 So boys and girls, we have been reading a lot of current affairs articles over the last few months and we've been looking at distinguishing between fact and opinion in the different articles that we've read. Now can you think about why that might be important? Why is it important? And I want you just to talk to your partner to tell them why you think it's important to read about current affairs and to distinguish between fact and opinion. Go ahead. I'll give you a few seconds. Okay, boys and girls on five, I'd like you to get your conversation to stop. One, two, three, four and five. I want you to just feel free to tell me by raising your hand what you and your partner discussed. Why is it important for us to read current affairs, first of all, and second of all to be able to distinguish between fact and opinion? What do you think, Cordell? It's good to know because if a law is passed, do you know about it? Okay, so sometimes governments will pass laws like our local and provincial and you want to know what the law is, or by law, exactly. You can learn more about what's happening in our world. It's always, we're a global society, aren't we? Yes, we can, it's on vacation, you have to know where you're going, like, if there's some places that are worn. Right, so in a vacation you might want to visit some of those parts of the world and know what's going on there, if there's any kind of strife or difficulty. Anything else? Prices of all, so you want to know about that? Maybe you should fill up your gas tank. So all those kinds of good reasons. It's really important you're right to know what's happening in the world. And we are citizens, we're very lucky to be living in a democracy. And as citizens of a democracy, we would like to know what is happening in the world, but we also want to know what's happening in our government's decisions that are being made by our governments, because if you're going to be, we have many rights and responsibilities in our society, but one of our responsibilities is to be aware of what's happening in the world. And second of all, if we're aware and are able to distinguish what's a fact and what's just somebody's opinion, we can perhaps make some decisions on actions we want to take part in in our society, so that we can make a change or a difference or just know more about it. Now we brainstormed after we had read articles about what makes a fact and what's an opinion. And we came up with some criteria. Our criteria for a fact was that, you know, it can be measured, it can be proved by looking at it somewhere in the newspaper and on the internet, perhaps in encyclopedias, those kinds of things, often comes with statistics, it might be dates, it could be all kinds of numbers, it could be the numbers of people and so on. And all people would agree with it or most would agree with it because it is a fact. Opinion, it can't always be measured. Someone said the other day that, well, you could maybe measure that if you took a survey and gathered information, well, then it would become statistics. And then, yes, it could be moved into a fact. It can't be proven. Some people might agree with it, but not all people would agree with it. It is someone's belief or an opinion or their idea. And often it comes with words in statements, not always, but sometimes. It'll come with words like, I think or maybe or my opinion is or some people might say. We use that a lot when we were debating at City Hall and at the Legislative Assembly. Could or seen or it's likely this is going to happen. So what I'm going to ask you to do is I'm going to give you eight statements and they are either an opinion or a fact. And I'm going to ask you to distinguish fact from opinion. And the way you're going to do that is you're going to use a little sheet. It's got an ICANN statement that we've used before. It says, I can distinguish between fact and opinion. And you have some options. You can either write them in. If you think the first statement's a fact, you write fact. And then using our criteria, you have to tell me why you think that's a fact. If you think the first statement's an opinion, you'd put it over here, write it in here and then back it up with there. We've talked about backing up your idea or your opinion right here. Now, if you choose, you can cut them out. Use your scissors and you've got scissors and glue. You can just cut them out. We've done that before. If that's quicker for you or easier, then do that. Now, you have to do a minimum of four. If you choose to do more, you have time to do more, you may flip it over and just do them on the back. So you have lots of space, but minimum of four. Now, you have another option. You may do them alone or you may work with your partner. Again, keeping voices low and that is fine. Make sure your name's on it so that I can pick these up later. So again, remember that the most critical part of this is that you have to back it up with criteria, OK? If you find it easier to go through the eight statements and just choose all the facts, first of all, and do it that way, that's OK. And then go back, look for the opinions. Whatever you feel is easier for you. Feel