Fact and opinion

Fact and opinion

Pencil and paper
Overview
Using this Resource
Connecting to the Curriculum
Marking Student Responses
Working with Students
Further Resources
This task is about the knowing difference between fact and opinion.
 
Illustration: flying gull

 

Below are fifteen statements about gulls. Six of these statements are statements of opinion, the others are statements of fact.

Choose the six statements of opinion. Place a tick in the boxes alongside the six statements you have chosen.

Do not tick more than six statements.

a) Gulls are sea birds with webbed feet.  
b) Gulls are the most graceful of sea birds.  
c) Adult plumage is grey or black wings with black or white body.  
d) Gulls' colourings are drab and dull.  
e) Gulls usually live around harbours, sea coasts, and lakes.  
f) Gulls breed in colonies in nests made of seaweed, sticks, and grass.  
g) Egg hatching is shared by both parents.  
h) Chicks are covered with mottled down when hatched.  
i) Gulls are undesirable birds because they are scavengers.  
j) Gulls contribute absolutely nothing to the world of the seashore.  
k) The black-backed gull is the most common type of gull.  
l) Gulls make a harsh, squawking sound, which is very unpleasant to the ear.  
m) The red-billed gull has pearly-grey back and wings.  
n) The red-billed gull is the most attractive of the gulls.  
o) The black-billed gull is found only in New Zealand.  
Task administration: 
This task can be completed with pencil and paper.
Copyright: 
Text source: 'Progressive Achievement Tests: Reading Study Skills'. NZCER, 1978. (Text amended.)
 
Illustration: flying gull
Image copyright: J.Fisher (Photokete), permission for educational use in Aotearoa classrooms.
Level:
3
Curriculum info: 
English, Making meaning, Reading
Key Competencies: 
Thinking, Using language, symbols, and texts
Keywords: 
fact, opinion, information skills
Description of task: 
Students read fifteen statements and identify the six statements of opinion.
Curriculum Links: 
Links to the Literacy Learning Progressions for Reading:
This resource helps to identify students’ ability to:
  • evaluate ideas and information
as described in the Literacy Learning Progressions for Reading at: http://www.literacyprogressions.tki.org.nz/The-Structure-of-the-Progressions.
Learning Progression Frameworks
This resource can provide evidence of learning associated with
Making sense of text: reading critically, set 3
within the Reading Learning Progressions Frameworks.
Read more about the Learning Progressions Frameworks.
Answers/responses: 
  

Y7 (03/2003)

b)
d)
i)
j)
l)
n)
NOTE: If more than 6 statements ticked, count the first 6.

moderate
moderate
easy
moderate
moderate
moderate
Diagnostic and formative information: 
  Common errors
a) 53% of students incorrectly identified this statement as an opinion.
j) 58% of students incorrectly identified this statement as a fact.