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Learning to distinguish between things that can be proven and things that we feel or believe.
If you say 'The sun is a star' and your friend says 'The sun is too bright,' who is telling the truth? Actually, you both are—but you are saying two very different kinds of things!
A fact is a statement that can be proven true or false. It doesn't matter what you feel or what I feel; a fact stays the same for everyone. We use our five senses or tools like rulers and thermometers to find facts. For example, if we use a thermometer and see the water is , that is a fact because anyone else looking at the thermometer would see the same number. Facts are like the bricks of a building—they are solid and real.
1. Look at a bowl of apples. 2. Count them one by one: 1, 2, 3. 3. Statement: 'There are 3 apples in the bowl.' 4. This is a fact because anyone who counts them will get the same result.
Quick Check
If a statement can be proven true by using a tool like a ruler, is it a fact or an opinion?
Answer
It is a fact.
An opinion is a statement that tells how someone feels, what they think, or what they believe. Opinions are not right or wrong in the same way facts are. Two people can have different opinions about the same thing, and that's okay! Opinions often use judgment words like best, worst, beautiful, or scary. While a fact is like a brick, an opinion is like a cloud—it can change shape depending on who is looking at it.
1. Person A says: 'Pepperoni pizza is the best food ever.' 2. Person B says: 'Pepperoni pizza is too spicy.' 3. Both are opinions because they describe feelings, not something we can measure with a tool.
Quick Check
Which of these is a 'judgment word' that usually signals an opinion: 'Square' or 'Amazing'?
Answer
Amazing
To tell the difference, try the Everyone Test. Ask yourself: 'Would every single person in the world agree on this?' If the answer is 'Yes, because we can prove it,' it is a fact. If the answer is 'No, some people might feel differently,' it is an opinion. For example, 'It is outside' is a fact. 'It is freezing and miserable outside' is an opinion, because a penguin might think feels like a warm summer day!
1. Look at this sentence: 'The 50-foot tall giant is very scary.' 2. Part A: 'The 50-foot tall giant' is a fact (we can measure his height). 3. Part B: 'is very scary' is an opinion (some people might find him friendly). 4. When a sentence has both, we must be careful to separate what is proven from what is felt.
Which of these is a FACT?
Which word in this sentence makes it an OPINION? 'The giant whale is a beautiful swimmer.'
True or False: A fact is only a fact if it is something you like.
Review Tomorrow
Tomorrow morning, look at your breakfast and try to say one fact about it (like its color) and one opinion about it (like its taste).
Practice Activity
Be a 'Dinner Table Detective' tonight. Listen to your family talk and see if you can catch someone stating an opinion as if it were a fact!