3

Day One

Make Content Comprehensible for ELLsUse the following strategies to help ELLs understand the poster content and acquire academic language.

Beginning and IntermediateRepresent in a drawing, or ask ELLs to draw and label, a fact and an opinion that students give.

Intermediate and AdvancedPoint to the pyramids and lighthouse on the poster. Ask students to tell some facts and opinions about them.

All LevelsPair ELLs with fluent English speakers during partner discussions and activities.

Model the use of academic sentence frames to support ELLs’ academic vocabulary and language development. (See suggested sentence frames provided.)

Comprehension Quick-CheckObserve whether students are able to articulate the fact and opinion in the poster. If they have difficulty, use the following additional explicit instruction.

Draw the fact and opinion graphic organizer on chart paper.

In the top row under Fact, write The pyramids were built long ago.

Say: This is a fact. We can prove whether it is true or false.

In the top row under Opinion, write Everyone appreciates pyramids!

Say: This is an opinion. It uses the word everyone and describes feelings, and we cannot prove whether it is true or false.

In the opinion, underline the signal word everyone.

Say: These signal words help us recognize this opinion.

Say: Now you state another fact and another opinion based on the poster topic.

Think aloud: When I read the title, I can make a connection to my knowledge of the ancient wonders and my opinions about them. I connect to facts I know about the pyramids and lighthouse. I know that the pyramids are the only ancient wonders that still exist. The others including the Lighthouse of Alexandria no longer exist. I also connect to my opinion about pyramids. I think they are majestic. I can tell from the photograph that the very large pyramids are made of stone. I recall books that explain how the pyramids were constructed. The picture of the Lighthouse of Alexandria is an artist’s drawing. It shows what the artist thinks the lighthouse looked like. That is the artist’s opinion about how the lighthouse and the surrounding area looked. Making connections helps me understand what I see in the pictures.

Write your connections on chart paper. Ask students to generate other connections they could make about the pictures, and add these to your list.

Post these connections on the wall as a Make Connections anchor chart, or invite students to write them in their reading journals or notebooks to use in the future.

Find Fact and Opinion in a Picture

Ask students what these pictures show about facts and opinions. Point out that one picture is a photograph that shows pyramids that are still standing and the other shows an artist’s drawing of what he or she thinks the lighthouse looked like. An earthquake destroyed the lighthouse hundreds of years ago.

Ask students to tell which picture on the poster provides a factual image of structures and which shows an image based on an opinion about structures. Remind them that a fact can be proven while an opinion is a belief that cannot be proven.

Provide the following academic sentence frames to support ELLs and struggling students:

A fact about the wonders of the world is .An opinion about the wonders of the world is .Clues that help me tell which is a fact and which is an opinion are .

Connect Thinking, Speaking, and Writing

Write down the fact and opinion students identify and reread them as a group. Then write the clues they used to identify the fact and the opinion. Give students the opportunity to expand on their shared writing.

Day One


Support Special Needs LearnersSupport visual learners and students with attention issues by projecting the whiteboard version of the posters. Allow students to come to the whiteboard and circle, underline, or highlight the facts and opinions in the text. Invite them to label what they see.

Access the graphic organizer provided on the whiteboard. Record facts and opinions with students.

Provide opportunities for active involvement. For example, ask a student to state a fact or opinion about a topic on a poster. Ask the class to tell whether the statement is a fact or an opinion and explain why.

Access the image bank for enlarged images that students can use to practice making connections, distinguishing and evaluating facts and opinions, and summarizing ideas.

Home/School ConnectionsOn Day 1, distribute copies of Home/School Connections (BLM 1). Each day during the week, assign one of the six home/school connection activities for the students to complete. Ask them to bring their completed assignments to class the following day. Make time at the beginning of each day for students to share their ideas.

Reflect and Discuss

Ask and discuss the following questions:•Whyisitimportanttoidentifyfactsandopinions?Howdoesthishelp

you?•Howdidmakingconnectionshelpyouunderstandtheposter?•Whatclueshelpyouidentifyfactsandopinions?

