Reading Strategy

People often try to change the way we think. Sometimes they want to sell us things. Sometimes they want us to support a cause. It is important that we can make up our minds for ourselves.

One way people try to change the way we think is by making their opinion sound like a fact. Can you tell the difference between fact and opinion? If you can, you will be better able to make careful decisions.

A fact is something that you know is true. You can prove it. An opinion is something that you think or believe is true. But you cannot prove it, and people might disagree. For example:

Try this

Write down fact or opinion for each statement. You do not need to go back to the reader to see if these are true or false. Just look at the statement.

Word Attack Strategy

What three sounds can y make? Look at the words in the above Word Patterns box and say them out loud.

 Make a chart like this

Fill in your chart

1. Sort these words into your chart

These words are split up into syllables

2. Put the syllables together to make a word. Write the word on the line. Then sound it out.

How many syllables are in these words?

3. A syllable is a beat in a word. Each beat has one vowel sound. Write the number of syllables for each word.

Use Your Strategies

Read the chapter called The Rare Spirit Bear. You will read some facts and opinions about this animal. You will see many words with open syllables. Try out your new strategies as you read. Enjoy!

Check Your Understanding

Sometimes people make statements that are false. These “facts” about spirit bears are false. One word is wrong.

Rewrite the sentence to make the statement true

Change the wrong word to the correct word.

1. The spirit bear is really a kind of grizzly bear.

2. The Great Bear Rainforest is a place in Alaska.

3. Spirit bears have a harder time catching salmon than black bears do.

4. In winter, spirit bears can go without food for nine months.

5. The First Nations have always hunted the spirit bear.

6. Spirit bears live to be about 50 years old.

Are these statements fact or opinion?

7. Enbridge will pay taxes to the government of British Columbia.

8. A pipeline should be built through the Great Bear Rainforest.

9. The government should not allow any more oil tankers off the coast of British Columbia.

10. Oil spills can kill plants and animals.

11. Building pipelines will create jobs.

Grammar

Knowing about compound words can help you spell bigger words. If you can spell the small words that make up compound words, you can spell bigger words, too.

Try this

1. Here are some compound words from your reading. What small words do you see inside each compound word? Write them down.

a. waterfall

b. rainforest

c. pipeline

2. Match a word from List 1 with a word from List 2 to make a compound word from the reading.

3. What small words do you see in these compound words?

Writing

Do you think Enbridge should be allowed to build a pipeline through the Great Bear Rainforest?

Make a web

1. Make a web to brainstorm your ideas. Ask your instructor for a Make a Web sheet, or open and print one from the link.

2. Look at your past webs to help you make a web for this writing task.

3. You can use ideas from the reading to fill in the web. But do not copy word for word. Find synonyms for some words instead of copying them.