Plagiarism: Avoiding Accidental Internet Plagiarism
Created By:
Theresa Foy DiGeronimo
Title/Role:
Teacher/librarian
Organization/School Name:
Hawthorne High School
Location:
New Jersey
Grade Level:
11, 12 Type of Lesson:
Lesson in a unit Type of Schedule:
Flexible Collaboration Continuum:
Limited Content Area:
Language Arts Content Topic:
Research Paper Writing Scenario:
During a Professional Learning Community meeting, the English teachers concurred that too many students were in the habit of using the Internet to practice “cut-and-paste plagiarism” in their research papers. As part of the introduction to the Language Arts unit on writing the research paper [NJCCCS Language Arts Standard W.11-12.7; W.11-12.8: Conduct research to gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation], the SL was asked for assistance in teaching the students what Internet plagiarism is, why it is unacceptable and how to avoid it. For this full-period lesson, the students came with their teacher to the library computer lab for a team-teaching approach to this lesson. The classroom teacher will follow-up this activity as the research papers are written and return to the library for reinforcement lessons as necessary.
Overview:
In this lesson in the research paper unit, students will learn why cutting information from the Internet and pasting it into a research paper is plagiarism. They will learn how to properly paraphrase and cite their sources to avoid the consequences of theft of intellectual property. The essential questions for this lesson include: Why can't I cut and paste information from the Internet? How can I report my research without risking a charge of plagiarism? Final Product:
Students will use a peer-edit assignment to finalize the process of correctly turning a paragraph of information into a bulleted list of facts and then turning that list into a paraphrased paragraph with proper in-text citation. Library Lesson:
Students will follow ethical and legal guidelines in gathering and using information. They will also avoid accidental Internet plagiarism by accurately paraphrasing source material. Estimated Lesson Time:
45 minutes Have you taught this lesson before:
Yes Strategies for differentiation:
As the SL notices students needing differentiated instruction who may be struggling with the concept or falling behind in the paraphrase, the SL will alert the teacher who can provide individualized explanations.
Students with in-class support personnel will work with their support person to find the key points to add to their notecards.
Students with attention deficits will be given a printout of the model lesson that is displayed for the class on the Smart Board or with the computer projector. - Login to post comments