Connect and transfer. Say: Remember, you can look for facts and opinions in a text, too. Tomorrow, we will practice looking for facts and opinions in a text.

Small-Group Reading Instruction (60 minutes)

Based on students’ instructional reading levels, select titles that provide opportunities for students to practice identifying facts and opinions. See the list provided on the Unit at a Glance chart.

Use the before-, during-, and after-reading instruction provided in the Teacher’s Guide for each text.

Individual Student Conferences (10 minutes)

Confer with individual students on their text selections and applications of strategies. Use the Reading Conference Note-Taking Form to help guide your conferences.

Word Study Workshop (20 minutes)

Use the Day 1 instruction provided in Word Study Skill Bag 25.

Home/School Connections (BLM 1)

Name Date

Benchmark Literacy • Grade 5 • Unit 9/Week 1 ©2010 Benchmark Education Company, LLC

BLM 1

Home/School Connections:Distinguish and Evaluate Fact and Opinion

1. Make Text-to-World Strategy ConnectionsDiscuss a sports event you went to or participated in at school with your family. State one fact and one opinion about the event. Bring your ideas to school to share with the class.

2. Make Text-to-Text Strategy ConnectionsYou have seen two of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World —the Great Pyramid and the Lighthouse of Alexandria—on a poster. Read an article or book about one of the other Wonders of the Ancient World. Find one fact and one opinion in the article or book, and write them on a sheet of paper. Circle any signal words that help you identified the opinion. Bring your examples to school to share with the class.

3. Make a Strategy Connection to Social StudiesRead about the region of the country you live in. Find out about its natural features, its recreational opportunities, and its cities. Then write at least two facts about the region and at least two of your opinions about the region. Underline the signal words you used in your opinions.

4. Make a Strategy Connection to MathWrite a math problem that includes some facts and some opinions. Bring your problem to school to share with the class. Exchange problems and solve the problem. Circle the information needed for the math problem. Underline the opinions in the problem. Share the answers with classmates.

5. Make a Fact and Opinion ChartTalk with your family about a favorite book or story everyone has read. Record some facts and some opinions on a Fact and Opinion chart. You can ask a family member to help you. Together discuss whether you agree with the opinions. Sign your name and your family member’s name to your chart. Bring your chart to class to share.

6. Think and Write About the StrategyThink about how learning about facts and opinions has helped you become a more strategic reader. Write about how and when you use this strategy to help you understand what you are reading.

Day Two


Lesson Objectives

Students will:

• Identify facts and opinions in a passage.

• Identify and use signal words for opinions.

• Make connections to understand a text.


Related Resources



• Comprehension Anchor Poster 2 (BLM 2)


Select a favorite fiction read-aloud from your classroom or school library with which to model the metacognitive strategy “Make Connections.” Use the sample read-aloud lessons and suggested titles in the Benchmark Literacy Overview.


Review the Metacognitive Strategy: Make Connections

Display Poster 2 with annotations hidden and/or distribute BLM 2 and read aloud the title.

Read aloud the text with students.

Explain: Yesterday when I looked at the “Two Wonders of the Ancient World” poster, I made connections to my own life and to other texts I had read to help me understand. I can make connections to my life, to the world, and to other texts when I read any text. I’ll show you how I do this.

Reread the first paragraph. Think aloud: The first paragraph tells that forests disappear for many reasons. It tells that wildfires burn them, storms destroy them, and people cut them down.

Reread the rest of the passage. Think aloud: I can also make text-to-world connections as I read the rest of the text. For example, I know that saving the trees is important. I know many animals and other plants live in forests.

Build academic oral language. Encourage students to tell about text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world connections they made. Invite students to describe how making these connections helps them identify facts and opinions. Reinforce the idea that good readers make connections to understand text better. Support ELLs and struggling readers with the following sentence frames:

One fact in the passage is .One opinion in the passage is .Making connections to the text helped me .

