l1l2readinglesson_4_factsandopinion.pptx

Facts and Opinion lessons

1. L1-L2 Functional Skills English reading Skills Building Lesson - 4 Distinguish between fact and opinion Main L1 Functional English reading content descriptors covered in this PPT. Text: this should include a range of straightforward texts on a range of topics & of varying lengths that instruct, describe, explain & persuade. L1.9 Identify and understand the main points, ideas and details in texts L1.10 Compare information, ideas and opinions in different texts L1.11 Identify meanings in texts and distinguish between fact and opinion Main L2 Functional English reading content descriptors covered in this PPT. Text: this should include a range of straightforward and complex texts on a range of topics and of varying lengths that instruct, describe, explain and persuade. L2.11 Identify the different situations when the main points are sufficient and when it is important to have specific details. L2.12 Compare information, ideas and opinions in different texts, including how they are conveyed L2.18 Follow an argument, identifying different points of view and distinguishing fact from opinion Source: Functional skills subject content: English. DFE 2018. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/functional-skills-subject-content-english June 2025. Kindly contributed Sarah Handcock, Real Education, East Midlands Search for Sarah on www.skillsworkshop.org . For curriculum links and related resources, please refer to the download page for this resource on skillsworkshop: https://www.skillsworkshop.org/resources/l12_english_fs_reading_12_week_plan_with_resources For full use of hyperlinks and other features, this presentation should be run in full screen mode. This PPT is no. 4 in a series of eleven. Please visit the download page (see above) to find PPTs 1-11 & related resources and links. Main points & detail Appropriate reading strategies Summarise main points of a text Distinguish between fact & opinion (this PPT) Identify levels of formality in a text Different language features Analyse how language features can be adapted to suit audience and purpose Organisational & presentational features Analyse how organisational and presentational features can be adapted to suit audience and purpose Compare information, ideas & opinions in texts; and how they are conveyed Identify implicit and inferred meanings and recognise bias (No PPT) final practice assessments

2. L1 & 2 English Functional Skills Reading Lesson 4 Learning Outcome: To distinguish between fact and opinion

3. Starter: Facts Opinions Pick a classmate/ friend / family member you know well. You have 2 minutes to come up with four facts and four opinions about your chosen person. Share your ideas: what have you come up with?

4. Last lesson recap: Last lesson, we learned how to summarise texts by identifying their main points. Can you name any real life situations where you will have to summarise information on a daily basis? Link to today’s lesson: Today, we are going to build on the skills of identifying the main points of a text by identifying which are facts and which are opinions .

5. Key Vocabulary: fact opinion influence truth proven statistic evidence personal view

6. Watch the video. It introduces the key ideas of facts and opinions. Complete the tasks when instructed. You must write your answers down. Introducing facts and opinions Fact and Opinion Video (System People Functional Skills Academy, YouTube 2023)

7. Fact : A fact is something that can be shown to be true and often there is evidence to prove it. For example: Paris is the capital city of France Let’s clarify what we’ve just learned: what are facts and opinions? Opinion : An opinion is a personal view about an issue. For example: Paris is the world’s most beautiful city.

8. Are the following statements opinions or facts? Fact and Opinion Testing on animals is wrong and should be banned. 2. The UK has a population of 60 million people. 3. Rome is a more romantic city than Venice.

9. Are the following statements opinions or facts? Fact and Opinion Testing on animals is wrong and should be banned. OPINION 2. The UK has a population of 60 million people. FACT 3. Rome is a more romantic city than Venice. OPINION

10. Read the extract below. You have a printed copy in front of you. Highlight the facts in one colour and the opinions in another. Fact and Opinion Manchester - The First Modern City In the 18th century, Manchester was the cotton making capital of the world. The city was one of the breeding grounds of the industrial revolution and its entrepreneurs and industrial tycoons filled it with museums, galleries, theatres and libraries as well as outstanding civic architecture. A devastating IRA bomb in 1996 created the need for city centre regeneration resulting in a new, dramatic 21st century cityscape. Manchester is an innovative music city producing influential groups such as Joy Division, The Smiths, Happy Mondays, The Stone Roses and Oasis. Central Manchester has a population of about 440,000 in a Greater Metropolitan Area of more than 2 million.

11. Answers Manchester - The First Modern City In the 18th century, Manchester was the cotton making capital of the world . The city was one of the breeding grounds of the industrial revolution and its entrepreneurs and industrial tycoons filled it with museums, galleries, theatres and libraries as well as outstanding civic architecture. A devastating IRA bomb in 1996 created the need for city centre regeneration resulting in a new, dramatic 21st century cityscape. Manchester is an innovative music city producing influential groups such as Joy Division, The Smiths, Happy Mondays, The Stone Roses and Oasis. Central Manchester has a population of about 440,000 and in more than 2 million in the Greater Metropolitan Area.

12. Feedback discussion: Which reading strategies did you use to pick the points you wanted to highlight? What have you highlighted as facts and what have you highlighted as opinions ? Share and compare your ideas … do you agree with your tutor or peers?

13. Copy and complete the table below on your sheet: Fact and Opinion Fact or Opinion Evidence Intended effect on audience Fact Central Manchester has a population of about 440,000 The author uses specific facts and figures to convey detailed knowledge of the subject. Opinion Manchester is an innovative music city Fact Opinion

14. Where do you commonly find facts and opinions? Adverts Newspapers Television news shows Magazines Leaflets Posters Internet websites Can you think of any more?

15. Look at this simple advertisement for a credit card. Pick out the facts and opinions Everyone needs to escape sometimes, and with a NatWest credit card, the world’s your oyster. It’s accepted at over 14 million outlets worldwide, which makes it the ideal getaway card. Copy and complete the table below: For details, call 0800 616 848 or pop into your local branch.

16. The only facts in it are the (approximate) number of outlets and the phone number. All the rest is opinion (even ‘your local branch’ might be a long way to people who live in the country). This is designed to make the reader think that it is important to own one of these cards. Everyone needs to escape sometimes, and with a NatWest credit card, the world’s your oyster. It’s accepted at over 14 million outlets worldwide, which makes it the ideal getaway card. Copy and complete the table below: For details, call 0800 616 848 or pop into your local branch.

17. Is the news you watch fact or opinion? Watch the 3 different Newsbeat clips. The speech is all subtitled and some of the information appears on the screen so you can easily see what is being said and pause if you need to write down information. For each of the videos, as you watch, try and write down: Level 1: 3 facts and 2 opinions Level 2: 5 facts and 3 opinions Newsbeat: KSI Vs Logan Paul Newsbeat: Walking Dogs and Mental Health Newsbeat : Stormzy's Special Effects

18. Reflect and Review: is the news you watch fact or opinion? What was easier to pick out - facts or opinions ? Should news programmes always just stick to giving out the facts, or should they give opinions too? Why do you think, sometimes, people present their opinions as if they were facts, e.g. “This fight is as real as it gets” - this is an opinion , but it sounds like a fact . What effect does this have?

19. Your turn! Complete your appropriate tasks on the ‘Reading: Fact or Opinion’ worksheet. Level 1 - Read the texts in source A and B. Answer the questions on page 4. Level 2 - Read the texts in source A and B. Answer the questions on page 4.

20. Odd one out - which one doesn ’t fit and why ? “Car pollution will probably destroy our planet” “My friend is more intelligent than me.” “More than 70% of the earth’s surface is covered by ocean and seas.” “Crestwood is the best school in Eastleigh.” Plenary Have you achieved the objective? To distinguish between facts and opinions