A Blonde and a Blog!: That's a Fact, JACK!

Finally! It's here! No, not Christmas, but the next best thing...FACT AND OPINION WEEK-woohoo!

I have been waiting for over a month to use my adorable, precious, can't stand how cute it is, Duck Dynasty Clip Art I purchased from melonheadz awhile back. I have used it in random places here and there, but I wanted to go all out for Fact and Opinion Week, and oh baby did we ever!

To start off the week, we viewed a little PREZI on fact and opinion {if you've never heard of or used PREZI before, please check it out. It takes a minute to get used to, but it's crazy cool} and introduced our Anchor Chart for the week. You could pretty much hear a pin drop in the room when I was going over this. They were in awe of Si, Willy, and Jase and they fact that they were giving them information about our skill for the week. Maybe I should start wearing a Si mask to school...

We read, "When the Leaf Blew In," and charted facts and opinions while reading. The students then completed our differentiated, "Where's the Facts, Jack" cut and paste. The higher level learners had to add an additional sentence to each column.

To bring a little autumn & science into our room, we created a KWL chart on LEAVES! It was really surprising how much prior knowledge was lacking when it came to this topic. Each table created their own chart, and shared information with their table mates. We then posed questions as to what we were hoping to find out about leaves and why they change colors.

To help us out, we watched two short video clips {here and here} on leaves and WHY they change color. We talked about some unknown vocabulary prior to. We also used "photosynthesis" as one of our vocabulary words for the week. They thought they were "so fancy" because they knew a 5 syllable word. :)

To accompany our reading lesson, we read a Science Spin Weekly Reader, Leaf Story. We read this together as a class and the students reread it with a partner to build fluency. After reading, we finished off our KWL chart with something they learned from either video clip or their Weekly Reader.

Second graders made their own fact and opinion trees--using one color representing facts, and the other opinions. **Not, Duck Commander themed, but still presh....

Aren't they the cutest helping each other out :) #meltsmyheart

We used our, "THAT'S A FACT, JACK" and "HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY," fact and opinion cards to identify statements as such. It was soooooo stinkin' fun hearing them shout, "THAT'S A FACT, JACK!" or "HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY!" as I read each statement aloud! We did this at the start of each lesson to help get our brains revved up. They also LOVED this fun little fact and opinion song. I have to admit, I was singing it for the rest of the day...

To accompany our weekly story, we worked with a friend to complete one of our Duck Dynasty Fact and Opinion Graphic Organizers. Students then gave their own opinion on the story and why they felt that way.

...and then Friday came. Also known as, "Duck Commander Day!" Students rocked their camo or Duck Dynasty attire to help keep with our theme for our Fun Friday Centers! And you can bet your duck tail I was rocking my camo pants and pink Duck Commander T-shirt, too!

Here's a look at how our Friday went down...

Meet the Robertsons :)

Differentiated Comprehension Passages

Fact and Opinion Game: Meet Me at the Warehouse!

game pieces :)

I used the bases from Shoots and Ladders along with some packing tape to hold everything in place

Look at that face! I think she was enjoying herself :) :) :)

PROVE IT! Who's the better brother:

Phil vs. Si or Willy vs. Jase

We used the passages from "Meet the Robertsons" to help with justifications

I can relate.... #texttoself

That's a Fact, Jack! Statement Sorting

Students then chose three sentences to alter {if the card stated a fact about Si, change it to an opinion about Si}

We had so much fun with our Duck Dynasty themed activities! If you would like to use any of the above materials in your classroom, you can download the unit here! Let me know what you think of it and how much your students loved it {which I know they will!}

Try It Out!

Try using a stuffed animal such as this Sock Monkey to promote student participation in your class. As we read and pause to ask {higher order thinking} questions, I toss this sweet little guy to one of my students to answer the question. They then pass it to a friend to share their answer. Try it out and see how many hands will be in the air!