Fact and Opinion Activity Ideas for Upper Elementary

9 Activity Ideas to Help Upper Elementary Students Practice Decoding Multisyllabic Words

If you are teaching fact and opinion to your 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students soon, then check out the activity ideas below! Often, fact vs opinion lessons are limited to labeling sentences as either fact or opinion. The ideas below will help you engage your upper elementary students and help them think more critically about this topic.

Fact Vs. Opinion Lessons & Activity Ideas

Create a Fact and Opinion Anchor Chart

Students usually have a vague understanding of the differences between fact and opinion, but clarifying these differences in writing can be extremely helpful. Use the anchor chart pictured below (which is part of this no prep fact and opinion resource) as inspiration.

To make this more interactive, give each student a post-it note, have them write a fact or opinion on it, and add it to your anchor chart!

Fact and opinion anchor chart to use for inspiration in your 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade classroom

Fact and Opinion Practice Through Sorts

Sorts are a fun and interactive way for students to practice distinguishing between fact and opinion. Write facts and opinions on index cards, and have students sort between the two.

A fun alternative to the sort is a maze! In this fact and opinion resource, students complete mazes by shading in either the facts or the opinions. Mazes are always a favorite with students - and it's even better when mazes review ELA skills!

You could also have a fact and opinion snowball fight! Check out these ideas for using snowball fights in the classroom to practice all sorts of skills.

Write Your Own Facts and Opinions

Writing your own facts and opinions about a certain topic is a great way to help students understand the difference between the two. Model this to your 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students, and then have them write their own facts and opinions about a certain topic! Check out the examples below for ideas.

GEORGE WASHINGTON

FACT: George Washington was the first president of the United States

OPINION: George Washington was the most influential president of the United States.

BROCCOLI

FACT: Broccoli is a green vegetable that contains Vitamins A and C.

OPINION: Kids should eat broccoli every day.

You could have students write a fact and opinion about:

flowers
volcanoes
landforms
butterflies
fingernails
cafeteria food
snakes
...etc.

Go on a Fact and Opinion Scavenger Hunt

Have students go on a scavenger hunt for facts and opinions! Have them look through books and texts in your classroom and make a list of different facts and opinions they found.

If students enjoy this activity, they will like this word study scavenger hunt idea.

Compare and Contrast Facts and Opinions in Writing

Combine your fact and opinion lessons with a writing lesson on comparing and contrasting in writing! Have students think about the most important similarities and differences between facts and opinions and write short paragraphs explaining their thinking.

Students who struggle with writing will benefit from these tips and compare and contrast paragraph frames.

Fact and Opinion Activities for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade

This no prep FACT and Opinion Resource includes:

Maze Sort Activities
Scavenger Hunt
Reading Passages
Fact Vs. False Statement activities
Facts that Support Opposing Opinion activities
...and more!

Facts Vs. False Statements

In the real world, students will come across false statements that present themselves as facts. Students need to recognize that false statements are lies - they are not facts. The activity ideas below will help introduce this concept to students.

Facts Vs. False Statement Sorts

This is just like the fact vs opinion sorts, only have students distinguish between facts and false statements instead. Coming up with facts that are obviously true and statements that are obviously false to 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students can be tricky and takes time. Use this No Prep Fact and Opinion Resource to take the prep work out of this activity - and give the students an opportunity to do a sort in a new way - a fun maze activity!

Find the Fib - Fun Practice

Find the Fib is one of my favorite activities because it is so fun and versatile! Use it to have 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students practice distinguishing between facts and false statements.

This is a great no prep activity to do after reading a nonfiction text. Have students come up with 2 facts and 1 fib about the topic, and then see if a partner can find the false statement!

Check out these other ways to use Find the Fib in your classroom.

Using Facts to Support Opinions / Claims

In the real world, facts and opinions are most often seen in persuasive or opinion writing. An author will form an opinion and make a claim, and then try to support that opinion using facts. Take some time to demonstrate to upper elementary how authors use facts to support claims.

Comparing 2 Opposing Claims

The world is full of people with conflicting opinions, but everyone tries to use facts to support their claims. Help students better understand how different facts can support conflicting opinions - how people use facts to support their biases.

Provide students with 2 opposing claims, and then come up with facts to support both sides. Check out the example using opposing claims about hurricanes below.

CLAIM 1: Hurricanes are the most dangerous natural disaster.

CLAIM 2: Tornadoes are the most dangerous natural disaster.

Facts about wind speed will support the idea that tornadoes are more dangerous, while facts about the size of these natural disasters will support the idea that hurricanes are more dangerous.

Find it in Text

When you are reading a persuasive text, have students determine the opinion of the author and what claim the author is trying to make. Then, identify the facts and the opinions the author uses to support the claim.

This happens all the time in the real world, but it is harder to find in texts designed for upper elementary. This Fact and Opinion Resource includes a nonfiction text where students practice this skill.

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