Introduction
When reading, it is important to be able to identify and categorize information. Information can be presented in a variety of ways. This activity will help you be able to distinguish between facts, opinions, and reasoned judgments.
- Facts are statements that may be true or false. Facts can be proven.
Example: XXXXX offers about 15 senior research labs for rising 12th graders to choose from.
- Opinions are statements revealing the author's feelings or point of view. Opinions can be argued. Opinions may be supported with facts.
Example: XXXXX is the best high school in the U.S.
- Reasoned Judgments are statements of the author's point of view that are supported by reason and evidence.
Example: XXXXX is one of the best high schools in the U.S. because it offers its students different STEM courses and high tech labs that are unavailable to some other private and public high schools in the country.
Task
Read the short writing, I'm a kid with dyslexia. While reading, find statements that are examples of facts, opinions, and reasoned judgments. Enter your findings into the table. On the last row of the table, create your own example sentence of each term.
Process
I'm a Kid with Dyslexia
School sucks. Reading and writing suck too. I like some parts of school, but if I have to read or pick up a pencil, I’d rather be somewhere else. Well, that’s mostly because I’m a kid with dyslexia. It kind of sucks. My brain doesn’t work the same as most people’s. I have a hard time reading and writing. Reading is complex and it requires the brain to make connections between sounds, letters, words, and sentences in order to be able to read and comprehend. Because I have dyslexia, it’s hard for me to match the letters I see on a page with the sounds that they make. Since I struggle with that step, it’s hard for me to read with comprehension. It feels like I’m the only one going through this. I know that’s not actually true though. My teacher told me that 1 in 5 people have dyslexia (Shaywitz, 2022). That seems like a lot, but none of my friends have it. They all finish their work in class before me. I’m usually the last one to get done with class assignments. That makes me feel dumb, even though now I know that I’m not.
I can admit, this year has been better than last year. They told me I had dyslexia at the beginning of the school year, after I took a bunch of tests. There is no cure for dyslexia. I have to deal with this for life. But, there’s a lot of adults that help me now, including my parents and teacher. They actually believe me now when I say that I’m trying my best. I’m learning new tricks that help me with reading and writing too. My teacher also told me that with support, I can become very successful.
My teacher told me some cool stuff about dyslexia. In 1896, a doctor in England published the first description of what would later become known as dyslexia (Shaywitz, 2022). So, it’s definitely been around for a long time.
So, maybe school doesn’t suck so bad. Reading and writing either. But school is hard for me. I’m a kid with dyslexia. So I have to work a little harder.
Evaluation
Identify Facts, Opinions, and Reasoned Judgments
| Facts | Opinions |
Reasoned Judgments |
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Findings 1 |
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Findings 2 |
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Findings 3 |
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Example Sentence |
Conclusion
After completing this activity, you should be able to distinguish between facts, opinions, and reasoned judgments. You should also be more knowledgeable of the learning disability dyslexia.
Credits
References
Facts, Opinion and Reasoned Judgment. (2017). Young Scholars Circle.
https://youngscholarscircle.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Fact-vs-Opinion-vs-Reasoned-Judgment.pdf
Shaywitz, S. (2022). What is dyslexia? Overcoming Dyslexia, 2, 143-24.