Warm-Up Building and Creating: Distinguishing Fact from

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Warm-Up Building and Creating: Distinguishing Fact from Opinion in an Essay

Lesson Goals

Read "OnBecoming anInventor" by

DeanKamen.

that support a writer’sopinion.

Identify

to understand importantideas in the text.

DrawUnderstand thedi�erence between facts

and .

? Lesson Question

Words to Know

Fill in this table as you work through the lesson. You may also use the glossary to help you.

something that happened or can be proven

a belief or feeling

a decision based on evidence and experience

a belief or feeling

WK2


Warm-Up Building and Creating: Distinguishing Fact from Opinion in an Essay

Inventors

An is a person who something new, such as a

process, a product, or a machine.

Inventors:

• problems.

• have ideas for new that they can build or create, and even sell.

• can be any .


Building and Creating: Distinguishing Fact from Opinion in an Essay

A Famous Inventor

Thomas is among the most famous inventors.

• He failed several times before making a working .

• He invented a number of other .

Many of Edison’s inventions shaped the way we live today.

Perseverance in Creating

ThomasEdison on

perseverance in

“I haven't .

I've found 10,000 waysthat don't work.”

“I have more respectfor the fellow with a

idea who

.”

gets there than for thefellow with a thousandideas who does

“Many of life's failuresare people who did notrealize how close they

when they gave up.”

were to

2Slide

InstructionPart 1



4Slide

Facts and Opinions

A fact is a statement that can be . An opinion is a or a view about something.

InstructionPart 1

• Art class starts at 2 p.m.

• The class is forty-five minutes long.

• I think class should start at 9 a.m.

• I love every minute of art class!

Identifying Facts and Opinions

How can you tell the difference between a fact and an opinion in a text?

Fact Opinion

Ask yourself:

• Can I the

information?

• Can I prove it is

?

Look for words that show:

• Generalizations – all, none, most, least, best, worst, everyone, no one

• –

beautiful, strong, funny

• Thoughts – believe, think, perhaps, should, suggest, probably

• – felt,

embarrassed, hopeful

6



9Slide

10 The Segway Personal Transporter

As you watch the video, think about what it might be like to take a on

Dean Kamen’s best-known invention, the Segway personal transporter. Who might find the transporter useful?

Dean Kamen (b. 1951)

• Is an inventor

• Began selling his inventions as a

• Owns a company

• Is most famous for inventing the Segway personal

• Focuses on the fields of and electronics

• Began a competition for kids

InstructionPart 1



Supporting Opinions with FactsSlide

12

InstructionPart 1

Fact:

about how to growbetter vegetables.

I took a

Fact:

community gardenin my neighborhood.

I a

Fact:I spent

on gardeningsupplies.

Opinion: I hobby.gardening is a

Bias

is a person’s preference for, or prejudice against, something.

Looking for Bias

Bias can be based on our experiences or on what we from others. Bias can be found:

• in the you read.

• in the you hear and see.

• in the films, television shows, and videos you .

• in each of us.

14



Underline the author’s bias about her cousin Dean Kamen in the passage. 14Slide

InstructionPart 1

Invention is predominantly individualistic. Everything . . . comes from the lone worker who

follows the fl eeting inspiration of a moment and fi nally does something that has not been

done before.

This quote is from the inventor of a three-phase motor, Nikola Tesla. It fi ts the description in

every respect of Dean Kamen, the owner of more than one hundred patents.

–Introduction to “On Becoming an Inventor,” Gloria Kamen



Drawing Conclusions

You can draw a to better understand ideas that an author does

not directly state in a text.

2Slide

InstructionPart 2

Conclusion

from

experience

from the

text

Using Details to Draw Conclusions

In the passage, underline the facts that will help you draw conclusions about how Dean’s work and creativity helped his family.

I decided to put his entire machine shop in our basement, but there were two problems. . . .

One, his shop wouldn’t fi t in our basement, and two, there was no way the lathe, weighing

fi fteen hundred pounds, and the milling machine, weighing two thousand pounds, could be

carried into the basement. I solved this problem by hiring a contractor to dig a large hole,

break open a wall of the basement, enclose the addition with concrete, and add a roof that

could be used for building an outside deck to the house. I also enlarged my mother’s kitchen

and pantry. I now had the entire machine shop in our basement. At the time I was making

enough money from my electronic devices to pay for all of this.

–“On Becoming an Inventor,” Dean Kamen


Summary Building and Creating: Distinguishing Fact from Opinion in an Essay

Answer

Lesson Question

How can an inventor’s perseverance help him or her to be successful?

Use this space to write any questions or thoughts about this lesson.

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Warm-Up Building and Creating: Distinguishing Fact from