English Language Arts
Grade 6
15 min
Identify plagiarism
Identify plagiarism
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1
Introduction & Learning Objectives
Learning Objectives
Define plagiarism in their own words.
Explain why plagiarism is considered dishonest and unfair.
Identify examples of direct plagiarism in short texts.
Recognize when a paraphrase is too similar to the original source.
Differentiate between common knowledge and information that requires a citation.
Understand the importance of citing sources in their research writing.
Identify the correct use of quotation marks for direct quotes.
Have you ever shared someone else's amazing drawing or idea and pretended it was yours? 🤔 How would that make the original artist feel?
In this lesson, you'll learn all about plagiarism: what it is, why it's important to avoid it, and how to spot it. Understanding plagiarism will help you become a fair and hone...
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Key Concepts & Vocabulary
TermDefinitionExample
PlagiarismPlagiarism is when you use someone else's words or ideas and present them as your own, without giving credit to the original creator.Copying a sentence directly from a website into your report without using quotation marks or saying where it came from.
SourceA source is where you get information from, like a book, website, article, video, or even an interview with an expert.If you read about dinosaurs in a science book, that book is your source of information.
CitationA citation is how you give credit to the source of information you used. It tells your reader exactly where you found the idea or words.Writing '(Smith, 2022)' after a sentence to show it came from a book by Smith published in 2022.
QuotingQuoting is using someone else's ex...
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Key Rules & Conventions
The 'Give Credit' Rule
Always give credit to the original author or source whenever you use someone else's words, ideas, facts, or images in your work.
This rule applies whether you copy words exactly, put them in your own words, or just use an idea you learned from someone else. It's about being fair and honest.
The 'Quotation Mark' Rule
If you use someone else's words exactly as they wrote or said them, you MUST put those words inside quotation marks ('') and cite the source.
Quotation marks tell your reader, 'Hey, these aren't my exact words, they belong to someone else!' Forgetting them is a common form of plagiarism.
The 'Your Own Words' Rule (for Paraphrasing)
When you paraphrase, you must comp...
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Challenging
A student's research note says: 'Source: National Geographic website. Main idea: Polar bears are losing their sea ice habitat due to climate change. Quote: "The primary threat to polar bears is the loss of their sea ice habitat due to climate change." My paraphrase: Polar bears are threatened mostly by climate change, which is causing their sea ice habitat to be lost.' What is the main problem with the student's work?
A.The student should not have used a website as a source.
B.The student's quote is missing a page number.
C.The student's paraphrase is too similar to the original quote.
D.The student did not summarize the article, they only paraphrased it.
Challenging
Original Source: 'The chameleon's skin has a superficial layer which has pigments.' A student writes: 'The chameleon's skin has a top layer that has pigments (Science Journal).' The student added a citation but did not use quotation marks. Why is this still plagiarism?
A.Because the student used a direct quote without quotation marks, even though they added a citation.
B.Because the student should have paraphrased the information instead of quoting it.
C.Because the citation '(Science Journal)' is not in the correct format.
D.Because the student did not change enough words for it to be a proper paraphrase.
Challenging
A student reads five different articles about the causes of the Civil War. She notices that four of them mention the idea that 'economic differences between the industrial North and the agricultural South were a primary cause.' She includes this idea in her paper in her own words but provides no citation, thinking it must be common knowledge. Why could this be considered plagiarism?
A.It is not plagiarism because she read it in more than one source.
B.It is plagiarism because this is a complex historical argument, not a simple fact, and the idea originated with historians she should credit.
C.It is not plagiarism because she used her own words to explain the idea.
D.It is plagiarism because she should have quoted one of the five articles directly.
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