How Can Your Child Differentiate Between Opinions And Facts?

Knowing the difference between opinions and facts is one of the most crucial skills any student can develop in school. This skill will serve them well, from analyzing news and stories to knowing how to select the right product. Having strong analytical skills will also help them find reliable sources once they start doing their own research for school projects. Unfortunately, not all students are given ample opportunities to develop this skill. Teachers in school tend to place more emphasis on developing memory skills rather than analytical skills. As such, parents can supplement their child’s schoolwork by providing opportunities for developing their child’s critical thinking skills. 

Is it Important to Tell the Difference between a Fact and an Opinion?

In a world where information is readily available on the internet, it becomes even more important for children to possess the ability to differentiate between opinions and facts. The internet is full of opinions disguised as facts that are being circulated online. Nowadays, many people willingly accept fake news as facts just because they read them from a seemingly legitimate website. There are also others who will mindlessly accept someone else’s opinion and turn it into an undisputed fact. With so much fake news floating around, it is thus imperative for students to learn how to distinguish a fact from an opinion. 

Teaching children to question what they read and verify information through personal research is a great start to developing critical thinking. Such analytical skills, which can be gained from https://slotogate.com/table-games/blackjack/ will stand them in good stead when they tackle comprehension questions. Conclusions that students draw should be based on the correct information they have gleaned. 

Definition of an Opinion vs. a Fact

An opinion is a judgment or view that may not necessarily be based on facts. It could be somebody’s take or position on an issue based on their values and beliefs. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions. As such, it is not possible to have a “correct” opinion. On the other hand, facts are established based on accurate, correct information that can stand the test of time and research.   

Activities that can Help Your Child Differentiate between an Opinion and a Fact

These are some activities that you can carry out with your child to develop critical thinking skills:

• Analyze newspaper articles – Read a newspaper article with your child and discuss the article and its content together, sifting out facts from opinions. 
• Analyze opinion columns – Sit down together to analyze an opinion column of your choice. Discuss with your child how the columnists supported their opinions as well as the writing techniques they used.  
• Write an essay based on fact – Help your child look for a news article based on facts. Then, get them to write about their chosen piece of news. 
• Write an essay based on opinion – Get your child to choose any topic and have them write about their opinions on the topic. 

Choose JEI Learning Center to Develop Your Child’s Critical Thinking Skills

At JEI Learning Center, our internationally acclaimed JEI Self-Learning Method® is designed to develop children’s critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Help your child distinguish between opinions and facts with our unique and innovative curriculum. To learn more about our programs, contact us today.