free to discuss it with your partner. If you're not quite sure, the meteorite article can give us insights into the origins of the solar system. So is there anything, any words in there that might give you an idea that that might be a fact or an opinion? OK, so we're going to analyze. So what would that make you think it is? OK, scientists believe that in analysis. Do you see that word in there on our criteria sheet? OK, so this is someone's idea. They think it might be. So sometimes you have, sometimes words are embedded in a statement. And then you have to read. That's why we're learning to distinguish very carefully by reading. Good job. You read it carefully again, and you caught that word. That key word helped you there, didn't it? Great, great. Now boys and girls, I know that not everybody has done all the eight, and that is fine. I've checked around the room. And the majority, if you've done your minimum of four. And I know that everyone's had an opportunity to read through them. So what I'm going to do, and even if you didn't do this particular fact statement, I'm going to ask you just to raise your hand if you feel comfortable. And if you've done that one, great. You can just tell me what you used as your criteria to distinguish. If you have not, then just maybe have a look at it and look for those key words. Think about the criteria and volunteer. And feel comfortable to do that. Now, here are the eight statements. The first one says, scientists believe that in all of these statements come from articles we've read in the past. And I know every one of you recognized, oh, that was in the Meteorites article, and that one was in the Coalition article and so on. So these are all old. As I mentioned before, we've read all of these articles in the past. Scientists believe that an analysis of the composition of meteorites can give us insights into the origins of the solar system. Now, those of you who did that one, what did you choose, Alexander? That chose fact. Okay. Because the minerals and organisms inside of it could tell us if there is actually other life out there on other planets. Okay, so you chose it as a fact because you thought the composition would show us that there was, where our solar system came from. Did everybody, is that anyone choose anything different? An opinion. Hi, it. I chose an opinion because it says I believe, scientists believe and it can't be proven yet. So you're saying it can't be proven yet. And some scientists believe that an analysis can be of the composition, can help us with the origins of the solar system. But would all scientists believe that? By reading this, scientists believe that an analysis of the composition, it sounds like that is one of our key words from our opinion criteria, the word believe. A 10 tonned space rock burned its way through the atmosphere to crash on cold prairie soil. Mercedes. A fact. Why did you say that was a fact? What was your reasoning? Because we read an article about it. You read, we read an article about it that said that a meteorite hit our earth. So you could prove it by looking it up. Okay, did how many of you chose that one as a fact? Okay, thank you. Most observers say that the crisis in Zimbabwe, Africa is due to corruption and mismanagement by the government. Anyone like to tell me what they wrote? What did you have for that, Isaiah? They say both of them, so they wouldn't be sure. Okay, so what did you call that, an opinion or a fact? I called that an opinion. Okay, how many shared that is an opinion? How many chose that as an opinion? And I know some of you may not have gotten to that particular one. But those of you who did, how many chose that as an opinion? Okay, let's do it this way. Put your hands down for a sec. Having looked at it this now, and you may not have chosen this one to do yet, how many of you, by looking at the word most and listening to Isaiah's criteria, would agree that that is an opinion? How many would agree that that is an opinion? Okay, some of you didn't put your hands up. Could you tell me why you would think it's a fact? Most people agree with that. Okay, so we said that sometimes most are all. So maybe our criteria needs to be adjusted a little bit here. If you read, sometimes the key words are important, aren't they? But we have to always read the whole statement. So let's read it again. Most observers say that the crisis in Zimbabwe, Africa is due to corruption and mismanagement by the government. Now, could some people argue against that? Is the question. Could you raise your hand if you have something to say, to do with could some people argue against that? What do you think, Hyatt? Some people might not agree that there is corruption and mismanagement in the government. There could be a debate. So as long as there could be a debate on something, that's someone's opinion. Someone could argue against that. It's like if I say, I love chocolate cake, chocolate cake's the best in the whole world. Someone could argue with me on that. So sometimes we might have to refine our criteria on opinion. Perhaps most is not the correct word. Maybe we should be saying that all people would have to