Overview

Lesson Procedure

60-75 minutes of class time across 5 phases.

1. Warm-Up5-10 minutes
2. Direct Instruction20 minutes
3. Guided Practice15 minutes
4. Independent Practice15-20 minutes
5. Closure5-10 minutes

1. Warm-Up5-10 minutes

   Start with three statements about school lunch.

   Warm-Up Prompt

   "Read these three sentences. (1) 'Our lunch period is 30 minutes long.' (2) 'Pizza day is the best day of the week.' (3) 'The lunch line should open 5 minutes earlier, because last week 40 students were still waiting when the bell rang.' Which one could you prove? Which one could nobody prove? Which one gives a reason you could check?"

   Take answers, then name the three kinds. Sentence 1 is a statement of fact: a clock would prove it true or false. Sentence 2 is an opinion: it states a taste, and no evidence could prove it for everyone. Sentence 3 is a reasoned judgment: it is a conclusion (open the line earlier) supported by a checkable reason (40 students were waiting). People can disagree with a reasoned judgment, but they can weigh its evidence. Today students sort statements from the journey of Lewis and Clark, 1804-1806.

2. Direct Instruction20 minutes

   Part 1: The source. In June 1805, Lewis and Clark's party, called the Corps of Discovery, was paddling up the Missouri River in present-day Montana when it reached a fork: two large rivers joined, and nobody knew which one was the Missouri. The Missouri was the river they needed, because the Minnetarees (the Hidatsa people of present-day North Dakota, who had described the route to the captains) said it led close to the Columbia River, which flows to the Pacific. The 1814 History was written from the captains' journals and tells the story mostly in their voice. Gloss before reading: "despatched" (sent), "ascertain" (find out), "turbidness" (muddiness), "induce" (lead to).

   1It now became an interesting question which of these two streams is what the Minnetarees call Ahmateahza or the Missouri, which they described as approaching very near to the Columbia. On our right decision much of the fate of the expedition depends [...] We determined, therefore, to examine well before we decided on our future course; and for this purpose despatched two canoes with three men up each of the streams with orders to ascertain the width, depth, and rapidity of the current, so as to judge of their comparative bodies of water. [...] On our return we continued our examination; the width of the north branch is two hundred yards, that of the south is three hundred and seventy-two. The north, although narrower and with a gentler current, is deeper than the south: its waters too are of the same whitish brown colour, thickness, and turbidness: they run in the same boiling and rolling manner which has uniformly characterized the Missouri; and its bed is composed of some gravel, but principally mud. The south fork is deeper, but its waters are perfectly transparent: its current is rapid, but the surface smooth and unruffled; and its bed too is composed of round and flat smooth stones like those of rivers issuing from a mountainous country. The air and character of the north fork so much resemble those of the Missouri that almost all the party believe that to be the true course to be pursued. We however, although we have given no decided opinion, are inclined to think otherwise, because, although this branch does give the colour and character to the Missouri, yet these very circumstances induce an opinion that it rises in and runs through an open plain country, since if it came from the mountains it would be clearer, unless, which from the position of the country is improbable, it passed through a vast extent of low ground after leaving them [...]

   Part 2: The two-question test. Show Diagram 1. For each statement, ask: (1) Can it be checked now and proved true or false by observation, measurement or records? If yes, it is a statement of fact, even if it later turns out to be wrong. (2) If not, does the writer give evidence or reasons that support it? If yes, it is a reasoned judgment; if no, it is an opinion. Students highlight facts in one color, opinions in a second and reasoned judgments in a third.

   Fact, opinion and reasoned judgment

   Kind	What it is	Words that often signal it
   Statement of fact	Can be checked and proved true or false	numbers, dates, names, measurements, things seen or done
   Opinion	A belief, feeling or taste that cannot be proved	best, worst, beautiful, I feel, I like, value words
   Reasoned judgment	A conclusion supported by evidence and reasons	because, since, therefore, so, we conclude, probably

   • A statement of fact: the widths (Source 1)

     Is "the width of the north branch is two hundred yards, that of the south is three hundred and seventy-two" a fact, an opinion or a reasoned judgment?

