Fact, opinion, and evidence

Use template

Comments

Created by

SS

maya.brooksSource & Story

🎯 Try it

Single choice

Which is a checkable claim?

“Break is 20 minutes” can be timed. “Break is too short” expresses a judgment.

⏱️ Practice timer

05:00

🔎 Worked example

📝 Claim cards

A. The library closes at four.
B. This is the best library.
C. We counted twelve bikes.
D. Most students cycle.
E. Blue is the nicest colour.
F. The tap leaked during our ten-minute observation.

Sort into checkable claim or opinion. For every checkable claim, name evidence you would need; do not label it true without checking.

A factual claim can be checked, but it is not automatically true. An opinion expresses a judgment or preference; it can still be supported by reasons. Evidence is information used to support or challenge a claim. Model: Everyone wants a later start is a checkable but probably overbroad claim. A survey of eight friends cannot establish what everyone wants.

✏️ Practice

1.

Sort all six cards and explain one difficult choice.

2.

Design a check for D: define “students,” “cycle,” and the time period.

3.

A survey of eight friends finds all eight want a later start. Rewrite “Everyone wants a later start” using only that evidence.

4.

Write an opinion about the library with a reason, without pretending that the reason proves everyone agrees.

💭 Your answer

Single choice

Eight friends prefer later starts. What conclusion is justified?

My careful rewrite of the eight-friends survey claim and a limitation

✅ Quick check

Single choice

Does being checkable make a statement true?

🔑 Answers

🔑 Practice answers

1.

A, C, D, F are checkable claims; B and E express judgments. D needs a defined population and representative evidence.

2.

Example: ask every pupil in one named school how they traveled to school on a specified day; report participation and nonresponses. A limited sample needs a sampling explanation.

3.

All eight friends surveyed said they wanted a later start. Do not extend that result to all students.

4.

Example: “I prefer this library because its quiet area helps me concentrate.” Other preferences remain possible.

💡 Hint and challenge

💡 Hint: Use the frames I can check this by… and This is a preference because….

⭐ Challenge: Rewrite Everyone agrees as a precise claim that names the group and evidence.

🔎 Challenge answer

“All eight friends who answered my question on Monday preferred a later start” identifies the group and evidence. It does not establish a school-wide majority or a learning benefit.