agree. For example, would all people agree with a 10-ton space rock hit the earth? Yes, because it happened and there's proof for that. So perhaps we need to refine our criteria that it should say all people and you could not argue the point. Distinguishing between fact and opinion is very, very important because as you, to be a good critical thinker when you read news, it's important for you to be able to, as a citizen in a democracy, to be able to tell the difference between this is an opinion, this is a fact. That's the first step, because then you're able to discover whether or not there might be a bias in the article when you're reading because we get a lot of information on the internet, through the news, the radio, the TV, all kinds of people just talking and when you're hearing it, you have to hear it critically or view it critically because if you do not, something that someone might be saying that is a fact is truly only their opinion or their perspective on an issue. So it's really important to hear and listen carefully because you might detect a bias when we were reading all the articles on the coalition. We realized that when we looked at the editorial cartoons, we read articles, we could see the bias. Some were people were writing kind of on the, on the conservative government Harper's side and other were writing more on the coalition side and you needed to gather the information and then make some, some very, have to think about it very critically to decide, oh, this guy's right, you know, this is an opinion, his opinion or her opinion. What's the bias here? You know what, as a critical thinker, you know, what are the perspectives in this and what side am I really on? And, and so as a critical thinker, it's gonna be really important that you're able to detect that bias because ultimately, as a democratic citizen, one of your responsibilities is to take action in our, in our society so that you can make change. But how do you do that? Unless you have information that is true and that is that you're able to take, read, reflect upon and then make a decision. I'm gonna help you with that today. I'm going to be giving you an article that's about something really important that's gonna be happening in Canada next year. And I'm going to ask you before you read the article to read four statements. So what I'm gonna ask you to do right now with the papers that are on your desk, if you could just slide them all over to the left. Now this is an anticipation guide. It is very similar to others we have done except that there is an added element. In the past, I've had you agree or disagree with the statement. Today, I'm gonna ask you, we're gonna do an added element. Strongly agree, agree, disagree or strongly disagree. Now, so you're gonna read the statement. And right here it says before you read, highlight the box where do you agree with that statement or do you disagree with it? Do you strongly agree or do you strongly disagree? After you've read the four and noted how you feel about it, I'm going to give you the article. After you read the article, I'm gonna ask you to do that all over again. Now you've gathered new information from the article about these statements. Are you still agreeing with these opinions with these statements? Are you, hmm, gee. Now that I've read about that information, I'm not as sure if I agree with that anymore. I think I actually disagree or maybe I don't agree as strongly or now I really strongly agree with that statement. We did a little bit of that when we did the homelessness issue. And I saw that a lot of people swung totally to the other side when they got some information. From the article and that's what you wanna do when you're a critical thinker. It's not just something you're thinking about when you gather information. It's important to, hmm, you know what, maybe change your decision, change your judgment, how you thought about something. Oh, now I've gotten you information. I need to perhaps change, reevaluate what I was thinking. So I'm gonna give you this first. I'm gonna ask our fad wife, if you could do this side of the room and can I get you, Deca, to do that side of the room? Now, I'm gonna just give you this article in about one minute because I want you to do your before reading anticipation guide first. Using your highlighter and please place your name on the bottom because I will be gathering these. Again, sorry boys and girls, you can work alone or you may work with a partner. And that, but you will, and you can agree with your partner. You may have different opinions. And, but basically when you do the reasoning, it is your reasoning. Okay. All right, everyone's got the sheet. Oh, there was a question about the word sparsely. Can everyone just put your finger on the second statement or your highlighter? It says, the Olympics should take place in areas that are sparsely populated. The word sparsely means very few people live there. Okay, so it would be away from large cities. Okay. And when I see that you've completed your three, your four there, I will give you the article. Okay, go ahead. Now boys and girls, I'm gonna just bring your attention back. I