Comprehension Anchor Poster 2 (BLM 2)

Disappearing Forests

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Forests disappear for many reasons. Wildfires burn hundreds of thousands of trees around the world every year. Powerful storms can rip up trees by their roots. People cut down and burn trees to prepare land for farming and ranching, or to make way for new homes and roads.

Today, the most rapid deforestation, or loss of forests, takes place in tropical rain forests. Thousands of square miles of South America’s


Deforestation is dramatically changing Earth’s landscapes, and not in a good way. Protecting the world’s forests is among the most important environmental challenges of this century. Keeping Earth’s forests healthy is everybody’s job.

Facts: • The most rapid deforestation takes

place in tropical rain forests.• Thousands of square miles of the


Facts: • Wildfires burn hundreds of thousands

of trees around the world every year.

• Powerful storms can rip up trees by their roots.

• People cut down and burn trees to prepare land for farming and ranching, or to make way for new homes and roads.

Opinions: • Deforestation is dramatically

changing Earth’s landscapes, and not in a good way.

• Protecting the world’s forests is among the most important environmental challenges of this century.

• Keeping Earth’s forests healthy is everybody’s job.


Day Two


BeginningRead aloud the poster title and passage. Point to objects in the picture as you say their names (trees, roots, stumps, branches, dirt, rocks, buildings).

Beginning and IntermediateAsk students to make statements about the objects they see in the picture.

If you have students whose first language is Spanish, share these English/Spanish cognates: important/importante, rapid/rápida, deforestation/la deforestación, tropical/tropical, disappear/desaparecer, prepare/preparar.


Model the use of academic sentence frames to support ELLs’ academic vocabulary and language development. (See suggested sentence frames provided.)

Comprehension Quick-CheckTake note of which students can or cannot contribute to the discussion of the Poster 2 facts and opinions. Use the following activity to provide additional explicit instruction for these students.

Use an additional real world example to help students grasp the difference between facts and opinions. For example: The Empire State building was completed in 1931 and is undergoing a $120 million renovation. (fact) People think its renovation will turn it into an energy-efficient building. (opinion) Record the fact and opinion on a graphic organizer. Then ask students to research and contribute additional facts and opinions on the topic.

Use the Comprehension Strategy: Distinguish and Evaluate Fact and Opinion

Reread the poster text with students, annotations still hidden.

Say: Now think about the passage. Which sentences are facts? Which are opinions?

If necessary, help students identify the first opinion: Deforestation is dramatically changing Earth’s landscapes, and not in a good way. Explain that this is an opinion because it cannot be proven true or false. The words dramatically and good signal that the sentence describes a feeling and is therefore an opinion.

Say: Let’s look closely to find other opinions in the passage. Which sentences are opinions?

Write the sentences that students identify. Then reveal the Opinions annotations. Ask: Did we find all of the opinions? Let’s compare sentences.

Build academic oral language. Say: Facts can be proven true or false. Let’s find statements in this passage that are facts. What is the first fact you find? (Wildfires burn hundreds of thousands of trees around the world every year.) What is the next fact you find? (Powerful storms can rip up trees by their roots.) How do you know these are facts? (They can be proven true or false.)


Day Two

Oral Language ExtensionDuring independent workstation time, pair students to construct oral facts and opinions related to a parks and recreation. Partner A states a fact on the topic. Partner B states an opinion on the topic. Then partners switch roles. Tell students to be ready to report on their facts and opinions during individual conference time.

Home/School ConnectionsAt the end of the day, ask students to complete another home/school connection activity from BLM 1 and bring their assignment to class the following day.

Connect Thinking, Speaking, and Writing

Ask students if they find other facts in the passage. Students should understand that both facts and opinions may be used in a nonfiction passage.

Record students’ facts on chart paper. Then reveal the Facts annotations.

Say: Let’s compare our facts list to the list on the poster. Allow time for discussion.

Reflect and Discuss

Ask and discuss the following questions:•Howdoesmakingconnectionstothetexthelpyouasareader?•Howdoesidentifyingfactsandopinionshelpyouunderstandwhatyou

are reading?•Howdosignalwordshelpyouidentifyopinions?