     Result: It is a statement of fact. Width can be measured, and anyone with the same tools could check it. The numbers and the unit (yards) are signals. The south branch is 172 yards wider, nearly twice as wide.

   • A fact about an opinion (Source 1)

     Is "almost all the party believe that to be the true course to be pursued" a fact or an opinion?

     Result: The sentence itself is a statement of fact: it reports what the men believed, and the captains could check it by asking them. What the men believed is a different matter; their belief that the north fork was the Missouri rested on how much its water looked like the Missouri's. Readers must separate a report of someone's view from the view itself.

   • A reasoned judgment (Source 1)

     The captains say they "are inclined to think otherwise." What is their judgment, and what supports it?

     Result: Their judgment is that the north fork is not the Missouri. Their evidence is a set of facts: the north fork's water is whitish brown and muddy, while the south fork's is "perfectly transparent" over "round and flat smooth stones like those of rivers issuing from a mountainous country." Their reasoning: "if it came from the mountains it would be clearer." The signal words "because" and "since" mark the reasons. Diagram 2 lays out the parts.

   • How sure is the writer? (Source 1)

     Why do the captains write "although we have given no decided opinion" and "inclined to think"?

     Result: These phrases show that their view is a judgment, not a proved fact: they have good reasons, but they are not yet certain. Careful writers mark how sure they are. Words such as "inclined to think" and "probably" are signs of a judgment, while a fact is stated plainly.

   • When two statements of fact disagree (Source 1)

     The passage says "The north, although narrower and with a gentler current, is deeper than the south" and then "The south fork is deeper." What should a reader do?

     Result: Both are statements of fact, because depth can be measured, but they cannot both be true. A statement of fact is one that can be checked, not one that is always right. A reader would look for another record of the measurement before relying on either sentence.

   Point out the order the captains followed: they gathered facts first, then reasoned from them, and they said plainly that their conclusion was not yet certain.

3. Guided Practice15 minutes

   Source 2 comes six days later, on June 9, after each captain had explored one of the rivers. The captains had just finished listing their reasons for choosing the south fork. Gloss: "contrary" (opposite), "waterman" (boatman), "terminate" (end), "deposit" (leave in a safe place), "periogue" (a large open boat, today spelled pirogue). Pairs label four parts of the passage, then compare with the teacher model.

   1These observations which satisfied our mind completely we communicated to the party: but every one of them were of a contrary opinion; and much of their belief depended on Crusatte, an experienced waterman on the Missouri, who gave it as his decided judgment that the north fork was the genuine Missouri. The men therefore mentioned that although they would most cheerfully follow us wherever we should direct, yet they were afraid that the south fork would soon terminate in the Rocky mountains and leave us at a great distance from the Columbia. In order that nothing might be omitted which could prevent our falling into an error, it was agreed that one of us should ascend the southern branch by land until we reached either the falls or the mountains. In the meantime in order to lighten our burdens as much as possible, we determined to deposit here one of the periogues and all the heavy baggage which we could possibly spare, as well as some provision, salt, powder, and tools: this would at once lighten the other boats, and give them the crew which had been employed on board the periogue.

   Pair task. Label each part as a statement of fact, an opinion or a reasoned judgment, and explain: (a) "every one of them were of a contrary opinion"; (b) "Crusatte, an experienced waterman on the Missouri"; (c) Crusatte's "decided judgment that the north fork was the genuine Missouri"; (d) "In order that nothing might be omitted which could prevent our falling into an error, it was agreed that one of us should ascend the southern branch."

   Teacher model: (a) A statement of fact about the men's views: the captains heard each man's view and report it. (b) A statement of fact: Crusatte's experience as a boatman on the Missouri could be checked. (c) The writer calls it a "decided judgment," and Crusatte's long experience counts for something, but the passage gives none of his reasons. As it stands on the page, it works as an opinion, one held by an expert. Students should notice that a writer's label is not the test; the test is whether reasons are given. (d) A reasoned judgment about what to do next: the stated reason is to avoid "falling into an error," and the plan (one captain goes ahead "until we reached either the falls or the mountains") is a way to check the question with more facts.

