Mrs. Hogan's Class

FACT
A statement of fact can be proved true or false by looking in a reference book, asking an expert, or using your own knowledge and experience.

EXAMPLES:

• Mercury is the closet planet to the sun.
• Thanksgiving is on the last Thursday of November.

OPINION
A statement of opinion cannot be proved true or false. It is a belief or judgment. It often contains a word of judgment, such as best, should, or beautiful. It may begin with the words "In my opinion" or "I believe."

EXAMPLES:

• Fall is the best time of year.
• Halloween is the funnest holiday of the year.

FACT OR OPINION?
You decide. . .

It seemed that the pumpkin grew overnight.

It cannot be proven true or false. It uses "seemed" which is a judgment word, so this is an OPINION.

Fact or Opinion?

It cannot be proven true or false. It involves a belief or judgment. It may be the case, but that is not what it take to make it a fact.

Fact or Opinion?

This can be proven. A person could look this fact up in an encyclopedia or on the internet.

Fact or Opinion?

This could be proven. We could count the number of boys and girls in the class.

RATIO OF GIRLS TO BOYS

CONCLUSION

• As you read, try to distinguish facts from opinion.
• Remember how to figure out if a statement is a fact or an opinion