Connect and transfer. Ask: How will you use what we have practiced today when you read on your own?








Facts:

•Wildfiresburnhundredsofthousandsoftreesaroundtheworldeveryyear.

•Powerfulstormscanripuptreesbytheirroots.

•Peoplecutdownandburntreestopreparelandforfarmingandranching,ortomakewayfornewhomesandroads.

•Themostrapiddeforestationtakesplaceintropicalrainforests.

•ThousandsofsquaremilesoftheAmazonrainforestareclearedeachyearforfarms,ranches,homes,androads.

Opinions:

•DeforestationisdramaticallychangingEarth’slandscapes,andnotinagoodway.

•Protectingtheworld’sforestsisamongthemostimportantenvironmentalchallengesofthiscentury.

•KeepingEarth’sforestshealthyiseverybody’sjob.

Comprehension Anchor Poster 2 Sample Annotations



Day Three

Lesson Objectives

Students will:

• Identify facts and opinions in a passage.

• Identify and use signal words for opinions.

• Make connections to a text.


Related Resources





Select a favorite nonfiction read-aloud from your classroom or school library with which to model the metacognitive strategy “Make Connections.” Use the sample read-aloud lessons and suggested titles in the Benchmark Literacy Overview.


Extend the Comprehension Strategy: Distinguish and Evaluate Fact and Opinion

Display Poster 3 and/or distribute BLM 3 and read aloud the title.

Say: Today you’re going to practice reading and identifying facts and opinions in a text. Remember to use what you’ve learned. You can make connections to the text to help you understand.

Based on students’ needs and abilities, ask them to read the passage independently or with a partner. Tell them to locate and write the opinions in the Opinions boxes. Encourage students to list the facts in the Facts boxes. Tell students to underline, circle, or flag key information as they read.

Invite individual students or pairs to share the facts and opinions they identified. Record students’ findings on the poster or on chart paper. See the sample annotations.

Observe and Prompt for Strategy Understanding

While using the poster, note students who demonstrate understanding of the concepts and those who seem to struggle. Use appropriate responsive prompting to help students who need modeling or additional guidance, or to validate students who demonstrate mastery.

Goal Oriented•Iamgoingtoaskwhetherastatementcanbeprovedornottodistinguish

between a fact and an opinion.•Iamgoingtolookforsignalwordstoopinionssuchasthink and believe.•Thissentenceisa(n) because .

Directive and Corrective Feedback•Canthatsentencebeproventrueorfalse?•Doesthesentencecontainasignalwordsuchasbelieve or best?•Whatconnectionscanyoumaketohelpyouidentifythefactoropinion?

Regions of Canada

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Canada is the second largest country in the world. It includes many different geographical regions. In the Arctic north are the frozen plains, or tundra. In the southeast is a hilly, rocky region.

Western Canada consists of several geographical regions, too, including wide-open prairies. The prairies are mostly flat, and have very fertile soil. Farther west, the Rocky Mountains rise abruptly, creating a region of towering mountains and dramatic valleys.

One of the most beautiful regions of western Canada is the coast of the Pacific Ocean. The coastal region has the country’s wettest and mildest climate. Parts of Vancouver Island, just off Canada’s western coast, get as much as 262 inches (665 centimeters) of rain per year!

Canada is a country of vastly ranging geographical regions.

Opinions: Facts:

Belmopan

Bogota

San Jose

Tegucigalpa

Mexico City

Panama

CaracasSan Salvador

Guatemala

Managua

Ontario

Manitoba

Saskatchewan

Alberta

BritishColumbia

YukonTerritory

Québec

NorthwestTerritories

NewBrunswick

Nova Scotia

Prince Edward Island

Newfoundlandand

Labrador

NunavutTerritories

PacificOcean

AtlanticOcean

ArcticOcean

ChukchiSea

Beaufort Sea

Caribbean Sea

Hudson Bay

Gulf ofAlaska

Baffin Bay

Gulfof

Mexico

Norwegian Sea

BeringSea

Comprehension Quick-CheckThe responsive prompts on pages 8–9 are designed to help you meet the needs of individual students. Based on your observations, identify students who may need additional explicit reinforcement of the strategy during small-group instruction or intervention time. Use similar responsive prompts during small-group instruction to scaffold students toward independent use of the strategy.


