F U N C T I O N A L S K I L L S E N G L I S H · L E V E L 1
Fact or Opinion?
READING · LESSON 3 OF 10
Lesson by English
This lesson contains 19 slides, with interactive quizzes and text slides.
F U N C T I O N A L S K I L L S E N G L I S H · L E V E L 1
Fact or Opinion?
READING · LESSON 3 OF 10
Functional Skills English Level 1 · Reading · Lesson 3 of 10 (about 60 minutes)
Covers: subject content 11 (distinguish fact and opinion), with links to 10 and 16 (vocabulary of adverts and reviews). Speaking and listening run through the pair talk and the spinner round.
Before the lesson: print the handout (Source A and Source B are slides 8 and 9), one per learner. Learners need two coloured pens: one for facts, one for opinions.
Device-free fallback: every activity works with the printed sources, mini whiteboards and hands up.
Description: Functional Skills English Level 1 Reading, lesson 3 of 10. Learners tell facts from opinions in a restaurant's web advert and a customer review, spot opinion words such as best, delicious and should, and see through opinions dressed up as facts, then answer exam-style questions.
Tags: fact and opinion, opinion words, opinions dressed as facts, persuasive language, adverts, reviews, hospitality, restaurant, level 1 reading, reading comprehension, exam practice, functional skills english, functional skills level 1, further education, adult learners Image credit: Keesha's Kitchen / Unsplash
😄 Great – ready to go
🙂 Good
😐 Okay
😕 Not great today
😴 Tired
Wellbeing check: how's your energy today?
Phase 0 · Wellbeing check (first 2 mins)
A quick, low-stakes check-in. Only totals show, so nobody is singled out. Say: "There's no right answer. It just helps me plan today."
Act on it: if several learners choose the last two options, ease the pace and build in a pair task early. Check in privately with anyone you are concerned about, and follow your college's wellbeing and safeguarding route.
Editor note: if any emoji have not come through, re-add them in the editor.
Device-free fallback: learners show 1–5 fingers, or write a number on a sticky note face down.
Online reviews and star ratings
A friend's recommendation
The restaurant's own website
Photos of the food
Walking past and looking in
Choosing somewhere new to eat. What do you trust most?
Phase 1 · Hook (2–5 mins)
No wrong answer. Vote, then ask two or three learners why they trust that source more than the others.
Probe: "Would a restaurant ever say its own food is bad?" (No: its website is there to sell.) "Is one customer's review the whole truth?" This sets up today's two texts: an advert and a review.
Device-free fallback: hands up for each option, or stand by the corner of the room that matches your answer.
What we're doing today
R E A D I N G
Today you will
Why it matters
tell a fact from an opinion
spot opinion words
catch opinions dressed up as facts
Adverts, reviews and posts online mix facts and opinions to persuade you.
The Level 1 reading exam often asks you to find one or the other.
Phase 2 · Goals (5–7 mins)
Keep it short and practical. Telling fact from opinion protects you: from a misleading advert, a too-good-to-be-true deal, or a story shared online.
The Level 1 reading assessment regularly asks learners to find a fact or an opinion, or to say which one a sentence is.
Device-free fallback: read the slide aloud; learners copy the three goals into their book.
What words do people use to describe food they love?
Phase 2 · Activation (7–10 mins)
Free association: tasty, spicy, fresh, home-made, mouth-watering, the best, amazing, filling, cheap, too salty.
Say: "Look at these words. Could you prove that a meal is 'amazing'? Could you prove it costs £11?" Sort a few on the board into "can check" and "can't check" as a preview.
Device-free fallback: pairs list as many words as they can in 60 seconds; collect on the board. Image credit: Haberdoedas / Unsplash
Fact or opinion?
A fact can be checked: a price, a date, an address.
An opinion is what someone thinks or feels. Others may disagree.
Test: Could I check this?
Phase 3 · Teaching (10–13 mins)
Say: "A fact can be checked: on a menu, a receipt, a map, a clock. An opinion is someone's view. You might agree with it, but you can't prove it."
Misconception: learners often think an opinion they agree with is a fact ("the food was good"), or that a fact must be true. A fact is something that can be checked; a false fact is still a fact-type statement, just a wrong one.
Probe: "'The goat curry costs £12.50.' Fact or opinion? How would you check?" (Fact: look at the menu.)
Device-free fallback: write FACT and OPINION on the board with the test question underneath. Image credit: Louis Hansel / Unsplash
Spot an opinion: 3 clues
R E A D I N G
1
Opinion words. best, delicious, amazing, too sweet
2
Advice words. you should, you must try, you'll love it
3
Opinions dressed up as facts. Everyone agrees… Nobody does it better…
Phase 3 · Teaching (13–16 mins)
Click to reveal each clue. Ask for one more example of each from learners' own lives.
Clue 3 is the tricky one. "Everyone agrees" and "nobody does it better" sound certain, like facts, but nobody has asked everyone. Writers use them to make an opinion sound like a fact.
Vocabulary: to be dressed up as something is to be made to look like it.
Support: learners copy the three clues onto a card to use for the rest of the lesson.