forgot one important instruction. So one, if you could just give your eyes up front, please, two, three, four and five. I'm gonna ask you that when you find the information that's gonna back up your opinion, could you highlight it in the article and just number it statement one, two, three and four, that backs up that argument. Okay, thank you. Okay, yeah. Just text me. Just text me, just make it a little more. I think I should use green. Text bears. His mom's a text bear. Cup your, just number it, okay? Okay, you do it. Okay. I'm the one there. This is number one, their opinion. This is why you disagree. So you're saying, I don't want the text bears to pay for this, right? This is our opinion. Mm-hmm, okay. Well, and it's when you read the article, when you read the article, why do you think that text bear will increase homelessness? Okay, so where could that be a backup? So which one? You believe the text bear should not pay for it? Why? Okay, because why? Because also the text bear is pretty good. Text bears already pay taxes, which are like how much we're paying just, but people believe it should be spent on it. Yeah, so that would go in that one and then you would just number it. So you still think the same thing as you did, right? Now, just before we go further, I'm gonna ask you to go to that point, do your decision on the bottom, write it on the little yellow sticky, and probably in another couple of minutes, maybe finish up the one that you're on right now. I see most of you are ready. And then I will stop you and we'll talk a little bit about the four statements and the decision you have made and we will put our stickies on the yellow chart. Okay, I'll give you a couple more minutes to finish up. You're welcome. Well, you've made your decision. You've made a decision. You've made a decision. And to put your backup on why you feel that way, okay? Oh, sorry, too many stickies, okay? Make sure you have, maybe you have to back this up based on something from here too, okay? Yeah, think about, they talked about, like this one might help you with your backup here. Okay, you've made your decision. And you've got your yellow sticky filled up, okay? We'll back up your idea and you're saying it's gonna cost our taxpayer so much money, it could be better spent on things. So any of those things, we'll be back it up. Yep. You couldn't even write a couple of reasons. Now boys and girls, just like when we've run persuasive writing before, if you have more than one reason, that is fine. You can back it up with two or three reasons. This is where you wanna really back it up well. And I think, Cordell, could you share your story that you just shared with me about the opposite of the Olympic boosters? You were saying that was happening in Vancouver. Yeah, they were so mad there that they were burning the Canadian flag with the Olympics and the Olympics. So some people are so against the Olympics, being at their, because they're saying it's costing so much money that they're actually burning the Olympic flag. So that's the other side of the coin, where there's a lot of people who are in favor of the Olympics and then again, a lot of the people who are not. So what we have is the issue, Canada should host the Olympics in the future. That is our statement. And there's two perspectives. Yes, they should. No, they should not. Here's what I'm gonna ask you to do. When you go up, I'd like you to put your sticky under the area that you agree or disagree on. So please watch as the different little sheets come up and then we'll just take about one minute to kind of close up. So can I start with your group? Five minutes, guys. Next group. Okay, and Amal's group? All right, can I have Fadwa's group, please? I'm gonna strongly agree. What's the go-to? One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine. Okay, and the last group? I think we're running out of strongly agree. That's okay, we can now. Okay, boys and girls, thank you. Can I just, yes, thank you. I'll just take one more minute. To kind of close up. So boys and girls, as we've gone through our activity, we've realized in order to be a critical thinker in a democratic society, it is really important to read carefully and view carefully to make sure that we are able to distinguish fact from opinion so that we can detect any bias. And even when we read the facts and read the opinions, ultimately, we need to make decisions. And our decisions should be made by looking carefully, reading as much information as we can so we can make decisions that are based on fact, not just on opinion or people's bias. You may notice too that even though there were two perspectives, we should host them, we should not host them again, there were many points of view, many points of view. So each of you is an individual and each one of you, even the people here who disagreed or the people here who agreed, your reason for them is different. And that's your point of view based on your past history, things you know about, things you've been at and you make a decision based on you. And, but please also make it based on information you gather. So thank you very much for taking part in that.