Judging what you read · Alberta Grade 5 · maddyhelps.com
Name
Date
Tick fact or opinion for each statement — a fact could be checked. Then read the advertisement and answer the questions underneath.
Statement
Fact
Opinion
Water freezes at 0 °C.
Winter is the best season.
The Moon takes about a month to go through its phases.
Chocolate milk is the tastiest drink.
Dogs can hear sounds that people cannot.
Video games are a waste of time.
SuperSnack bars — the best snack ever made! Nine out of ten kids we asked love them. Packed with energy. Now with a free sticker in every box!
One fact in the ad (or none?)
Who made the ad, and what do they want?
Why might “nine out of ten kids we asked” not mean much?
For the grown-up
Fact or opinion?
Water freezes at 0 °C — fact; Winter is the best season — opinion; The Moon takes about a month to go through its phases — fact; Chocolate milk is the tastiest drink — opinion; Dogs can hear sounds that people cannot — fact; Video games are a waste of time — opinion. The ad: almost nothing in it can be checked — “best snack ever” is opinion, and “packed with energy” is vague. The company that sells the bars made it, to get people to buy them. “Kids we asked” could be ten kids, chosen by the company; nobody knows who was asked or how many.
The last question is the evaluation outcome in miniature. A number sounds like evidence, and asking who was counted is the habit that keeps a child from being fooled by one.