Citation+Lesson

=Plagiarism and Citation Lesson=

Summary: Students will be asked to write three sentences about things they like (i.e. My favorite sport is soccer. I like to eat spaghetti. After school, I enjoy playing with my friends) on a note card. These note cards will be passed around the room to other students, who will be asked to re-write those sentences in their own words. Examples of these will be read aloud, and hopefully the students will recognize when the re-written versions are insufficiently someone’s “own” words. This will lead to a discussion about how you can “steal” ideas and words just like you can steal things, and stealing ideas is called plagiarism. In order to prevent plagiarism, then, you have to credit people who give you ideas and information. That credit is called citation. Part of the student’s brochures, then, must include a “Sources” section. The source must include the author (if given), and the date of each article or other type of resource that you used, and the name of the book/website/article.


 * Plagiarism and Citation Lesson Plan **


 * Subject **__Science __** Grade **5
 * || **Grade: 5 ** ||
 * Standard || **Common Core W.5.8. ** Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; summarize or paraphrase information in notes and finished work, and provide a list of sources.
 * AASL 1.3.1 ** Respect copyright/intellectual property rights of creators and producers. ||
 * Anticipatory Set

(Introduction to Lesson) || Class will begin with a note card placed in front of each student. Students will be instructed to write three complete sentences about themselves, such as their likes and dislikes, on one side of the note card (which will have been previously marked with a big “1” in marker), but that none of the sentences should include their name. Students will be given four minutes to complete this task.

After the four minutes are up, the teacher and librarian will pick up the note cards and distribute them around the classroom so that every student has a different, random, note card. They will then be instructed to read the sentences and re-write them, using different words, on the other side of the note card. ||
 * SMART Objective

(Smart, Measurable, Action-oriented, Realistic, Time-bound) || After this lesson, students will be able to explain what plagiarism is and how to avoid committing it. ||
 * Essential Questions

(Refer to Bloom’s Taxonomy) || What is plagiarism?

How do we give people credit for their ideas? ||
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Guided Practice || The teacher and librarian will gather the note cards, and read several of them out loud, both front and back, pointing out when the exact same words are used. The class will be asked how they feel about their words being used without them getting credit for the words. This discussion should last approximately four minutes.

At this point, the librarian will write the word “plagiarism” on the board, and ask if anyone knows what it means. They will then explain that plagiarism is stealing ideas and words, as opposed to physical items, “taking someone else’s words or ideas as if they were your own” (Kids.Net.Au). The solution, though, is not to completely avoid using other people’s ideas, because sometimes other people’s ideas are good and are worth sharing! Instead, we avoid plagiarism through “citation” (which will also be written on the board), which is acknowledging the source of our information. This is done by naming the author of the place where we got our information, the name of the book/article, and the date it was published. The last part is important so that readers of whatever you’re producing, like your poster, know that the information you used was up to date! ||
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Assessment/Activities || The note card activity is assessed as a part of class participation. This purpose of the lesson is assessed as a part of the overall project. Part of the rubric includes that citations are included and that those citations include all the following parts: the name of the source, the author, and the date. ||
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Closure/Wrap-up

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">(e.g. pair-share, exit ticket, write in journal) || Students will be asked if they have any questions about plagiarism or citation. They will be allowed to write them down or ask the teacher or librarian after class if they are uncomfortable asking in front of everyone. ||