Device-free fallback: write the three clues on the board one at a time.
www.mamaadeskitchen.co.uk
SOURCE A · advert
Mama Ade's Kitchen · Station Road, Ashworth
A taste of home in Ashworth
West African and Caribbean food, cooked fresh
Mama Ade's Kitchen opened on Station Road in 2019. Chef Adebola Okafor learned to cook in her grandmother's kitchen in Lagos, and her husband Winston brings the flavours of Jamaica.
Everyone agrees our jollof rice is the best in Ashworth. You will not find more delicious plantain anywhere!
On the menu
jerk chicken with rice and peas £11
slow-cooked goat curry £12.50
Rice and peas, ready to take away
Visit us
Open Tuesday to Sunday, 12pm to 10pm. Takeaway available. All our chicken is halal.
You should book early at weekends – we're always busy!
**Who wrote it?** The restaurant. An advert wants you to **visit**, so it mixes facts with opinions.
**Facts.** *Opened in 2019, on Station Road.* You could check these.
**Opinion dressed as a fact.** Nobody asked *everyone*, and *best* is a view.
**Advice is opinion too.** *You should book early* is what the writer thinks you should do.
Phase 3 · Reading Source A (16–21 mins)
Learners read along on the handout while you read aloud (or a confident volunteer does). They underline facts in one colour and opinions in the other. Then open the hotspots.
Probe: "Who wrote this, and what do they want you to do?" (The restaurant; they want you to visit.) "Why mix facts in with the opinions?" (Facts make the whole advert seem trustworthy.)
Vocabulary: halal meat is prepared according to Islamic law; takeaway is food you collect to eat at home; plantain is a cooking banana.
Device-free fallback: printed Source A with two coloured pens. Image credit: Gabre Cameron / Unsplash
www.ashwortheats.co.uk/reviews/mama-ades-kitchen
SOURCE B · review
AshworthEats · Reviews
"Great food, slow service"
★★★☆☆ 3 out of 5 · Daniel K. · visited Saturday 14 September
We went to Mama Ade's Kitchen for my partner's birthday. We waited 40 minutes for our food, even though the restaurant was only half full.
The jollof rice was delicious, smoky and full of flavour, so it was worth the wait. But I thought the plantain was too sweet, and the goat curry was £12.50 for quite a small portion.
Reviewed by Daniel K.
The staff were friendly and gave us a free dessert because of the wait.
I would go back, but next time I'll get a takeaway.
**Who wrote it?** A customer, Daniel. A review is **one person's** experience on one day.
**Fact.** *We waited 40 minutes* could be checked, for example on the order time.
**Opinion words.** *Delicious*, *too sweet*, *small portion* are Daniel's views. Others may disagree.
**Compare.** Source A says *always busy*. Daniel says *only half full* on a Saturday.
Phase 3 · Reading Source B (21–25 mins)
Read the review aloud. Learners use the same two colours as for Source A. Then open the hotspots.
Probe: "Is Daniel's review positive or negative?" (Mixed: he praises the jollof and the staff, but not the wait or the portion.) "Does one review prove the restaurant is slow?" (No: it is one person's experience on one day.)
Device-free fallback: printed Source B with two coloured pens. Image credit: Vitaly Gariev / Unsplash
Fact
Opinion
Both – a fact and an opinion
Fact or opinion? "The goat curry was £12.50 for quite a small portion."
Phase 4 · Check: poll round (25–27 mins)
Vote first, then reveal and discuss. Many learners will split between the first two.
Answer: both. "£12.50" is a fact: you can check it on the menu, and it matches Source A. "Quite a small portion" is Daniel's opinion: someone with a smaller appetite might think it is plenty.
Teaching point: one sentence can hold a fact and an opinion. In the exam, read the whole sentence before you decide.
Device-free fallback: learners hold up F, O or B on a mini whiteboard.
Drag each card: is it a fact or an opinion?
Fact (can be checked)
Opinion (a view)
The jollof rice was delicious
Mama Ade's opened in 2019
The goat curry costs £12.50
The plantain was too sweet
Everyone agrees our jollof is the best
We waited 40 minutes for our food
Phase 4 · Practice (27–32 mins)
Learners apply the test to each card: "Could I check this?" before they drag it. Pairs talk it through aloud.
Answers: Fact: Mama Ade's opened in 2019; the goat curry costs £12.50; we waited 40 minutes for our food. Opinion: the jollof rice was delicious; the plantain was too sweet; everyone agrees our jollof is the best.
Probe on "everyone agrees": "It sounds certain. Why is it still an opinion?"
Device-free fallback: read each card aloud; learners show F or O on a mini whiteboard.
Which sentence is an opinion dressed up as a fact?
I thought the plantain was too sweet.
We are open Tuesday to Sunday.
Everyone agrees our jollof rice is the best in Ashworth.
We waited 40 minutes for our food.
Phase 4 · Check (32–34 mins)
Answer: C. "Everyone agrees" makes it sound like a checked fact, but nobody has asked everyone, and "the best" is a view.
Why the others are wrong: A is an opinion, but an honest one: "I thought" tells you it is Daniel's view, so it is not dressed up. B and D are facts that could be checked.
