A student writes: "The Jamestown colony was founded in Virginia in 1607." Is this statement a fact or an opinion?

A student writes: "The Middle Colonies were the most interesting region to live in." Is this statement a fact or an opinion?

A historian reads letters from three Boston merchants complaining about a new British tax and then writes: "The tax was the main reason anger grew in Boston that year." This statement is best called what?

A textbook states: "The Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776." This statement is best called what?

A travel guide says: "Everyone should visit Philadelphia to see where the Constitution was written." Is this sentence a fact or an opinion?

A fact is a statement that can be checked against evidence to see whether it is true.

A student claims that Boston merchants took part in the boycott of British goods in 1769. Which evidence best supports that claim?

A student claims that farming in the New England Colonies was hard because the soil was thin and rocky. Which evidence best supports that claim?

In the sentence "The Erie Canal was the greatest engineering project of its time," which word signals that the writer is giving an opinion?

A student writes: "Benjamin Franklin worked as a printer before he served as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention." Is this statement a fact or an opinion?

Frederick Douglass wrote a book in 1845 describing his own life under enslavement. For a class studying enslavement, is his book a primary source or a secondary source?

A student claims that Harriet Tubman guided people escaping enslavement north to freedom. Which evidence best supports that claim?

Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955. A newspaper report printed that week and a history book written in 2010 both describe it. Which one is the primary source?

Two reliable sources can never disagree about the same event.

A student claims that most families in a town owned a horse in 1850. The only evidence offered is one family's diary that mentions a horse. Why is that evidence weak?

After studying shipping and farm records, a historian writes: "New England's economy depended more on the sea than on its farms." This statement is best called what?

A British tax official and a Boston shopkeeper each wrote about the same street protest, and their accounts disagree about who started it. What is the best conclusion for a student to draw?

A history book published in 2015 describes the Boston Massacre of 1770 and quotes testimony that soldiers gave in court at the time. How should a student label the book and the testimony?

A 1750 advertisement urges families to move to a colony and calls the land rich and easy to farm. What should a reader keep in mind when using this source?

Words such as "best", "worst", and "should" often signal that a statement is an opinion rather than a fact.