Fact or
Opinion
- 7 SB Activity 2.15 -
What is the Green Movement?
The green movement is the process one
takes to address environmental concerns.
These concerns may include:






Use natural products (no
chemicals)
Buy local products
Reduce
Reuse
Recycle
Conserve Energy
Anticipation Guide (p. 139)
Review the statements listed on the
anticipation guide and decide whether you
agree or disagree. Provide an explanation
for your opinion.
Fact or Opinion Review
Fact: a statement that can be proven
Example: Campbell County Middle School
is the largest middle school in Kentucky.
Opinion: a perspective that can be
debated
Example: Campbell County is the best
middle school in the USA.
What does Garfield have to
say about fact and opinion?
“Buying into the Green Movement”
Feature articles, which may have a persuasive
purpose, contain both facts and opinions.
As a class we’ll read the article, “Buying into the
Green Movement.”
While reading…
 Highlight the facts listed in the article
 In another color, highlight the author’s opinion and
opinions of people cited in the article
Let’s read page 140 together and identify one
opinion and one fact.
After reading
Working with your elbow buddy, identify at
least three facts and three opinions listed in
the article. Write these facts and opinions in
the “my notes” section on page 141.
After reading…inference
practice
What can the reader infer from this article?
a. The author does not care about the
environment.
b. Buying an earth-friendly car will not save
the environment.
c. The author thinks Americans buy earthfriendly products to appear fashionable.
d. The author thinks we should consume
more “green” products.
They made a mistake?!?!
Look at page 145 and notice the “correction” at
the bottom of the page. Why do publications
publish corrections? Is this correction important to
the understanding of the article? Explain.
What goes into a persuasive
piece?
In a persuasive piece the author’s position is
often not directly stated, but implied. The
reader must clearly understand the author’s
position by differentiating between fact and
opinion before they can form a response to
the text (you will practice this strategy using
the SOAPSTone graphic organizer).
What is the author’s position?
Review your highlighting from the text and determine
the author’s position (what is his opinion of the green
movement). Write this on the top of your SOAPSTone.
Respond to the writing prompt at the bottom of
page 146.
Writing Prompt: Write a thesis statement responding
to the author’s opinion about the Green Movement.
Remember: thesis statement = topic + opinion
Thesis statement
On the bottom of page 146, write a thesis
statement responding to the author’s
opinion about the Green Movement.
Hint: thesis statement is the topic of the
article and author’s opinion.
The
(topic)
according to (author).
is
(opinion)
How can I strengthen an
argument?
Writers use a variety of strategies to strengthen their
argument. These strategies include:
 Cause and effect
 Quotations from authorities
 Analogies
Working with your elbow-buddy, scan the text and
label the strategies Williams uses to strengthen his
argument.
Which strategy do you think was most effective?
Explain.
Anticipation guide
Return to the anticipation guide you
completed on page 139.
Have your views changed since reading the
article?
What persuasive points from the article led
to the change?
SOAPSTone
You will work in small groups (3-4) and use the
SOAPSTone strategy to analyze the text to
develop a deeper understanding of it.
Let’s do one example together:
Grammar and Usage appositives
An appositive is a noun or phrase that explains
or renames the noun or pronoun next to it in a
sentence. If the appositive adds meaning to the
sentence but is not necessary for the sentence
to make sense, it should be placed inside of
commas.
Example: Paul Hawken, an author and longime
environmental activist, said the current boom in
earth-friendly products offers a false promise.
Appositive practice
Michael Shellenberger is a partner at American Environics.
American Environics is a market research firm in Oakland, Calif.
He said his company ran a series of focus groups in April and
was surprised by the results.
What is the best way to rewrite this sentence using an
appositive?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Michael Shellenberger is a partner at American Environics
who said his company ran a series of focus groups.
Michael Shellenberger, a partner at American Environics,
said his company ran a series of focus groups in April, and
was surprised by the results.
Michael Shellenberger, a market research firm, was
surprised by the results of his small focus groups.
Michael Shellenber who is a partner at American
Environics said his company ran a series of focus groups in
April and was surprised by the results.
Grammar and Usage - Hyphens
Hyphens connect the parts of compound words.
Notice the hyphen between two words used as a
single phrase to modify a noun: fat-free cookies, oldschool environmentalism, high-style…items, earthfriendly products.
The writer also uses hyphens to separate certain
prefixes and nouns, such as self-abnegation and
eco-narcissism.
Using correct hyphenation in your writing helps to
make your meaning clear.
Practice: Circle five hyphenated words within the
article “Buying into the Green Movement.”
Hyphen practice
Review the sentences below. On a separate sheet of
paper, write the compound words requiring a
hyphen.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
The cat jumped from a two story building.
I need to make sure I self address this envelope.
The student had to make sure she scored well on
today’s warm up activity.
Today, we are reading an article about earth
friendly products.
For my own well being, I need to make sure I get
eight hours of sleep.