Can This Sentence Be Checked?
A 45-minute Grade 3 lesson on using the difference between fact and opinion to judge how far a source can be trusted.
Can This Sentence Be Checked? is a free 45-minute Grade 3 to Grade 5 social studies lesson plan for Common Core standard D3.2.3-5 — use the difference between fact and opinion to judge whether sources can be trusted. It is timed across 5 sections, gives the exact wording to use where the wording carries the mathematics, names 3 misconceptions with the teaching move that addresses each, and ends with an exit ticket and a printable worksheet with its answer key.
- Grade:
- Grade 3 to Grade 5
- Length:
- 45 minutes
- Standard:
- D3.2.3-5
Grade 3 to Grade 5 · Evaluating Sources and Using Evidence
D3.2.3-5
Use distinctions among fact and opinion to determine the credibility of multiple sources.
Objective
Students will be able to sort statements into fact and opinion and say what that means for trusting a source.
Students are successful when they can
- Sorts statements into fact and opinion.
- Says how a fact could be checked.
- Says that a source can be trustworthy on facts and arguable on opinions.
What you need
- Twelve statement cards from the eight sources
- Two headings: fact / opinion
- The printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan
The lesson
Warm-up — how would you check it
5 min- Read 'coal cost 2 pence a mile' and ask how you would check it.
- Read 'the railway was the best thing to happen here' and ask the same.
Teach — the checking test
15 min- Name the test: a fact can be checked against a record; an opinion cannot.
- Sort four cards together, saying how each fact would be checked.
- Take 'your rates should be spent where you live'. Opinion, and a reasonable one.
- Say the crucial point: an opinion is not a lie. It is a different kind of sentence.
- Apply it to the sources: the newspaper's dates are checkable, its praise is not.
- Draw the conclusion about trust: trust a source on what it is placed to know.
“What would you have to look at to check this?”
Guided practice — sort twelve
13 min- Pairs sort twelve statements.
- For four facts, they name the record that would check it.
- Groups find a sentence that is hard to sort, and say why.
Independent practice
9 min- Students complete the 'Can This Be Checked?' page.
- Watch for opinions sorted as facts because they are widely believed.
Close
3 min- Ask which source has the highest ratio of facts to opinions.
What goes wrong, and why
Each of these is a reasoning error rather than carelessness. The fix addresses the reasoning.
Sorts by whether they agree with it.
Why: Agreement feels like truth.
Fix: Ask how you would check it. That test does not care what you think.
Thinks opinions make a source untrustworthy.
Why: Opinion sounds like unreliability.
Fix: The newspaper's dates are still checkable. Trust it on what it is placed to know.
Calls a number a fact without asking who counted.
Why: Numbers look objective.
Fix: Ask who counted and how. A number is checkable, which is not the same as correct.
If they are not there yet
- Six statements, three of each kind.
- Give the check and ask which statement it tests.
If they finish early
- Find a statement that is presented as fact but cannot be checked.
- Rewrite an opinion so that it becomes checkable.
- Say which source you would trust most, and on what.
Exit ticket
Sort these: '84 hands signed the petition' and 'the boatmen deserved better treatment'. How would you check the first?
What to look for: Fact and opinion, with the petition itself as the check. Sorting the second as fact means the checking test needs another run.
Printable practice for D3.2.3-5
Free to print and copy, answer key included. Each sheet can generate a fresh set of problems for a retake.
- Can This Be Checked?Sort each sentence into fact or opinion.
Questions about Can This Sentence Be Checked?
How long does the Can This Sentence Be Checked? lesson take?
45 minutes, split across 5 timed sections: warm-up 5 min, teach 15 min, guided practice 13 min, independent practice 9 min, close 3 min. The minutes are stated per section and add up to the stated length, so the plan can be cut or extended at a section boundary rather than abandoned halfway.
Which standard does Can This Sentence Be Checked? teach?
D3.2.3-5 — D3.2.3-5, Evaluating Sources and Using Evidence for Grade 3 to Grade 5: “Use distinctions among fact and opinion to determine the credibility of multiple sources.” In plain terms, use the difference between fact and opinion to judge whether sources can be trusted.
What do I need to teach this lesson?
Twelve statement cards from the eight sources, two headings: fact / opinion and the printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan. Everything listed is either ordinary classroom equipment or a free printable from this site — there is nothing to buy and nothing to prepare beyond photocopying.
What mistakes should I expect in this lesson?
Three, each a reasoning error rather than carelessness: sorts by whether they agree with it; thinks opinions make a source untrustworthy and calls a number a fact without asking who counted. The plan gives the thinking behind each one and the teaching move that addresses the thinking rather than the symptom.
How do I know whether the lesson worked?
The exit ticket asks: “Sort these: '84 hands signed the petition' and 'the boatmen deserved better treatment'. How would you check the first?.” Fact and opinion, with the petition itself as the check. Sorting the second as fact means the checking test needs another run. That tells you whether the class needs a reteach or a thirty-second conversation before you plan tomorrow.
Is there a worksheet to go with Can This Sentence Be Checked??
Yes — 1 printable D3.2.3-5 worksheet, linked at the end of the plan and free like the rest of the site. Each one comes with an answer key and 25 versions, so the practice after the lesson can be a different paper on every desk.
Is Can This Sentence Be Checked? free to use?
Yes. The plan, its printables and their answer keys are free to read, print and photocopy for your own class, with no account and no email capture. It was last reviewed on 7 September 2026. Please do not resell it or republish it as your own.
Last reviewed 2026-09-07. Aligned to D3.2.3-5 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.