Fact and Opinion for Kids | What Is the Difference between Facts and Opinions?

Fact and Opinion for Kids In this video today, we are going to explore different examples of facts and opinions. You are going to love it! Our first example is a story. Andrew loves pizza. He thinks it's the best food in the entire world. And he's curious about what his parents think. Hey mom, I think pizza is the best food ever. What about you? Well, I think pizza is pretty delicious. But my favorite food is ice cream. Hey dad, what do you think? Is pizza yummier than ice cream? Actually, I don't really like pizza or ice cream. You don't? But they're both delicious. If you don't like either of those, then what's your favorite food? My favorite food is actually apples. So if we all like different foods, then there's not one food that's better than the rest? Nope, it's all about what you like best. Wow, that's cool! Were Andrew and his parents talking about facts or opinions? If you said opinions, you're right! Let's investigate some more and look at two groups of sentences. See if you can tell which column is facts and which is opinions. The sky is blue. The sun is yellow. It is raining outside. Now let's read the second set of sentences. Summer is the best time of the year. Trucks are the best cars to drive. Soccer is the most fun sport to play. Let's look at this sentence first. Summer is the best time of year. Can summer be the best time of year? Many people do like summer best, but others may like the other seasons better. The same is true with the sentences, trucks are the best cars to drive, and soccer is the most fun sport to play. These things may be true for some people, but not everybody. They're all opinions. Remember that an opinion is a statement that cannot be proven. You can't prove what season, car, or sport is best. It's just a matter of opinion or preference. Unlike the opinions in the second column, the first set of sentences are all facts. Facts can be proven. For example, you can prove that the sky is blue, the sun is yellow, and that it's raining outside. And you can investigate the science behind those facts and share it with your friends. Now it's your turn. Listen to this paragraph and see if you can identify which sentences are facts and which are opinions. There are 25 students in the classroom. The children are very well behaved. Mrs. Jones is a nice teacher. She is married to a firefighter. They have three children. We had a party for Mrs. Jones last year. Everyone had fun at the party. There were 37 people who came to the party. School is the best. Let's start out by finding the facts in this paragraph. Here's a hint. Look for things that we can prove are true. To prove something means there's a way to check to see if it's true. Could someone prove that there are 25 students in the classroom? What about if Mrs. Jones is married to a firefighter and that they have three children? Is there a way to check and see if all those are true? There is, isn't there? So those sentences are facts. On the other hand, some people can disagree about the children being well behaved, about Mrs. Jones being a nice teacher, or about the idea that school is the best. Those are all opinions that cannot be proven. But here's something important and interesting. Sometimes opinions can be supported with facts. Like in this example. The children are very well behaved because they do not cause problems. The children are very well behaved is someone's opinion, but they supported their opinion with the fact that the children do not cause any problems. Awesome job, everybody! Sometimes people confuse facts with statements that are not true. Here is an example. If someone says there are 51 states in the United States of America, you might believe them because it sounds like a fact. But it wouldn't be true because there are actually only 50 states in the United States and not 51. That's something you can research by looking at a map. When you are reading, watching things on TV, or online, you will sometimes see and hear people confuse facts and opinions. That's one of the reasons it's important to learn how to identify the difference between the two so that you can discover for yourself what is true and what is not true. So if a fact doesn't seem quite right, do some research and make sure that it really is a fact. Here are two reasons why knowing the difference between facts and opinions is important. One, listening to another person's opinion can help you understand and get to know them better. You will find many people in this world who think differently than you do, and that's okay. Listening respectfully to their opinion can help you understand why they feel certain ways. It can also help others understand why you feel the way you do. Two, knowing the facts about something can help you make important decisions. For example, if you want to buy a new game, you can use facts to find out how much it will cost. If the price says it is $7, that is a fact. You can now use that fact to decide if you have enough money to buy it or if you need to earn more. Remember, facts can be proven and opinions can't. So if you're ever talking with your friends about their favorite foods, remember that everybody's choices are opinions and that no one's opinion is a fact. Hope you had fun learning with us. Visit us at learnbright.org for thousands of free resources and turnkey solutions for teachers and homeschoolers.