Year 4 English · AC9E4LA02

Identify the subjective language of opinion and feeling, and the objective language of factual reporting

Students learn to identify the subjective language of opinion and feeling, and the objective language of factual reporting. They identify the relevant language or text…

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Learning goalsAC9E4LA02

Learning goals: reports and viewpoints

Learning intention: identify words that report checkable information and words that express someone’s opinion or feeling, then explain the difference using the actual text.

Subjective language expresses a viewpoint, judgement or feeling: “wonderful”, “too noisy”, “I prefer” or “I felt worried”. Objective language reports information without adding personal evaluation: counts, measurements or described events. A claim can be objectively worded and still be inaccurate; check it against suitable evidence before treating it as verified.

Success criteria: I can point to exact word clues, separate reporting from evaluation in a mixed passage, identify thinking and summary verbs, and revise two versions while preserving their shared information.

Materials and scope: pencil and paper; about 20 minutes plus practice. Work with short original texts and simple supplied findings. You need to read a sentence and recognise a count or description; advanced media-bias analysis is not needed.

Four steps: I do, We do, You do, CheckAC9E4LA02

Four teaching steps

Model: read the playground pair below. Circle the shared event and day, underline “brilliant”, and say how the added word changes the report.
Analyse together: read the council notice and reaction. Ask “Whose words are these? What could we check? Which word expresses a response?” Have students point to the words before answering.
Apply: partners use the bean measurements to write a finding beginning “We concluded”. Independently rewrite the picnic sentence in the practice section and explain the removed word.
Check: use the exit ticket. Look for an unchanged count/time/place, precise opinion clues and a supported conclusion. If a learner treats every adjective or first-person sentence as opinion, compare “red shirts” or “I counted” with “wonderful shirts” or “I prefer”.

Subject-Specific Content & Key ExamplesAC9E4LA02

Worked examples: read the whole claim

1. Same information, different wording

Report: “The new playground opened on Monday.” Evaluation added: “The brilliant new playground opened on Monday.” Both preserve the same opening and day. “Brilliant” adds approval; it does not add a checked detail. “The playground is exciting” also evaluates but leaves out the opening day, so it is not a complete replacement for this report.

Try: “The climbing frame is 2.4 metres high.” Could this belong in a review? Yes. A review may combine a checkable measurement with an opinion such as “I find the climbing frame exciting”. State which purpose your sentence serves.

2. Thinking verbs and supported opinions

“I think the ending is effective because the repeated warning builds suspense.” “I believe the shaded bench is the best place to read.” These thinking-verb phrases introduce viewpoints; “effective” and “best” evaluate. Reasons can support an opinion without making everyone agree.

Compare “I counted twelve chairs”: first person reports an observation. “I think the room has twelve chairs, but I need to check” shows uncertainty about a checkable count. Read the claim as well as the opening phrase. “Might help”, “should help” and “will help” change certainty or force, but none of these words proves a claim.

3. Summary verbs report findings

Record: our bean plant measured 7 centimetres on Monday and 10 centimetres the following Monday. Summary: “We concluded that this plant grew 3 centimetres during the week.” The measurements support this finding. They do not prove that every bean plant grows 3 centimetres each week.

“We concluded that it was the most beautiful plant” still includes the judgement “most beautiful”. A summary verb tells us a conclusion was reached; we must inspect the evidence supporting it. Similarly, a temperature report of 18 degrees Celsius or a race time of 52 seconds needs the relevant dated instrument or results record.

4. A mixed passage and whose viewpoint it is

“The council notice says the pool opens at 9 am. Jo called the new timetable wonderful. I wish the pool opened earlier.” The first sentence attributes checkable information to a notice; check that it is the current notice. “Wonderful” is Jo’s evaluation. The wish is the writer’s own preference. Reporting Jo’s view does not establish that everyone agrees.

Descriptive adjectives are not all subjective: “red shirts” describes a checkable colour; “fantastic shirts” evaluates. A sentence can combine both, such as “The fantastic shirts are red”. Quote the exact word rather than deciding only from the text’s topic.

Curriculum Coverage & ElaborationsAC9E4LA02

Curriculum coverage and elaborations

AC9E4LA02: identify the subjective language of opinion and feeling, and the objective language of factual reporting

E1: identifying ways thinking verbs are used to express opinions; for example, “I think”, “I believe”, and ways summary verbs are used to report findings; for example, “we concluded”
Worked examples 2 and 3 show the phrases in context. Learners write a judgement and a supported summary, then explain the words and evidence.
E2: comparing statements that have similar information presented objectively and subjectively; for example, “The man has 6 cats.” “The man has too many noisy cats.”
The official pair contrasts counting with evaluation. In the original playground pair, we also keep the event and day unchanged so the precise effect of adding “brilliant” is clear. Learners edit their own paired versions without inventing facts.

Common Student MisconceptionsAC9E4LA02

Common mistakes and quick fixes

“A number proves it is true.” A number makes a claim checkable, not automatically accurate. Ask for the relevant count, dated record or measurement.
“All adjectives or all sentences with I are opinions.” “Red” may name a checkable colour and “I counted” may report an observation. Compare them with a specific judgement or feeling.
“We concluded makes any claim factual.” Read the findings. Keep the summary limited to what was actually observed; “most wonderful” remains evaluation.
“Reporting someone’s opinion makes everyone agree.” Name whose viewpoint is reported. Reviews and other paragraphs may mix checkable details and evaluation; examine each part.

Practice Thought & Formative AssessmentAC9E4LA02

Important questions, practice and review

Question: Why can two readers agree that a story is boring without turning “boring” into an objective fact? Answer: agreement can be shared, but “boring” still describes a response to the story.

Question: How can you make a report more objective? Answer: remove personal evaluations while preserving the supplied people, events, counts, times and places. Do not replace missing facts with guesses.

Try independently: change “The delightful picnic lasted two hours beside the lake” into an objective report. Then explain the change. Model: “The picnic lasted two hours beside the lake.” Removing “delightful” removes evaluation; the duration and place remain.

Compare: “The gate is 1 metre wide” was later checked and measured at 1.2 metres. Was the first claim an opinion about a favourite width? Answer: no; it was an objectively worded but inaccurate measurement claim. Correct the number using the evidence.

Support, core and extend

Support: compare one count with one preference aloud and identify a single word clue. Core: annotate a mixed paragraph and write a report/opinion pair. Extend: explain how “only six” frames an unchanged count as fewer than expected; it does not prove a shared expectation.

Exit ticket

Read: “The club displayed eight models on Friday. I believe the colourful display was a wonderful achievement.” Copy the checkable count/day and a thinking phrase plus an evaluative word. Rewrite the second sentence to report only information supported by the passage.

Expected evidence: eight models, Friday; “I believe”; “wonderful”. A suitable revised report is “The club displayed eight models on Friday.” “Colourful” can describe appearance; it is not as clear an evaluative clue as “wonderful”. Adult check: require the actual words and an accurate report. If the student invents a prize or claims everyone admired it, return to the evidence and attribution model.

Curriculum alignmentPlanning references

Australian Curriculum AC9E4LA02 is the lesson target. Other English curricula are closest planning alignments, not exact equivalence.

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