4. Independent Practice15-20 minutes

   Students read two new passages and use them for the quiz. In Source 3, Captain Lewis and a small party have gone ahead up the south fork by land, as planned in Source 2. In Source 4, Zebulon Pike, an army officer who crossed the plains of present-day Kansas and Colorado in 1806-1807, explains why so much of the West has no trees. Students highlight each statement in one of the three colors as they read. Gloss: "ramparts" (high walls of a fort), "insulated" (standing alone), "stupendous" (amazingly large), "hypotheses" (possible explanations), "untimbered" (without trees), "aridity" (dryness), "leagues" (a league is about three miles).

   1Thursday 13. They left their encampment at sunrise, and ascending the river hills went for six miles in a course generally southwest, over a country which though more waving than that of yesterday may still be considered level. At the extremity of this course they overlooked a most beautiful plain, where were infinitely more buffaloe than we had ever before seen at a single view. To the southwest arose from the plain two mountains of a singular appearance and more like ramparts of high fortifications than works of nature. They are square figures with sides rising perpendicularly to the height of two hundred and fifty feet, formed of yellow clay, and the tops seemed to be level plains. Finding that the river here bore considerably to the south, and fearful of passing the falls before reaching the Rocky mountains, they now changed their course to the south, and leaving those insulated hills to the right proceeded across the plain. In this direction captain Lewis had gone about two miles when his ears were saluted with the agreeable sound of a fall of water, and as he advanced a spray which seemed driven by the high southwest wind arose above the plain like a column of smoke and vanished in an instant. Towards this point he directed his steps, and the noise increasing as he approached soon became too tremendous to be mistaken for any thing but the great falls of the Missouri. Having travelled seven miles after first hearing the sound he reached the falls about twelve o'clock, the hills as he approached were difficult of access and two hundred feet high: down these he hurried with impatience and seating himself on some rocks under the centre of the falls, enjoyed the sublime spectacle of this stupendous object which has since the creation had been lavishing its magnificence upon the desert, unknown to civilization.

   1Numerous have been the hypotheses formed by various naturalists to account for the vast tract of untimbered country which lies between the waters of the Missouri, Mississippi, and the Western Ocean, from the mouth of the latter river to 48° north latitude. Although not flattering myself to be able to elucidate that which numbers of highly scientific characters have acknowledged to be beyond their depth of research, still I would not think I had done my country justice did I not give birth to what few lights my examination of those internal deserts has enabled me to acquire. In that vast country of which I speak, we find the soil generally dry and sandy, with gravel, and discover that the moment we approach a stream the land becomes more humid, with small timber. I therefore conclude that this country never was timbered; as, from the earliest age the aridity of the soil, having so few water-courses running through it, and they being principally dry in summer, has never afforded moisture sufficient to support the growth of timber. In all timbered land the annual discharge of the leaves, with the continual decay of old trees and branches, creates a manure and moisture, which is preserved from the heat of the sun not being permitted to direct his rays perpendicularly, but only to shed them obliquely through the foliage. But here a barren soil, parched and dried up for eight months in the year, presents neither moisture nor nutrition sufficient to nourish the timber. These vast plains of the western hemisphere may become in time as celebrated as the sandy deserts of Africa; for I saw in my route, in various places, tracts of many leagues where the wind had thrown up the sand in all the fanciful form of the ocean's rolling wave, and on which not a speck of vegetable matter existed.

5. Closure5-10 minutes

   Exit ticket: On an index card, write one statement of fact, one opinion and one reasoned judgment about today's class. Underline the words in the judgment that give its reason.

   Teacher note on the sources: The passages are quoted exactly as printed in 1814 and 1895, with the old spellings (buffaloe, colour, Saskashawan). The 1814 History was prepared from the captains' journals by Nicholas Biddle and edited by Paul Allen, so it is close to, but not the same as, the captains' own words. Source 1 says in two sentences that each fork is the deeper one; it is printed as published and discussed in the fifth worked example. The sources use "Indians," the usual word in 1814; name the peoples where you can (the Minnetarees are the Hidatsa). Source 3 ends with a phrase that reflects the outlook of American writers of the time, and Question 8 asks students to examine it. Pike's paragraph is part of a longer report; the paragraphs that follow it describe Native peoples in terms that are not used on this page. None of the printed passages contains a slur.