Device-free fallback: learners hold up A–D cards or fingers.
Quick-fire
Fact or opinion?
Spin the wheel and read the statement aloud.
Say fact or opinion, and name the clue that told you.
You have 20 seconds a round.
second
Phase 4 · Practice: quick-fire round (34–39 mins)
Spin, read the statement aloud, start the 20-second timer. Learners say fact or opinion and name the clue. Play 5–6 rounds.
Answers: Open Tuesday to Sunday (fact) · Best jollof in Ashworth (opinion: best) · All chicken is halal (fact) · Plantain too sweet (opinion: a view) · Staff were friendly (opinion: someone else might disagree) · Opened in 2019 (fact) · You should book early (opinion: advice word should) · Free dessert given (fact).
Speaking and listening: ask the learner to explain how they knew ("I asked: could I check it?").
Device-free fallback: pull the statements from a hat.
Complete the rule
A fact can be checked. An opinion is what someone thinks or feels. Words like best and delicious often show an opinion.
Phase 4 · Check: the rule (39–42 mins)
Answers: checked · thinks · delicious.
Distractors: "knows" is the trap: an opinion is not something you know for sure. "guessed" is not how a fact works; a fact can be checked.
Editor note: after pushing, set this fill's text to 28px in the editor.
Device-free fallback: write the three sentences on the board with gaps; learners copy and fill them in.
Exam-style practice
minute
second
Answer on paper using Source A and Source B. Look at the marks: they tell you how many things to write.
1. Give one fact from Source A about the restaurant. (1 mark)
2. "Everyone agrees our jollof rice is the best." Fact or opinion? Explain how you know. (2 marks)
3. Give two opinions Daniel has about the food. (2 marks)
4. Find one fact in Source B. (1 mark)
5. Source A says it is "always busy". Which fact in Source B suggests this may not be true? (1 mark)
Starters
One fact is…
It is an opinion because…
Daniel thinks…
Source B says…
Phase 5 · Independent practice, exam style (42–52 mins)
Learners work alone, on paper, with both sources. Start the 10-minute timer. This is the format of the Level 1 reading assessment: short questions, with the marks shown.
Support: for question 2, remind learners of the three clues. For question 5, tell them to look in Source B's first paragraph.
Stretch: for question 3, choose one opinion that is positive and one that is negative.
Mark it together on the next slide.
Device-free fallback: the questions are written to be copied from the board or printed.
Check your answers
R E A D I N G
1. A fact from Source A
2. "Everyone agrees…"
3. Two of Daniel's opinions
4. A fact from Source B
5. Not always busy
Anything you could check.
One mark for the answer, one for the reason.
One mark each. Not the price, which is a fact.
Anything that could be checked.
Look in the first paragraph of Source B.
Any one: opened in 2019; on Station Road; a price; opening times; takeaway; halal chicken.
Opinion. Best is a view, and you can't check that everyone agrees.
Any two: jollof delicious, smoky or worth the wait; plantain too sweet; small portion.
Any one: waited 40 minutes; curry cost £12.50; free dessert; visited 14 September.
The restaurant was only half full on a Saturday.
Phase 5 · Mark it (52–55 mins)
Click each yellow marker to reveal the answer. Learners mark their own work with a different colour pen and add up out of 7.
Common errors: Q1 "the jollof is the best" (an opinion, not a fact). Q2 saying "fact" because it sounds certain. Q3 giving "£12.50" (a fact). Q5 "he waited 40 minutes" (true, but it does not show whether it was busy).
Device-free fallback: read the answers aloud.
You can now…
R E A D I N G
tell a fact (it can be checked) from an opinion (a view)
spot opinion words like best, delicious and should
catch opinions dressed up as facts
Phase 6 · Celebrate progress (55–56 mins)
Click to bring in each tick. Ask: "Which of these feels solid now? Which one needs more practice?" Name it as real progress: this is a skill learners will use every time they read an advert, a review or a post online.
Device-free fallback: learners tick the three statements in their book, adding a question mark next to any they are unsure about. Image credit: LessonUp Studio (made for this series)
Asking "Could I check this?"
Words like best and delicious
Advice words like should and must
Watching out for "everyone agrees"
Which clue helps you most to spot an opinion?
Phase 6 · Reflect (56–58 mins)
No right answer. Ask one or two learners why they chose theirs, and where they could use it outside college (e.g. a phone contract advert, a news post, a five-star review).
Device-free fallback: thumbs up for each option, or write the clue on an exit slip.
Take it further
R E A D I N G
Stretch: in class
Before next lesson
Rewrite Daniel's review using only facts. What is left?
Then write one sentence about Mama Ade's with one fact and one opinion.
Look at a message, email or notice from work, college or home.
Write down:
one thing it says directly
one thing it hints at but doesn't say
Take it further (58–60 mins)
Stretch is for early finishers in class. A facts-only version of the review keeps: birthday visit, 40-minute wait, half full, £12.50 curry, free dessert. Learners will notice how much of a review is opinion.
Before next lesson needs no device. Learners bring their text to Lesson 4, where we read between the lines: what a text hints at but does not say.
Device-free fallback: this slide is already paper-based.