Facts and Opinions

We recently did an activity called "Stand Up, Sit Down."  I read statements from our Anthology story and students had to stand if they believed it was a fact and sit down if they believed it was an opinion.  In either case, they had to be prepared to defend their decision and tell us "why".  What I discovered was that this was a good skill to discuss and practice as many students struggled in their decision making.  The following are the statements I used. 

• The first World Series was playing in 1903.
• Through eight years of school Lou didn't miss a single day.
• Those were the first two games in what would become an amazing record. 
• He was selected again as the league's MVP in 1936. 
• The 1927 Yankees were perhaps the best team ever.
• It was a courageous speech.
• The more than sixty thousand fans in Yankee Stadium stood to honor Lou Gehrig.