Skill 5 · ages 10-14
Fact or opinion?
A fact can be checked in sources. An opinion is a judgement. You learn to tell them apart, even when they are mixed in one sentence.
DraftNot yet reviewed by a historian or history teacher.Why
History books, documentaries and speeches often mix facts and judgements. If you see that, you are harder to talk into things.
Understand it
A fact is a statement you can check in sources: 'In 1302 there was fighting near Kortrijk.' A fact can be wrong too, but then you can show that.
An opinion is a judgement: 'the finest', 'the best', 'should have', 'a hero'. You can give arguments for it, but you cannot prove it.
Watch out for sentences like 'According to Caesar, the Belgae were the bravest.' That Caesar wrote this is a fact. Whether the Belgae really were the bravest is a judgement.
Ask: can I check this in a source? If so, a fact. Is it a judgement with words like 'best' or 'should have'? Then an opinion.
See it on a source
"On 11 July 1302 Flemish militias defeated the French army of knights near Kortrijk. It was the most glorious victory in our history."
Is the first sentence a fact or an opinion?Show
A fact: date, place and outcome appear in chronicles from both sides.
And the second sentence?Show
An opinion: 'the most glorious' is a judgement, and 'our' already takes a side.
What does that second sentence still teach us?Show
How the writer and his time looked at 1302. An opinion is a trace too.
Pitfalls
Not like this: A wrong fact is an opinion.
Like this: A wrong statement you can check is a wrong fact, not an opinion.
Not like this: If many people think something, it becomes a fact.
Like this: A judgement stays a judgement, even when popular. That many people think it, though, is a fact.
Do it
Choose a level. Five right in a row and you can do this.
With Kaft PlusWant every topic? Open them with Kaft Plus
Make a worksheet of itAt the table
Pick an event you find important. Say one fact and one opinion about it. How can you hear the difference?