Mastering Claims and Opinions

Karina·

Arguments

Preview

At a Glance

Grade Level7th Grade

SubjectArguments

Original Prompt

Create a worksheet to complement a lesson on Claims vs. Opinions. Include: 1) A section where students identify if a statement is a claim or an opinion and highlight signal words. 2) A 'Claim Workshop' where students rewrite weak opinions into strong, evidence-based claims. 3) A short media analysis section with a sample advertisement or news snippet for students to evaluate.

This resource focuses on understanding and distinguishing between claims and opinions while building strong arguments. It includes activities for identifying signal words associated with opinions (e.g., 'I believe', 'In my view') and claims (e.g., 'Studies show', 'According to'). The first section helps students practice labeling various statements correctly as either claims or opinions. It further challenges students to transform personal opinions into strong, evidence-based claims through a 'Rewrite Challenge'. The second section incorporates media snippets, providing examples of advertisements and news articles for analysis. Students are asked to identify claims in these snippets and differentiate between factual claims and opinions, reinforcing their critical thinking and evaluative reasoning skills related to media messaging.