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Fact or Opinion Online

Sixth graders learn that not everything online that sounds sure is a fact, and practice telling checkable facts from personal opinions, then sort real online statements into the two kinds.

Grade 6Fact or Opinion Online50 minutes1 class periodCSTA / ISTEExplicit teaching4 StandardsCSTA
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Lesson at a Glance

Everything you need before the bell rings

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to…

  • ✓Define fact and opinion.
  • ✓See that facts can be checked.
  • ✓Spot opinion words.
  • ✓Sort each statement.
Essential Question

Online, a post can say a phone is the best ever, or that it has a 6-inch screen. One can be checked; the other is just a belief. How do you tell a fact from an opinion?

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Lesson Phases
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Vocabulary Terms
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Standards Aligned
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Interactive Task
Sort the Statements · Interactive

Sort the Statements

Project this and sort each online statement into fact or opinion — tap a statement, then tap which it is.

🔎 Sort each online statement: fact or opinion?Try it
📊 Fact (can be checked)
💭 Opinion (a belief)
Tap a statement, then tap whether it is a fact (can be checked) or an opinion (what someone thinks).
The Lesson · Use → Modify → Create (a coding progression with Unplugged practice)

50 minutes, five moves

Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.

1

Hook — Says Who

5 min

Online, a post can say a phone is the best ever, or that it has a 6-inch screen. One can be checked; the other is just what someone thinks. How do you tell a fact from an opinion?

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Show a fact and an opinion post.
  • Ask which can be checked.
  • Set the goal.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Think.
  • Share.
  • Get ready.
2

Use — Sort the Statements

12 min

Students sort statements into fact and opinion.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Send students to Sort the Statements.
  • Drop each one.
  • Explain each choice.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Sort.
  • Say.
  • Explain.
3

Modify — Check or Believe

13 min

Students test a statement.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Pick a statement.
  • Say if it can be checked.
  • Say fact or opinion.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Pick.
  • Say.
  • Say.
4

Create — My Two Posts

15 min

Students write both kinds.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Write one fact about a topic.
  • Write one opinion about it.
  • Mark which is which.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Write.
  • Write.
  • Mark.
5

Reflect — Why It Matters

5 min

Students reflect on fact vs opinion.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • How can you check if something is a fact?
  • Why does telling fact from opinion matter online?
  • Complete the exit ticket.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Say it.
  • Say it.
  • Complete the exit ticket.
Standards Alignment

Built to the standards you report on

Aligned to the CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards and the ISTE Standards for Students.

CSTA
2-DA-07

Evaluate data and information to determine its reliability.

CSTA
2-IC-20

Compare tradeoffs of relying on different online information.

CSTA
2-IC-21

Discuss how online information shapes what people believe.

ISTE
1.3.b

Knowledge Constructor: evaluate the accuracy and credibility of information.

Differentiation

One lesson, every learner

Multilingual Learners

ELL / EMERGING READERS
  • Statement cards.
  • Sentence frame: “This can / cannot be checked, so it is ___ .”
  • Sort two statements at a time.

Support & Access

IEP / 504
  • Start with a clear fact and opinion.
  • Discuss one statement together.
  • Sort the facts first.

Stretch & Extend

GIFTED / EARLY FINISHERS
  • Spot opinion words like best or boring.
  • Find a fact and an opinion in a real article.
  • Explain how opinions can be dressed up as facts.
Materials

What to gather

  • 📽️Projector / board
  • 🖼️Statement cards
  • 💻Sort the Statements
  • 🔎A sample article or post
  • ✏️Pencils
  • 🎫Exit-ticket slips
Vocabulary

Key terms — hover for a quick definition

facta statement that can be checked and proven true or falseopiniona statement of what someone thinks or feelsevidenceinformation used to check whether a fact is truesourcewhere a piece of information comes fromreliabletrustworthy and likely to be accuratebiasa leaning toward one view that can shape a messageverifyto check that something is trueclaima statement someone says is true
Evaluate

Exit Ticket

Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.

QUESTION 1
How can you check if something is a fact?
Look for evidence from a reliable source; a fact can be proven true or false, unlike an opinion.
QUESTION 2
What is the difference between a fact and an opinion?
A fact can be checked and proven; an opinion is what someone thinks or feels and cannot be proven right or wrong.
QUESTION 3
Is "this is the best game ever" a fact or an opinion?
An opinion, because best is a personal judgment that cannot be checked.

Create: my two posts.

Have students write one fact and one opinion about the same topic and mark which is which, so the difference becomes clear in their own words. A printable fact-or-opinion worksheet is in the Computer Science library.

Study · Flashcards

Study the key terms

Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.

🃏 Fact or Opinion OnlineFlip
Card 1
Term
Tap to flip →
Meaning
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Nice work!

Practice · Quiz

Check your understanding

A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.

📝 Fact or Opinion OnlineQuiz
Score: 0
1 / 6
Question 1
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Nice work!

Practice · Worksheet

Printable worksheet

A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.

🖨️ Fact or Opinion OnlinePrint
Name: ________________________
Date: ____________

Part A · Write the word that matches each meaning

Word bank: bias, claim, evidence, fact, opinion, reliable, source, verify
  1. where a piece of information comes from
  2. trustworthy and likely to be accurate
  3. to check that something is true
  4. a statement someone says is true
  5. information used to check whether a fact is true
  6. a leaning toward one view that can shape a message
  7. a statement that can be checked and proven true or false
  8. a statement of what someone thinks or feels

Part B · Show what you learned

  1. How can you check if something is a fact?
  2. What is the difference between a fact and an opinion?
  3. Is "this is the best game ever" a fact or an opinion?
Answer key — Part A: 1) source · 2) reliable · 3) verify · 4) claim · 5) evidence · 6) bias · 7) fact · 8) opinion
Part B: 1) Look for evidence from a reliable source; a fact can be proven true or false, unlike an opinion. 2) A fact can be checked and proven; an opinion is what someone thinks or feels and cannot be proven right or wrong. 3) An opinion, because best is a personal judgment that cannot be checked.