113.14.B.17(C) Social studies skills. The student applies critical-thinking skills to organize and use information acquired from a variety of valid sources, including electronic technology. The student is expected to...distinguishbetween fact and opinion...
Objective: The learner will distinguish between fact and opinion statements using a variety of methods, including the Lt. Pigs acronym, catalog activity, and an interactive technology activity.
To introduce the concept of fact and opinion, the teacher will begin by asking students what the best tv show/movie/song is. Ideally, students will answer with differing opinions. Then the teacher will ask a question that has only one valid answer, such as, "How many legs does a dog have?" or "What color is my shirt?"Discuss the difference between the first and second questions. The first allowed for different answers because everyone felt differently--they had different opinions. The second only allows for one answer because it can be proven--it's a fact. Students will take notes in their Reading spiral, noting the definition of a fact (something that can be proven) and opinion (a person's beliefs or feelings, which may not be true for everyone.) Students will also write the acronym Lt. Pigs to help them remember the various words that can signal an opinion. The acronym is as follows:
Love (Hate)
Terrible (Terrific)
Pretty (Ugly)
Important
Good (Bad)
Strong Words (all, everyone)
In partners, students will create Wordles (www.wordle.net) featuring opinion signal words.
Immediate feedback is provided by the game, plus the teacher will be there to observe students' understanding and also provide feedback.
To practice locating facts & opinions, students will use catalogs and document their fact & opinion findings on a T-chart graphic organizer. The teacher will model the activity for students before sending them off to independently complete the assignment. The catalog assignment will be used to assess students' understanding and ability to distinguish between facts & opinions.
This lesson incorporates the Cognitive Information Processing Theory through...
activating students' schema
giving the opportunity to absorb information and practice in a variety of contexts
providing an acronym to help learners retain information
The lesson incorporates the Behavioral Learning Theory through...
repeated instruction
repeated practice
the ability of the teacher to observe the students' understanding
providing immediate feedback during the interactive game
Gagne vs. Merrill
The following model compares Gagne's 9 Events of Instruction (found here) with Merrill's First Principles, aligning the similar steps in each model.
Application of Merrill's First Principles to Fact & Opinion Lesson
Task-Centered Principle:The lesson centers around a task-centered objective of successfully being able to distinguish between facts & opinions
Demonstration Principle:The teacher demonstrates and guides students through kinds-of examples to show the difference between facts & opinions through the use of the Lt. Pigs mnemonic. Additionally, the interactive fact & opinion game is content-related media that allows learners to observe the demonstration.
Application Principle:Practice and corrective feedback is provided through the interactive fact & opinion game.
Activation Principle:The initial questioning of the students' opinions of the best movie and factual questions helps to engage students and activate their schema and previous experiences, which they share with the class. They also organize their new knowledge of opinion signal words through the mnemonic and Wordle.
Integration Principle:The catalog activity allows students to use their new skills of distinguishing between facts & opinions, which is a real-world example of how they would apply the skill, to know what is true, factual information and what is a persuasive technique to get them to purchase items.
Whole-task approach:The whole task approach focuses on the overall task or goal, increasing in complexity as students progress in their competency of the skill. The fact & opinion lesson applies the whole-task method by focusing on the ultimate skill--distinguishing between the two types. Students practice identifying more simple facts & opinions then move on to independently identifying them in real-world situations (the catalog activity.)
Scaffolding:The fact & opinion lesson uses the scaffolding model in that the teacher initially models and observes students' understanding, students then work with partners, then independently. The involvement of the teacher decreases as students' understanding increases.
Mathemagenic method:The fact & opinion lesson allows for the transfer of skills to real-world situations when the students use the catalog and determine factual descriptions of products vs. opinions that are intended to persuade them to buy something. Additionally, the mnemonic device helps students to remember the opinion signal words, which can be transferred, helping students to identify opinions independently and across multiple situations.
The ARCS Model
Attention: It is necessary to grab the attention of the students (or general listeners. Without their attention, there is no point in going on! The sky is the limit when it comes to grabbing your listener's attention--be creative! Incorporate the elements of surprise, humor, or a personal anecdote. When they can make a personal connection to you, the speaker, there is a higher likelihood of them connecting to the information being presented.
Relevance: Again, connecting to the information is a huge part of listeners being able to retain information. Establishing a purpose and use for the information will, in turn, give the listener a purpose for learning the information, as they understand how it can be used presently and in the future. After all, if there is no need for it in the future, why should they learn it in the present?
Confidence: Students need to feel confident in their ability to complete the task at hand. If they are set up to succeed, then they will succeed. The objective and assessment requirements need to be made known to students so they can assess their own success. This will also give them confidence that what they are pursuing is what they need to be pursuing. Learners need to have a degree of confidence in their abilities, as to avoid a point of frustration that will cause them to give up.
Satisfaction: Learners need to feel a sense of satisfaction in their performance. This can be provided through feedback, affirmation, or motivation, both extrinsic and intrinsic.
The following two [very entertaining!] videos (from thefuntheory.com) show what can happen when a little motivation and satisfaction are thrown into [no pun intended!] an otherwise menial task:
I'm already seeing the benefits of design research as I plan lessons for my third graders! Sometimes administrators require certain parts to be included in the written lesson plans, many of which follow the models that have been discussed in this course. Without knowing the reasoning behind the various instructional design elements, the components might seem insignificant. I'm finding that I do a lot of things naturally in my lessons, but finding out more about instruction is causing me to be more intentional as I plan & teach, which is increasing the value and effectiveness of my teaching and my students' learning!
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