Fact or Opinion: An Integrated ELD Lesson Transcript
Elizabeth: This morning, we're going to be working on facts and opinions.
My name is Elizabeth [Evasheivich 00:00:13]. I'm a kindergarten teacher at Lafayette Elementary, San Francisco Unified School District.
Let me think, fact or opinion?
Kid: Do it's a fact or opinion?
Elizabeth: Today in my class, we're going to be learning the difference between fact and opinion and tying that into our social studies unit, which is about American symbols.
Face your partner. Now it's his turn.
San Francisco Unified encourages their teachers to utilize five essential practices when planning their ELD instruction time for their students. My integrated ELD time is really focused on academic conversation, really developing that academic discourse and rigor with my kindergartners, so it's done through structure questions, sentence starters, and partner work.
Kid: Do you think it's a fact or opinion?
Kid: I think it is a fact.
Kid: What makes you say that?
Elizabeth: Good job.
Since there are so many ELLs in my room, I strategically pair them up with English speakers so that they're always getting that support that they need, not only from the classroom teacher but from their peers as well.
I like the color pink. Raise your hand, do you think that's a fact or an opinion? [weda 00:01:39], why do you think that's an opinion? Can that change, or will that not change?
Kid: That can change.
Elizabeth: That can change. Tomorrow I may like purple.
The goal of my integrated ELD lesson was really to reinforce what's a fact and what's an opinion. The reason I did that is because in their next lesson I wanted to make sure when they were creating their own poster charts they weren't putting down opinions, but they were writing facts on that chart.
Before we work with our partners, what do we have to remember how to do?
Multiple Kids: Ears are listening. Brain is thinking.
Elizabeth: We start always our lessons with reviewing the norms of the listening skills, the talk moves, just to refresh their memories.
Multiple Kids: Keep the conversation going.
Elizabeth: Good job girls and boys. All right, this morning I'm going to show one of these examples myself. When I say, "This flower is pretty," partner A is going to say, "Do you think it's a fact or opinion?" Partner B is going to say, "Let me think. I think this is an opinion." Partner A is going to say, "What makes you say that?" Partner B is going to say, "I know" and I'm going to look over here "I know that an opinion is a thought or a feeling, and I know that opinions can change."
I use those language supports in order for them to really ... If they blank and they don't know what to say, they can always refer to the chart.
How about [wena 00:03:16] and [kada 00:03:17]? Do you want to come up and show us how to do one?
Having an academic conversation in kindergarten is hard work, but by breaking it down and giving them the tools, they're able to do it. It's been very rewarding.
[wena 00:03:31], why don't you be partner A?
Kid: Do you think it's a fact or opinion?
Kid: I think it's a fact.
Kid: What makes you say that?
Elizabeth: Good job.
Kid: I know that opinions are thoughts or feelings, and I know that opinions do change.
Elizabeth: [wena 00:04:00], what did [wena 00:04:01] say?
Kid: [wena 00:04:03] said, "Do you think it's a fact or opinion?"
Elizabeth: The Washington Memorial is located in Washington, DC. Let's look at our chart again. Let's look at our chart [kana 00:04:16]. Can we observe that? Can we find it in a book? What do you think?
Kid: It's a fact.
Elizabeth: Tell her again.
Kid: I think it's a fact.
Elizabeth: Why?
Kid: I know that facts can be observed and-
Elizabeth: Look at your chart.
Kid: ... And be in a book.
Elizabeth: That's good. Now you're going to be partner A this time.
Today we're moving toward 80% student talk, 20% teacher talk, so a lot of the time, I'm really not speaking in the classroom. They're leading the class, they're doing investigations, and they're sharing with each other.
Ready for our first one?
Multiple Kids: Yeah.
Elizabeth: Don't worry. Oh, here's my statement. I like the white house. Lights, camera, go.
Kid: Do you think it's a fact or opinion.
Kid: I think it's an opinion because opinion can change.
Kid: What makes you say that?
Kid: It's a thought and a feeling.
Elizabeth: I heard some really good sharing. I heard a few different answers. Do you remember what your partner said?
Multiple Kids: Yes.
Elizabeth: Here's the tricky part. Now you need to switch to your second set partner.
In today's lesson, I used second set partners.
Use your rug partner's name this time.
They need to turn to their second set partner, and tell the second set partner what their rug partner had just shared.
Kid: It's an opinion because it's a feeling, and opinions can change.
Kid: [adia 00:06:09] said that it's a opinion because it's a feeling, and she knows that opinions can change.
Elizabeth: Bump-buh-duh-bump-bump
Kid: Bump-bump.
Elizabeth: Last one, I have nothing written there. It's a surprise.
I always like to throw in a little curve ball at the end of the lesson. It's an assessment piece but also it's just more of a deeper thinking piece.
This time with your rug partner, I want you to come up with one fact and one opinion. Do you remember who this was?
Multiple Kids: Yeah. Abraham Lincoln.
Elizabeth: Abraham Lincoln. Okay, one fact, one opinion.
That was hard for some students, and that's okay. That's why I love teaching because children make mistakes, and that's how we learn.
Kid: What's a fact. [crosstalk 00:07:07]
Kid: Opinion is a thought or a feeling.
Kid: Oh, one opinion and one fact. [crosstalk 00:07:19]
Kid: The president is on the $5.
Elizabeth: All right, let's go. Lights, second set, camera.
Kid: [aigea 00:07:39] said that it's a opinion because he [inaudible 00:07:45].
Elizabeth: Fact versus opinion is really tough, and I notice a lot of children today were looking at the chart and literally reading right off the chart and not processing what they were saying as carefully. For that reason, I really think that my next followup lesson has to be something that's even easier than a national symbol. It has to be something that's more personal to them.
I want to just go back really quickly and see which ones we got.
We use academic conversation throughout the whole day. We do it when we talk about feelings or we talk about social studies, science. It's wonderful in solving problems and how you got to an answer.
Audria, why do you think this is an opinion?
Kid: Because it's a thought.
Elizabeth: Because it's a thought. It's something I'm feeling, right?
A lot of teachers would say that academic discourse is a middle or high school topic. I would say start in kindergarten, start frequently, and start in small increments, little steps, baby steps.
12 Comments
TAP Student Sep 6, 2023 7:18pm
Miranda Wolke
In this lesson, the teacher provides the general academic language and then she allows the students several different partners, practices and opportunity to speak with each other on the information that they are learning. The lesson also incorporates an anchor chart and sentence starters to help support the teacher and students.
She offers an anchor chart and sentence starters. Students are used to visually show an example of the expectations for the conversation and where to look for help if they get stuck. Ms. Iwaszewicz also uses academic language throughout the day and allows the students to practice academic conversations.
She's uses partners for the students to practice academic conversations with each other and then has them repeat the process with another partner to get two different thoughts.
Catherine Murray Feb 6, 2020 9:59pm
WOW! Amazing! I just got so many ideas from watching this video. She is GOALS!
Noemi Rosales-Torres Mar 2, 2018 5:43pm
Abayomi Adeyemi Oct 22, 2017 2:58pm
joyce tran le Aug 29, 2017 11:05am