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Fact and Opinion Worksheets

17 free PDFsUS Letter PDFsAnswer key includedNo login

Tell facts from opinions with charts, sorts, practice pages, and short texts to read, from 2nd to 5th grade.

Download the fact and opinion worksheets

2nd grade: Fact or opinion?

A chart, a cut-and-paste sort with a no-cut version, and opinion words to circle.

3rd grade: Check the facts

Practice without clue words, ways to check a fact, a pet shop flyer to read, and facts and opinions to write.

4th grade: Facts and opinions in a review

A full anchor chart, a student's book review, choosing the fact or the opinion, and turning opinions into facts.

5th grade: Supporting an opinion with facts

A letter to the editor, choosing the fact that supports an opinion, and telling supported opinions from plain ones.

  • Preview of the printable “Fact and opinion in a letter to the editor” worksheet: telling facts from opinions in a letter to the editor and judging which facts support the writer's opinions3 pagesView all 3 pages

    Fact and opinion in a letter to the editor

    Telling facts from opinions in a letter to the editor and judging which facts support the writer's opinions

    Answer key on page 3

    US LetterPDFA4PDF

    3 pages60 KB

  • Preview of the printable “Which fact supports the Opinion?” worksheet: choosing the fact that supports an opinion, and rejecting facts that do not and opinions posing as reasonsView all 2 pages

    Which fact supports the Opinion?

    Choosing the fact that supports an opinion, and rejecting facts that do not and opinions posing as reasons

    Answer key on page 2

    US LetterPDFA4PDF

    2 pages58 KB

  • Preview of the printable “Fact, Opinion, or supported Opinion?” worksheet: telling facts, opinions, and opinions supported by facts apart, and adding a supporting factView all 2 pages

    Fact, Opinion, or supported Opinion?

    Telling facts, opinions, and opinions supported by facts apart, and adding a supporting fact

    Answer key on page 2

    US LetterPDFA4PDF

    2 pages56 KB

Print at 100% (actual size) for the cleanest tracing lines.

About these fact and opinion worksheets

A fact is something that can be checked and proved true. "A spider has eight legs" is a fact: you can count them, or look it up in a book about animals. An opinion tells what someone thinks, feels, or believes. "Spiders are creepy" is an opinion, because someone else might think spiders are amazing. People can disagree about an opinion, but checking a fact settles it.

Opinions often come with clue words like best, worst, favorite, should, I think, beautiful, and boring. Some opinions have no clue words at all ("That movie was too long"), so older readers learn to ask one more question: could someone disagree? A sentence can also be about a fact-filled topic and still be an opinion. "Volcanoes can shoot out lava" is a fact, while "Volcanoes are the most interesting landforms" is an opinion.

These worksheets build the skill step by step. Second graders start with a chart, a sort, and opinion words. Third graders check facts by counting, measuring, or asking an expert, and find facts and opinions in a pet shop flyer. Fourth graders read a student's book review and turn opinions into facts. Fifth graders read a letter to the editor, choose the fact that best supports an opinion, and spot opinions that are backed up by facts.

Every page has an answer key, and every passage, flyer, review, and letter is written just for these worksheets.

Standards

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.1Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.1Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.8Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points in a text, identifying which reasons and evidence support which point(s).
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.2.1Write opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic or book they are writing about, state an opinion, supply reasons that support the opinion, use linking words (e.g., because, and, also) to connect opinion and reasons, and provide a concluding statement or section.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.1Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.8Recall information from experiences or gather information from print and digital sources; take brief notes on sources and sort evidence into provided categories.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.1.BProvide reasons that are supported by facts and details.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.1.BProvide logically ordered reasons that are supported by facts and details.

How to use them

  1. Start with the anchor chart for your grade and read the examples together. Ask your child how each fact could be checked.
  2. Move on to a sort or a practice page. Have your child point to the clue word in each opinion, or explain why someone could disagree.
  3. Read one of the short texts and answer the questions. Talk about why a flyer or a review mixes facts and opinions.
  4. Finish with a writing page, where your child writes facts and opinions of their own, then check the answers with the key.

Teaching tips

  • Keep asking one question: How could we check that? If there is no way to check it, it is probably an opinion.
  • Remind children that an opinion is not wrong. It is simply a feeling or a judgment, and a good opinion is backed up by facts.
  • Collect real examples together from cereal boxes, signs, and ads, and sort them into facts and opinions.
  • Point out sentences that mix both, such as "Our shop opens at 9:00, and it is the best shop in town." Which part can be checked?

Questions teachers and parents ask

What is the difference between a fact and an opinion?

A fact can be checked and proved true, by counting, measuring, looking it up, or asking an expert. An opinion tells what someone thinks, feels, or believes, so people can disagree about it.

What are opinion signal words?

They are words that often show an opinion: best, worst, favorite, should, must, I think, I believe, I feel, beautiful, boring, amazing, and delicious. Not every opinion uses one, so children also ask whether someone could disagree.

What grade learns fact and opinion?

Children usually meet facts and opinions in 2nd grade, when they start writing their own opinions. They keep practicing through 5th grade, when they judge which facts best support an opinion.

What is a supported opinion?

It is an opinion backed up by a fact, like "Bats are helpful because many bats eat mosquitoes." Our 5th grade pages teach children to tell supported opinions from plain opinions and facts.

Do the worksheets have answer keys?

Yes. Every practice page, sort, and reading page has an answer key, and the writing pages show sample answers.