Day Three


BeginningPoint to the poster map and provide the language for what you see. For example: oceans, land, islands, countries. Invite ELLs to point to and name the persons and objects with you.

Write the word regions. Ask students to point to regions on the map.

Beginning and IntermediateIf you have students whose first language is Spanish, share these English/Spanish cognates: different/diferente, geographical/geográficas.

Home/School ConnectionsAt the end of the day, ask students to complete another home/school connection activity from BLM 1 and bring their assignment to class the following day.

Self-Monitoring and Reflection•Whatcouldyoudotofigureoutwhetherastatementisafactoran

opinion?•Whatconnectionscouldyoumaketoyourlife,theworld,orothertexts?•Howdoesidentifyingcluesandsignalwordshelpyouidentifyfactsand

opinions?

Validating and Confirming•Greatjobidentifyingfactsandopinions!•Youfoundsignalwordsthathelpedyouidentifyopinions.•Ilikethewayyoumadeconnectionstohelpyourecognizefactsandopinions.

Reflect and Discuss

Ask and discuss the following questions:•Whatkindsoftextshaveyoureadthatincludefacts?•Whatkindsoftextshaveyoureadthatincludeopinions?•Canatextincludebothfactsandopinions?Explain.•Whyisitimportanttorecognizefactsandopinions?

Connect and transfer. Say: Remember that many nonfiction texts you read have both facts and opinions. Look for the facts and opinions today when you read in small groups. Make connections to the text to help you recognize and distinguish between the facts and opinions.








Facts:

•Canadaisthesecondlargestcountryintheworld.

•TheArcticnorthhasthefrozenplains,ortundra.

•Thesoutheastisahilly,rockyregion.

•Theprairiesaremostlyflatandhavefertilesoil.

•Thecoastalregionhasthecountry’swettestandmildestclimate.

Opinions:

•Fartherwest,theRockyMountainscreatearegionoftoweringmountainsanddramaticvalleys.

•OneofthemostbeautifulregionsofwesternCanadaisthecoastofthePacificOcean.




Lesson Objectives

Students will:

• Learn strategies for analyzing questions and finding answers, clues, and evidence.

• Identify facts and opinions in a text.

• Answer text-dependent fact and opinion questions.

• Use academic vocabulary to discuss strategies.

Related Resources




• Comprehension Questions (BLM 5)


Select a favorite nonfiction read-aloud from your classroom or school library with which to model the metacognitive strategy “Make Connections.” Use the sample read-aloud lessons and suggested titles in the Benchmark Literacy Overview.


Read and Summarize

Display Poster 4 and/or distribute BLM 4.

Based on students’ needs and abilities, ask them to read the passage independently or with a partner. Remind students to make connections to help them understand what they read.

Build academic oral language. When students have finished, ask individuals or pairs to identify the facts and opinions in the passage. Encourage ELLs or struggling readers to use the academic sentence frames:

A fact in the passage is .An opinion in the passage is .

Answer Text-Dependent Comprehension Questions: Distinguish and Evaluate Fact and Opinion (Level 3: Prove It!)

Say: Sometimes you need to answer questions about a passage you’ve read. Some questions require you to identify facts and opinions. Today we’re going to read and answer questions. Some of the questions will ask you to identify a fact or an opinion.

Distribute BLM 5 and read Question 1 together. (“‘Perhaps through research, scientists will be able to control genes… .’ Which word signals that the statement is an opinion?”)

Ask: What is the question asking us to do? If students can’t tell you, ask: Is the question asking us to make predictions? Is it asking us to find a main idea? What strategy will we need? (identify fact and opinion) How do you know? (It asks me to identify which word signals that the statement is an opinion.)

