Elementary Tech Teachers

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Plagiarism Ideas

Hi,

I'm looking to expand my coverage of plagiarism with my 4th grade students.  Right now, we tough on it in passing, but never really spend any formal time activly learning about it.  I'm wondering anyone has some good resources out there that help students get more hands on with plagiarism. 

If you have a good short web clip or maybe some project ideas, I would love any help you can give.  

Thank you.

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Permalink Reply by Mary Ellen Jansson on October 4, 2012 at 9:00pm

I was going to ask for help with the same topic. How does everyone handle this topic? 

Permalink Reply by Elaine Doolittle on October 5, 2012 at 10:13am

I have done a project with third graders in which I have them take notes in a PowerPoint by having them copy and paste one fact onto each of three pages. I then explain that it is okay and copy and paste for the purpose of taking notes, but NOT okay to turn that in as their work. I then explain that this would be something serious called plagiarism.

I always ask if they know what it would be called and many come up with cheating, copying, or stealing. I was shocked when one child actually used the term plagiarism and asked her where she heard it. She told me about watching an episode of Arthur called "Francine's Pilfered Paper". I purchased it for $1.99 from iTunes, but I can't envision using it with fourth graders.

Anyway, getting back to my project, I have them keep the notes on each page but make a new line to rewrite the fact in their own words. Rewriting seems to be difficult for many and I like to see the original to be sure they are actually getting the important information from it. I also have them copy and paste the URL onto a references page.

Permalink Reply by Ryan Fiereck on October 5, 2012 at 12:14pm

I'm just having some trouble finding some teeth for this topic, that is not just me talking to them about it during another project we do.

I feel like we are at the point where this needs to have its own blatent unit.

Permalink Reply by Vicky S on October 5, 2012 at 1:11pm

Heidi Pence posted something on this site that she did with 2nd grade - http://elementarytechteachers.ning.com/forum/topics/2067663:Topic:1...

BrainPop has a video about Plagiarism but you have to be a subscriber to view it. http://www.brainpop.com/english/writing/plagiarism/preview.weml

I did some work with my Middle School students last year on Plagiarism and it was tough to find online resources even for that level - most are college or high school level.

First they did some online Plagiarism & Paraphrasing Activities:

  • Plagiarism Game
  • Paraphrase Craze
    Click the pink arrows or scroll down to go to the next page. The pink arrow for next does not work on the section with " This is Poe's original passage. Let's see what Perry does with it. "; just scroll down.

Then they completed a Paraphrasing Assignment:

Finally they created paper-slide videos about Plagiarism & Paraphrasing:

A lesson I ran across years ago but can't seem to find now went something like this:

  • Have the students write something original - like a poem or short story, etc.
  • Change the names on the papers to other student names in the room and display the completed papers or have the students read their work (not their real work but the new work attributed to them)
  • Have discussions on how they felt to have someone else take credit for their work & then launch into a discussion of other types of plagiarism.

This is something that I did a few years ago that wasn't about plagiarism but could be adapted for that I think. My middle school students were all bragging about downloading music for free ... and not the free offer on iTunes or free from the singer or band. They just didn't get that it was wrong. I put together the attached presentation to address this - first it has a video & some facts about music piracy & then in the Show What You Know section, there were signs in the room (Legal on one side, Not Sure in the Middle & Not Legal on the other side). I presented some scenarios and the students got up and moved to the appropriate side of the room to vote. Then, I called on students to defend their opinion. You could do something similar with plagiarism examples where the choices are Plagiarism, Not Plagiarism & Not Sure and title it something like "It's Easy to Copy & Paste!"

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Permalink Reply by Elaine Doolittle on October 5, 2012 at 1:19pm
Permalink Reply by Vicky S on October 5, 2012 at 1:30pm

I love the lessons at Common Sense Media and they have one for 4th & 5th about plagiarism - it has the "lesson" I talked about in my previous post. Check http://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators/lesson/whose-it-anyway-4-5

Permalink Reply by Jacqui Murray on October 8, 2012 at 10:55pm

Haha--I should have read your comment before posting mine. I am trying out the Digital Passport this year.

Permalink Reply by Jacqui Murray on October 8, 2012 at 10:51pm

I found a hilarious cartoon (really funny--Jim Borgman--parents and a kid at the dinner table, parents lamenting, “Yes we could read your blog, or you could just tell us about your school day” ) and posted it on the wall of the classroom. Then, I explained it was NOT OK to use that.

Except for educational exceptions. Which we talked about. 

It was interesting. 

Permalink Reply by Jacqui Murray on October 8, 2012 at 10:54pm

I've deleted this because Vicky already posted it. Clever girl.

Permalink Reply by Karen Hoffmann on October 9, 2012 at 9:53am

I've always liked the story about the boy who takes another boy's cat:  

www.otsego.k12.oh.us/bradley/documents/copycat.doc

I wish I knew where it really came from.

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