Year 7: sort fact from opinion with a test
A statement is a fact if it can be checked. Ākonga apply the check test line by line to a media text before looking for the author's angle.
- Year 7 move: Fact/opinion sort with the 'can it be checked?' test applied aloud
- Evidence it produces: A marked-up media text: facts underlined, opinions circled, one bias observation
Lesson 7: Fact vs Opinion & Identifying Author Bias in Media Texts
Building confident, active readers through Te Ao Māori perspectives, comprehension strategies, and rich Aotearoa texts.
🎯 Ngā Whāinga Akoranga | Learning Intentions
The difference between objective verifiable facts and subjective opinions/judgments, persuasive language devices, loaded words, emotional tone, and author perspective/bias.
Classify statements as fact or opinion, identify loaded emotive words in news articles, and determine an author's point of view or bias.
🎥 Media Anchor & Pedagogical Scaffold
Fact vs Opinion & Detecting Media Bias
Video Clip: Media Literacy: Know Your Sources & Media Bias — CMAC (Runtime: 11:04).
🧠 1. Before Viewing (Activate & Predict)
How can two news articles reporting on the exact same event give readers completely different impressions?
👁️ 2. During Viewing (Watch With a Job)
- Pause @ 1:30: Distinguish facts (proven by data/observation) from opinions (beliefs, values, feelings).
- Pause @ 3:15: Identify loaded words carrying positive or negative emotional connotations (e.g. 'reckless' vs 'bold').
- Pause @ 4:45: Evaluate author perspective: who wrote this, why did they write it, and whose voice is missing?
🗣️ 3. After Viewing & Kaiako Move (Process & Apply)
Kaiako Move: Provide two contrasting short opinion pieces on a local community issue (e.g. building a new skateboard park) for comparison.
Immediate Task: Complete Section 7 of your Reading Journal: Fact vs Opinion Sorting Matrix & Bias Audit Sheet.
⚡ Whakaoho | Do Now: Reading Warm-Up (10 mins)
Review key reading vocabulary, strategy definitions, and context clues for Lesson 7. Connect previous reading reflections to today's text analysis.
📖 Activity 1: Guided Reading & Strategy Practice (25 mins)
Read selected Aotearoa non-fiction, School Journal articles, or pūrākau passages in pairs. Apply active reading strategies, highlight text evidence, and complete graphic organisers.
📝 Activity 2: Year 7 Reading Journal & Reflection Scaffolding (20 mins)
Draft your formal Reading Journal entry for Lesson 7. Use specific text quotes and reading strategy terminology (e.g., schema, context clues, main idea, evidence-based inference, cause/effect, pūrākau metaphor, author bias, text synthesis) to justify your answers.
🏫 Kaiako Planning & Pedagogy Notes
Year 7 Curriculum Alignment: Te Mātaiaho English Phase 3 — Reading and Viewing for meaning. Builds core comprehension, critical literacy, and cultural connectedness through Aotearoa literature and pūrākau.