Say: I will have to read the sentence carefully and figure out whether it can be proven true or false. I will look for the signal word that can help me identify the statement as an opinion.

Day FourD

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GenesGenes are tiny cell parts that determine

certain traits, such as the shape of your eyes or the color of your hair. Genes determine not only how you look, but how you grow. Genes can affect how healthy you will be, too.

You are born with your genes. It is important that you understand what your genes can and cannot do. You should understand what genes mean to your health, your personality, and how you look.

Scientists are trying to learn more about genes and how they work. Perhaps through research, scientists will be able to control genes, and cure diseases caused by faulty genes.


Day Four


Beginning and IntermediateSupport the concept of genes by helping students name some terms used in the selection, such as hair color, shape of eyes, how you look, how you grow, how healthy you are.

Point to the poster picture of the genes and say: This picture shows how genes inside your body look. Each cell in the human body contains thousands of genes. Those genes carry information that determines a person’s traits.

Display the poster and say the word genes. Encourage students to use the sentence frame:

A gene can determine .

If you have students whose first language is Spanish, share these academic English/Spanish cognates: parts/las partes, cell/ la célula, genes/los genes, determine/determinar, color/el color, personality/la personalidad, control/controlar, cure/curar.

Say: Now we’re ready to read and analyze the answer choices. We know we need to find the word that signals an opinion. The signal word perhaps shows that this is an opinion. This statement cannot be proven true or false. I figured out the answer by evaluating the sentence and using what I know about facts and opinions to identify the signal word. The answer makes sense. So I’ll choose C.

Ask students to work independently or with a partner to answer additional text-dependent questions on BLM 5.

Review students’ answers and use the poster as needed to model analyzing questions and answer choices to determine the correct answers.

Facts:

Genesaretinycellsthatdeterminecertaintraits,suchastheshapeofyoureyes,thecolorofyourhair,howyoulook,orhowyougrow.Youarebornwithyourgenes.Scientistsaretryingtolearnmoreaboutgenesandhowtheywork.

Opinions:

Perhapsthroughresearch,scientistswillbeabletocontrolgenes,adcurdiseasescausedbyfaultygenes.

Comprehension Questions (BLM 5)

Name Date


BLM 5

Genes: Comprehension QuestionsDirections: Use information from the poster to answer questions 1–4.

1. “Perhaps through research, scientists will be able to control genes… .” Which word signals that the statement is an opinion?

A research

B scientists

C perhaps

D control

2. Which sentence is a fact?

A Genes are tiny cell parts that determine certain traits.

B Genes in your body are very clever.

C Genes like to play with each other.

D Every scientist knows all about genes and what they can do.

3. Which sentence is an opinion?

A You are born with your genes.

B Genes can affect how healthy you will be.

C It is important that you understand what your genes can do.

D Genes determine how you look and how you grow.

4. What is the main idea of the passage?

A Scientists study genes to find out about diseases.

B Genes determine the color of your hair.

C Genes determine how you look and grow.

D Genes determine how healthy you will be.



Day Four

Comprehension Quick-CheckNote whether students are able to analyze each Level 3 text-dependent comprehension question and return to the text to find the information they need to answer the question correctly. If students have difficulty, use small-group reading time for additional practice answering these kinds of questions, which appear on standardized reading assessments. The Comprehension Question Card for each leveled text provides practice questions at four levels of comprehension. The Comprehension Teacher Flip Chart helps you model the strategies students need to master.

Oral Language ExtensionDisplay Comprehension Anchor Poster 4 during independent workstation time. Invite pairs of students to read and talk about the poster together. Encourage students to look up information to talk about and offer facts and opinions about genes. Remind students to be prepared to share their facts and opinions during independent conference time.

Home/School ConnectionsAt the beginning of the day, make time for students to share their ideas based on the activity they completed the previous night.

At the end of the day, ask students to complete another home/school connection activity from BLM 1 and bring their assignment to class the following day.