   Homework passage. Source 5 is part of the captains' own list of reasons on June 9, the list the men answered in Source 2.

   1Sunday, 9th. We now consulted upon the course to be pursued. [...] In short, being already in latitude 47 degrees 24' we cannot reasonably hope by going farther to the northward to find between this place and the Saskashawan any stream which can, as the Indians assure us the Missouri does, possess a navigable current for some distance in the Rocky mountains: the Indians had assured us also that the water of the Missouri was nearly transparent at the falls; this is the case with the southern branch; that the falls lay a little to the south of sunset from them; this too is in favour of the southern fork, for it bears considerably south of this place which is only a few minutes to the northward of fort Mandan; that the falls are below the Rocky mountains and near the northern termination of one range of those mountains: now there is a ridge of mountains which appear behind the South mountains and terminates to the southwest of us, at a sufficient distance from the unbroken chain of the Rocky mountains to allow space for several falls, indeed we fear for too many of them. If too the Indians had ever passed any stream as large as this southern fork on their way up the Missouri, they would have mentioned it; so that their silence seems to prove that this branch must be the Missouri.

Differentiation Strategies

Assessment Guidance

1. Question 1 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Source 3 says the party "went for six miles in a course generally southwest." What kind of statement is this?

   AAn opinion, because the writer calls the country "waving" BA reasoned judgment, because it explains why the party turned south CA statement of fact, because distance and direction can be measured DAn opinion, because "generally" means the writer was not sure

2. Question 2 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Source 3 says that at the end of the six miles "they overlooked a most beautiful plain." What kind of statement is "a most beautiful plain"?

   AAn opinion, because "most beautiful" states the writer's taste BA statement of fact, because anyone could see the plain CA reasoned judgment, because it comes after a six-mile walk DA statement of fact, because the buffalo on it could be counted

3. Question 3 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Source 3 describes two hills as "more like ramparts of high fortifications than works of nature." What kind of statement is this?

   AA statement of fact, because the hills really were built as forts long ago BAn opinion, because it gives the writer's impression of the hills CA reasoned judgment, because it proves who made the hills DA statement of fact, because it gives the hills' height

4. Question 4 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Source 3 says, "Finding that the river here bore considerably to the south, and fearful of passing the falls before reaching the Rocky mountains, they now changed their course to the south." Why is the decision to turn south a reasoned judgment?

   ABecause it describes the plain around the party in value words such as "beautiful" BBecause the direction south is something that can be measured with a compass CBecause the writer admits that the party was afraid of something DBecause it gives reasons: the river's direction and the fear of missing the falls

5. Question 5 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Source 3 says the noise "soon became too tremendous to be mistaken for any thing but the great falls of the Missouri." What kind of statement is this?

   AA reasoned judgment, because Lewis concludes from the sound and the spray BAn opinion, because "tremendous" is a strong feeling word about the noise CA statement of fact, because the height of the falls could be measured DAn opinion, because the writer gives no way to check what Lewis heard

6. Question 6 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Source 3 says the hills had "sides rising perpendicularly to the height of two hundred and fifty feet." A student says this must be an opinion because the number might be wrong. What is the best response?

   AThe student is right, because any number that might be wrong is an opinion BIt is a reasoned judgment, because the writer gives a reason for the height CIt is a statement of fact, because a height can be checked, even an estimate DIt is an opinion, because "perpendicularly" shows the writer's feeling

7. Question 7 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Source 3 says Lewis "enjoyed the sublime spectacle of this stupendous object." Which words mark this as the writer's opinion?

   A"enjoyed" and "object" B"sublime" and "stupendous" C"spectacle" and "this" D"seating himself" and "centre"

8. Question 8 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Source 3 ends by saying the falls had been "lavishing its magnificence upon the desert, unknown to civilization." The phrase "unknown to civilization" is written like a fact. Why should a careful reader question it?

