Prove It! Fact and Opinion

About This Resource

A free Grade 7 ESL reading worksheet on fact and opinion: what makes a statement a fact or an opinion, checking facts with reliable sources, opinion signal words such as best, should, I think and beautiful, finding facts and opinions in a persuasive text, and writing a paragraph that supports an opinion with facts. Includes a timed lesson plan, a six-activity worksheet, an editable Word version and answer key.

Overview

Students learn that a fact can be proved true or false with evidence, while an opinion is what someone thinks, feels or believes. They sort statements, learn the signal words that often show an opinion (best, worst, should, I believe, amazing), and practise asking "Can this be checked?" They read a persuasive article about whether schools should have a four-day week, find the facts the writer uses and the opinions they support, turn opinions into facts and facts into opinions, and finish by writing their own short opinion paragraph supported by two facts.

Resource Details

Subject: ESL
Topic: Fact and Opinion
Category: Reading
File Type: PDF
File Size: 255.8 KB
Published: 01 Nov 2026
Downloads: 0

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Grade 7 (ages 12–13), intermediate ESL 50 minutes Reading comprehension critical thinking media literacy persuasive writing

Student Task

Start with two statements about the school: "Our school has 600 students" and "Our school is the best in the city." Ask which one can be proved.
Teach the test question "Can this be checked?" and the opinion signal words, then do activities 1 and 2 together.
Students read the article and complete activities 3 to 6. Answers are in the answer key.

Classroom Use

Stand up, sit down: read statements aloud; students stand for a fact and sit for an opinion, then justify their choice.
Advert detective: students look at food or toy adverts and list the facts and the opinions each one uses.
Fact check: groups choose three facts from the article and decide what source they would use to check each one.

Differentiation

Support: give a T-chart (fact | opinion) and a list of opinion signal words, and read the article aloud. Challenge: find opinions in the article that are dressed up as facts, and rewrite the writer's argument from the opposite point of view using the same facts.

Answer Key & Assessment

Activities 1 to 5 check identifying facts, opinions and signal words (answer key included). Activity 6 checks supporting an opinion with facts in writing.

Learning Objectives

Distinguish between facts that can be proved and opinions that show what someone thinks or feels.
Recognize opinion signal words and explain how a fact could be checked.
Identify facts and opinions in a persuasive text and support an opinion with facts in writing.

Teacher Tips

Remind students that a fact can be false. "The Moon is made of cheese" is a statement of fact because it can be checked, even though it is wrong. This helps them focus on whether something can be proved, not whether they agree with it.

What's Included

7-page printable PDF lesson pack: teacher lesson plan with timings, materials and differentiation
Key vocabulary list (6 words with meanings and examples)
Student worksheet (6 activities)
Editable Word version of the worksheet
Complete answer key (also as a separate PDF)