Subject: Any

Learning Level: Grade 6 - 8 but aimed at Grade 6

Creator: Damianne President

Goal: Students who complete this module have consistent understanding of acceptable paraphrasing, and are able to do correctly paraphrase text to avoid plagiarism.

Prerequisites:

1. Students have been introduced to the concept of plagiarism and have worked through examples of acceptable paraphrasing. However, they need further practice particularly with paraphrasing especially for paragraphs. Students are expected to be familiar with citation methods. MLA is used here but the use of any citation model is appropriate.
2. Students should be able to read at a Grade 6 level. They should be comfortable using computers, particularly logging on to the network, and working with multimedia online. Students should be familiar with controlling a computer using mouse and keyboard. An e-mail address is important for students to receive feedback from their teacher.
   

Rationale: Students need adequate practice with paraphrasing to be able to avoid plagiarising. This is especially important for students susceptible to plagiarism as demonstrated through testing, or through repeated plagiarized work. Much of the content available to teach about plagiarism uses examples above a grade 6 level. This instructional module provides modeling that students can relate to, and gives students the chance to practice paraphrasing without plagiarizing using text at an appropriate level for use with grade 6 students. The module starts with easier activities using sentences and progresses through more difficult activities using paragraphs as students gain confidence and proficiency in paraphrasing.

Use of this Module: The module is aimed at middle school students who are identified as repeating perpetrators of unintentional plagiarism, i.e. students who have been found responsible of unintentional plagiarism on more than one occasion, or students tested as being most susceptible to plagiarism. It is not meant for use with high school students, as there is a variety of existing material appropriate for their use, but may be at an appropriate reading level of high school students who are learning English but are speakers of other languages (ESOL).

To use web resources effectively, it is a good idea to use DECL to think through the use of the resource and how it relates to your curriculum and students. For more information on DECL, see Making Your own Educational Materials for the Web. You can find my completed DECL document in the zip file from the downloads area. 

Copyright and Fair Use: Images used are creative commons licensed. Flash activities and external websites are embedded rather than copied. Passages used are attributed to their source. The principles of fair use have been respected through educational and transformative uses of the resources. If any information/data on the page is found to be used in violation of copyright, please e-mail me at president_dr(at)yahoo(dot)ca for a prompt response.

Downloads: If you would like to use this module, download the zip file at http://dpresident.net/downloads. Modify the More Practice pages to point to you own Google Documents form or other form of your choice. A spreadsheet is enclosed in the zip file for reference/use. For instructions on how to change a spreadsheet into a form, see http://docs.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=87809. I would appreciate an e-mail at president_dr(at)yahoo(dot)ca if you have any suggestions/comments on this module.

Caution: This website uses embedded media from other sites. Please make sure that all pages work correctly before use. Feel free to replace non-functional links/embedded media with your own resources.