   ABecause the falls were already well known to European scientists by 1805 BBecause the writer does not say how high the falls were in this sentence CBecause the phrase is a statement of fact that nobody could ever check DBecause the peoples who lived in the region already knew the falls

9. Question 9 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   In Source 4, Pike writes, "we find the soil generally dry and sandy, with gravel." What kind of statement is this?

   AA statement of fact, because soil can be observed and tested BAn opinion, because "dry" describes how the writer felt about the land CA reasoned judgment, because it begins with the words "we find" DAn opinion, because Pike was an army officer, not a scientist

10. Question 10 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Pike writes, "I therefore conclude that this country never was timbered." Which part of Source 4 gives his main reason for this conclusion?

    A"Numerous have been the hypotheses formed by various naturalists" B"These vast plains of the western hemisphere may become in time as celebrated as the sandy deserts of Africa" C"the aridity of the soil [...] has never afforded moisture sufficient to support the growth of timber" D"I would not think I had done my country justice"

11. Question 11 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Pike predicts that "These vast plains of the western hemisphere may become in time as celebrated as the sandy deserts of Africa." What kind of statement is this?

    AA statement of fact, because the size of deserts can be measured BA reasoned judgment: a prediction supported by the sand he saw CAn opinion, because he gives no reason for it at all DA statement of fact, because it happened just as he said it would

12. Question 12 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    In "These vast plains of the western hemisphere may become in time as celebrated as the sandy deserts of Africa; for I saw in my route [...] tracts of many leagues where the wind had thrown up the sand," which word introduces Pike's reason?

    Amay Bbecome Cfor Dcelebrated

13. Question 13 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Pike's prediction that the plains would become like the deserts of Africa did not come true: the Great Plains became farm and ranch land. Does that make his statement an opinion?

    AYes, because any statement that turns out wrong was only an opinion BYes, because Pike used the careful word "may" in the sentence CNo, because it is a statement of fact that was later proved true DNo: it is still a reasoned judgment, since he gave reasons

14. Question 14 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Which sentence from Source 4 is a statement of fact that a later traveler could check by going to the place Pike describes?

    A"the wind had thrown up the sand in all the fanciful form of the ocean's rolling wave" B"These vast plains of the western hemisphere may become in time as celebrated as the sandy deserts of Africa" C"I would not think I had done my country justice" D"I therefore conclude that this country never was timbered"

15. Question 15 of 20 · Short Answer

    Source 3 says "the hills as he approached were difficult of access and two hundred feet high." Split this into its parts. Which part is a statement of fact, and which part is closer to a judgment or opinion? Explain the test you used for each.

    Show model answer

16. Question 16 of 20 · Short Answer

    In Source 4, what is Pike's reasoned judgment about why the plains have no trees? Name the judgment, give two pieces of evidence he offers, and explain the reasoning that connects them.

    Show model answer

17. Question 17 of 20 · Short Answer

    Source 3 says Lewis's "ears were saluted with the agreeable sound of a fall of water." Rewrite this as a plain statement of fact, and explain what you removed and why.

    Show model answer

18. Question 18 of 20 · Short Answer

    Compare Sources 3 and 4. Which writer relies more on reasoned judgment, and which mixes facts with opinions? Support your answer with one quotation from each source.

    Show model answer

19. Question 19 of 20 · Short Answer

    On June 9 the captains' view that the south fork was the Missouri was a reasoned judgment (Source 5). Explain why, after the events of Source 3 on June 13, it became much closer to an established fact. Use Sources 2, 3 and 5.

    Show model answer

20. Question 20 of 20 · Short Answer

    Write three sentences of your own about the Great Falls: one statement of fact, one opinion and one reasoned judgment. Use details from Source 3 for the fact and the judgment, and label each sentence.

    Show model answer

These standards connect to RH.6-8.8: prerequisites to review first, parallel standards at the same level, and next steps that build on it.

Standard text: Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy. © Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved.