Age: 11-12 years

Duration: 80 min

Objectives

• Locate the thesis and supporting claims in a news editorial.
• Identify signals of bias and distinguish fact from opinion.
• Write a short critical summary that names the author's stance.

Vocab

• editorial: "An editorial shares the writer's opinion, not just the news."
• stance: "The author's stance is that fees should be lowered."
• bias: "Loaded words like 'reckless' can signal bias."
• evidence: "A strong claim is backed by evidence, not feelings."

Warm-up (5min)

Display two short lines — one factual ("The fee rose 10%"), one opinion ("The fee hike is unfair"). Students sort fact vs opinion and explain the clue words. Introduce "stance" as the writer's main opinion.

Main Activity (65min): "Critical Reading: News Editorial"

"Editorial Detective" — Round 1: first read (silent) of a student-level editorial (~350 words) to get the gist; write the topic in one line. Round 2: thesis hunt — reread and box the sentence that states the author's stance; compare with a partner. Round 3: claim-evidence map — list each claim and mark whether it is supported by fact, example, or just opinion. Round 4: bias scan — highlight loaded or emotional words; discuss how they nudge the reader. Round 5: critical summary — write 4–5 sentences: topic, author's stance, one strong point, one weak point. Share two summaries aloud.

Wrap-up (10min)

Thumb vote: "Did the author convince you?" Students justify with one piece of evidence. Exit ticket: "The author's stance is ___ ; the weakest support was ___ ."

Teacher Tips

• Choose a low-stakes, age-appropriate topic (school lunch, screen time) to keep bias analysis safe.
• Model annotation on the first paragraph before releasing students.
• Builds directly toward persuasive articles (Lesson 07) and policy debate (Lesson 10).