Reflect and Discuss the Comprehension Strategy

Ask and discuss the following:•Whatstrategydidweusetoanswerquestionsaboutthetext?•Noticehowwerecalledwhatweknewaboutfactsandopinionsto

understand and answer questions.

Connect and transfer. Say: Practice identifying facts and opinions. This strategy can help you evaluate whether the information in a text is accurate and reliable. It can also help you when you take tests.




Use the Comprehension Question Card for each title and the Comprehension Teacher Flip Chart to practice answering Level 3 text-dependent comprehension questions.






Lesson Objectives

Students will:

• Reflect orally on their strategy use.

• Create a fact and opinion graphic organizer and write a paragraph based on it.

• Answer multiple-choice and short-answer questions.

Related Resources



• Constructed Written Response (BLM 6)

• Comprehension Strategy Assessments, Grade 5


Revisit the week’s read-alouds to make text-to-text connections and provide opportunities for reader response. Use the suggested activities in the Benchmark Literacy Overview, or implement ideas of your own.

Assessment (20 minutes)

Metacognitive Self-Assessment

Ask students to reflect on their use of metacognitive and comprehension strategies this week. What did they learn? How will they use the strategies in the future? What do they still need to practice, and how can they do this?

Invite students to share their reflections in one of the following ways: conduct a whole-class discussion; ask students to turn and talk to a partner and then share their ideas with the class; or ask students to record their thoughts in their journals or notebooks.

Constructed Written Response

Distribute copies of Constructed Written Response (BLM 6) and ask students to think about things they know about heredity. In the Fact column, students can write several facts about heredity. In the Opinion column, students can write opinions about heredity. Remind students to look up information about heredity after they record information about genes found on the poster.

Ask students to write a paragraph that includes facts and opinions about heredity, using notes from the graphic organizer. If students need extra help, suggest possible inherited factors and help students find text and pictures about them.

Read aloud the checklist at the bottom of BLM 6 to help students evaluate their work.

Challenge activity. Students who are able to may write an additional paragraph with details that support one opinion.

Support activity. If students cannot create their own paragraph with facts and opinions, review with them the definitions of fact and opinion. They can use the sentence frame:

A fact about heredity is and an opinion about heredity is .

Reinforce the fact that a nonfiction passage can contain both facts and opinions.

Day Five


Name Date

BLM 6

Constructed Written Response:Fact and Opinion

Fact and Opinion Writing Checklist

I wrote about heredity.

I included facts.

I included opinions.

Fact Opinion

Constructed Written Response (BLM 6)


Day Five

Home/School ConnectionsAt the beginning of the day, make time for students to share their ideas based on the activity they completed the previous night.

Make Assessments Accessible for ELLsUse the following strategies to help ELLs demonstrate their understanding of the strategies.

BeginningUse Constructed Written Response (BLM 6) with ELLs at the beginning proficiency level.

Beginning and IntermediateUse the Comprehension Strategy Assessment as a listening comprehension assessment and scaffold students’ understanding of the text. As an alternative, allow students to tell you about the facts and opinions in one of the Comprehension Anchor Posters you have used during the week.

Intermediate and AdvancedSupport ELLs with academic sentence frames during the metacognitive self-assessment. Possible sentence frames to use are:

We make connections so that .

I will look for facts and opinions when I .


Ongoing Comprehension Strategy Assessment

Distribute one of the Evaluate Fact and Opinion Comprehension Strategy Assessments from the Grade 4 Comprehension Strategy Assessment book (“Two Native American Peoples: The Iroquois and the Zuni,” pages 62–63, or “Having It Both Ways,” pages 64–65). Ask students to read the passage and use the information to answer the questions.

Use the results of this assessment to determine students who need additional work with the strategy.

Record students’ assessment scores on the Strategy Assessment Record (page 141) so that you can monitor their progress following additional instruction or intervention.

Provide additional modeling and guided practice during small-group reading instruction using the recommended titles in this Teacher’s Guide.








unit 9/week 1 at a glance - benchmark education...

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