Will Wonders Never Cease? Wow!

Learning intention:

I am learning to use language of opinion to express a point of view so that I can make intentional choices surrounding the vocabulary I use. 

Success criteria:

• I can identify statements of fact and of opinion. 
• I can design my own piece of wearable art.  
• I can compose sentences that use statements of opinion to express a point of view.  

Essential knowledge  

View the video Point of View from The School Magazine. Ensure students identify that the point of view a text is told from refers to whose eyes the events are presented from.  

Discuss the differences between statements of opinion and factual information. Ensure students identify that opinions are personal and that they are subjective whereas factual reporting features information that can be checked using a variety of sources. Inform students that one way of expressing a point of view is by including language of opinion.  

Prior to reading Will Wonders Never Cease? Wow! display the following statements:  

• Usually, students attend school from Monday to Friday, during term time. (Fact) 
• School is the most fun place in the world. (Opinion) 
• Teachers provide a range of lessons, to cover a variety of curriculum. (Fact) 
• Swimming is the best sport. (Opinion) 
• You should try swimming if you haven’t already. (Opinion) 

 

Discuss the first two statements, instructing students to identify if they are statements of opinion or statements of fact. Ensure students identify that statement one is factual, while statement two is an opinion. Identify language that helped students draw these conclusions, for example factual information such as the days of the week for the statements of fact and subjective language such as ‘fun’ for the statement of opinion. Instruct students to discuss the remaining statements with a partner, deciding whether they are statements of opinion or statements of fact.   

 

Read Will Wonders Never Cease? Wow! Inform students that the article includes both statements of opinion and of fact. Identify examples of each and discuss, for example:  

 

Who says that art only belongs on gallery walls? (Expresses the opinion that art only belongs on gallery walls) 

 

In 1987 she started a competition to encourage artists to get art off the walls and onto human bodies. (Is a statement of fact as it includes information that can be checked in other sources)  

Ensure students can confidently differentiate between statements of opinion and statements of fact. Instruct students to find further examples of statements of opinion in the article. Tell students to identify language that is used to express an opinion. Share responses and jot examples of the vocabulary on the board. Sample responses include:  

 

lavish event (Jot the word lavish on the board) 

lots of imagination (Note the word imagination) 

 

Discuss the opinion the author of Will Wonders Never Cease? Wow! appears to hold about the fashion show, Wow. Most likely, students will conclude that the writer likes the fashion show. Discuss language that reveals this, for example, lavish, imagination, inspiration, and also the fact that the article encourages readers to participate, with lines such as,  

Why not get creative and try your own wearable art? 

 

Those with a digital subscription can complete the interactive activity now.  

 

Inform students that they will be experimenting with expressing their point of view by using language of opinion.  Tell students that first they’ll be designing their own piece of wearable art. Refer back to the article for ideas, such as: 

• combine costume design, art, fashion and lots of imagination  
• buildings, clouds, bulging blobs, fluffy dinosaurs, spiky sea creatures and space monsters 
• inspiration from looking down a microscope or looking up at stars 
• can be made from feathers, furniture, bicycle spokes, plastic buckets 

 

Discuss students’ ideas for a piece of wearable art. Tell students that they can get as creative as they like. Provide examples, such as a dress made that is made to look like the body of a dog, adorned with fake fur or a hat that that is made from a repurposed wastepaper bin. Provide students with art materials such as textas or access to digital programs such as Paint and instruct them to design their own pieces of wearable art. Students can work independently or in pairs for this task. Once students have had time to work on their designs conduct a gallery walk so students can observe each other’s work.  

 

Inform students that they will be composing statements to express their opinion of their designs. Refer students back to the list of vocabulary recorded earlier. Collaboratively compose some examples, such as,  

 

• My design is the most creative and inspirational piece of wearable art ever created.  
• I cleverly included feathers and glitter in my design to make it really stand out.  

 

Allow time for students to compose their sentences before instructing them to share them with another group.  

 

Assessment as/of learning:  

Inform students that they will be identifying language in the sentences composed by their peers that reveals their point of view. Tell students to provide feedback on the impact of the vocabulary and how it might be improved.  

Effective Feedback from the NSW Department of Education has more information on different types of feedback. 

 

Instruct students to answer the following Exit Ticket question in their workbooks:  

How does language assist with revealing an author’s point of view?