“Teacher, this article says coffee causes cancer. But last week, different article says coffee prevents cancer. Which one is truth?”
I looked up from my desk to see Hafsa holding her phone, genuinely confused. And seriously? Aren’t we all a bit confused over stuff like that?
We’re all swimming in information overload, but our students are doing it in a second language while trying to figure out what’s real, what’s someone’s opinion dressed up as fact, and what’s straight-up manipulation. (assuming they even realize manipulation happens) The media isn’t pulling back. Social media isn’t getting more honest. And unless our students plan to go completely off-grid and avoid other humans entirely, they need to tell the difference between fact and opinion.
Teaching this skill isn’t about being the grammar police. When you can distinguish fact from opinion, you become harder to manipulate. You stop reacting to every headline designed to make you angry or scared or ready to buy something you don’t need. You become an autonomous thinker instead of someone else’s puppet.
So here are three activities that get your students practicing the skills autonomous thinkers need.
But Wait…What Do They Already Know?
Before you dive in, find out what your students already understand about facts and opinions. You might discover they’ve got the concept down but lack the vocabulary to talk about it. Or you might find out they think their opinion about homework being useless is a verifiable fact. (It’s not. It’s an opinion, and don’t get me started on it.)
A quick building background activity saves you from spending 45 minutes teaching something they already know or skipping over foundational concepts they’re missing entirely. Five minutes of “So what’s the difference between a fact and an opinion?” tells you exactly where to start.
Activity #1: Is That a Fact? Interviews
This one gets students talking immediately, which is always a win in my book.
Whole-Class Version (When They Need Support First)
Sometimes your students want to watch someone else go first before they’re willing to take risks. I get it, I totally want live demonstrations before I try something that makes me nervous. So, here’s where you volunteer yourself as tribute. Don’t worry; it won’t hurt. (probably not anyway)
Draw a T-chart on the board. On one side: FACTS. On the other: OPINIONS. Have students copy it onto their own paper.
Now here’s the fun part. Students ask you questions to get facts about you. “Where are you from?” “What’s your real hair color?” They write your answers in the FACTS column, line by line.
Make sure students understand that even if you are giving an opinion, it’s still a FACT that it’s your opinion.
Once they’ve filled that column (5-10 facts is plenty), they move to opinions. For each fact they collected, they write a corresponding opinion. If they learned you’re from Texas, they might write, “I think Texas is too hot.” If you admitted your natural hair color, they could say, “I think brown hair would look good on my teacher.” Or if you’ve got a snarky group, “I think brown hair would look like a wig on my teacher.”
The snarky ones are always the most fun, aren’t they?
Partner Version (When They’re Ready to Jump In)
Pair up students. Each person interviews their partner to collect 5-20 facts. You can give them themes if they need structure (childhood, hobbies, things they’re good at), or let them run wild.
They write those facts in the left column of their T-chart. Then, in the right column, they write an opinion about each corresponding fact. If someone shares that they’re 43 years old, their partner might write, “He looks young for his age” or “I think 43 is old to still be in school.” (Harsh!)
Finally, they share their opinions with each other. This part always gets interesting because suddenly students are hearing how others perceive the facts they shared. Sometimes it’s hilarious. Sometimes it’s surprisingly touching.
Optional Extensions: Combine pairs into groups of four and have them share facts and opinions about their partners. Or if you’re feeling ambitious, set up conversational visits with another class. Your intermediate students could interview beginners, or your advanced group could practice with students from a different program entirely.
Activity #2: Just the Facts, Ma’am
I’m a big fan of activities that can do double duty, like this one, which reviews note-taking while students practice identifying fact versus opinion.
Create a short presentation about yourself using PowerPoint, Google Slides, or whatever. Include lots of photographs but minimal or no text. Your students will have to listen to what you’re saying instead of just reading slides, which means they’re practicing listening comprehension too. Optional: grab that freebie at the end of this post for students to write on.
The images make this more engaging. That photo of you at age 12 with the unfortunate haircut? That’s going in there. Your first apartment? Include it. Your dog, your hometown, your terrible college band photo? All of it. Students love getting to know their teachers as actual humans.
As you present, students fill in the FACTS column of their T-chart with things they’re learning about you. Once you’re done, they write opinions about each fact in the opposite column.
I did this once and showed a photo of myself and my sister standing in the rain when we were children. One student wrote, “I think my teacher needed more food as a child.” Another wrote, “I think my teacher’s sister was cuter than she was.” Both facts? No. Both opinions? Absolutely. And both gave us something to talk about afterward. (But yeah, my sister was cuter.)
The best part? Once you’ve created this presentation, you can use it year after year.
Activity #3: Spiral It In
Here’s the thing about facts and opinions. If you teach it once and never touch it again, your students will forget it by next week. But if you weave it into multiple lessons throughout your course, it becomes second nature.
Look at your curriculum. What topics and themes are you already teaching? Can you add a fact-opinion element without making a ton more work for yourself?
Got a unit on occupations coming up? Start by having students list facts and opinions about different jobs. “Nurses work in hospitals” versus “Nursing is the hardest job.”
Teaching about holidays? Have them share facts about celebrations in their home countries and opinions about how holidays are celebrated here. You’ll get some fascinating discussions out of this. I once had a student share that in her country, (Persian) New Year’s celebrations include jumping over small fires for good luck (fact), and she thought American New Year’s celebrations seemed overly focused on fireworks (opinion). That launched a 10-minute conversation I definitely didn’t plan but absolutely loved.
Another approach: Create a handout of statements related to your current theme. Students label each as fact or opinion. This keeps their identification skills sharp while building background knowledge on your topic. And if you prefer group work, turn it into a card sorting activity instead of a handout. Students physically sort statement cards into FACT and OPINION piles.
The beauty of spiraling this skill in and out of your curriculum is that students practice without it feeling repetitive. They’re always applying it to new content, so it stays fresh. And when they can consistently identify facts versus opinions across different contexts and topics, you know the skill has become second nature.
The Bottom Line
Teaching facts and opinions isn’t about one perfect lesson. It’s about giving students foundational tools they’ll use when they’re scrolling through social media at 11 PM, reading news articles, or trying to figure out if that amazing product review is genuine or paid promotion.
Start with activities that get them talking and thinking. Make it personal so they’re invested. Then keep bringing it back throughout your course so the skill becomes automatic instead of something they learned once and forgot.
That’s it from me. See you in the next post!
Ready-to-Use Resources
You’ll find these fact and opinion resources and others at my TpT store.
discovery lesson . . . | | | . . . task cards . . . | | | . . . opinion expressions
