Home›Lesson Plans›English Language Arts›Media Literacy · Grade 6

Citing Sources & Avoiding Plagiarism

Sixth graders learn to use others’ work honestly — giving credit through citations, paraphrasing ideas in their own words, using quotation marks for exact wording, and listing sources in a bibliography. Plagiarism means passing off someone else’s work as your own.

Grade 6Citing Sources50 minutes1 class periodMedia Literacy · CCSSExplicit teaching4 StandardsCCSS / NAMLE
Start the Lesson
Lesson at a Glance

Everything you need before the bell rings

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to…

  • ✓Define plagiarism.
  • ✓Give credit properly.
  • ✓Match terms to meanings.
  • ✓Write with integrity.
Essential Question

When you use information from others, how do you do it honestly — and avoid plagiarism?

0
Lesson Phases
0
Vocabulary Terms
0
Standards Aligned
0
Interactive Task
Match It · Interactive

Match the Term to Its Meaning

Project this and match each citing term to its meaning — tap the term, then tap the meaning.

📚 Match each term to its meaningTry it
Term
Meaning
Now tap the meaning!
The Lesson · Literacy Flow (Hook · Explore · Practice · Apply · Reflect)

50 minutes, five moves

Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.

1

Hook — Give Credit

6 min

When you use others’ work, how do you do it honestly?

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Show a copied paragraph.
  • Ask what’s wrong.
  • Set the goal.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Look.
  • Wonder.
  • Get ready.
2

Explore — Citing Sources

13 min

Students explore.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Send students to Match the Term.
  • Match each one.
  • Note giving credit.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Match.
  • Say.
  • Note it.
3

Practice — Practice

13 min

Students practice.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Paraphrase a sentence.
  • Add a citation.
  • Explain plagiarism.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Paraphrase.
  • Cite.
  • Explain.
4

Apply — Apply

12 min

Students apply.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Rewrite a copied passage honestly.
  • Cite the source.
  • Share your version.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Rewrite.
  • Cite.
  • Share.
5

Reflect — Reflect

6 min

Students close.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Define plagiarism.
  • Name a way to give credit.
  • Complete the exit ticket.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Say it.
  • Name it.
  • Complete the exit ticket.
Standards Alignment

Built to the standards you report on

Aligned to the Common Core ELA Standards (informational literacy) & NAMLE media-literacy competencies.

CCSS
W.6.8

Quote & paraphrase; avoid plagiarism.

CCSS
W.6.2

Cite sources in writing.

NAMLE
Act

Use media ethically.

CCSS
RI.6.1

Cite textual evidence.

Differentiation

One lesson, every learner

Multilingual Learners

ELL / EMERGING READERS
  • Term cards.
  • Sentence frame: “___ means ___.”
  • Use examples.

Support & Access

IEP / 504
  • Start with plagiarism & citation.
  • Match one pair at a time.
  • Use examples.

Stretch & Extend

GIFTED / EARLY FINISHERS
  • Build a bibliography.
  • Paraphrase a paragraph.
  • Explain fair use.
Materials

What to gather

  • 📽️Screen / board
  • 📚Term cards
  • 💻Match the Term
  • 📄A sample passage
  • ✏️Notebooks
  • 🎫Exit-ticket slips
Vocabulary

Key terms — hover for a quick definition

plagiarismcopying without creditciteto give creditsourcewhere info came fromparaphraseput in your own wordsquotationexact copied wordsbibliographya list of sourcescreditnaming the creatorhonestybeing truthful
Evaluate

Exit Ticket

Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.

QUESTION 1
What is plagiarism?
Using someone else’s words or ideas as if they were your own.
QUESTION 2
What is a citation?
Giving credit by naming where information came from.
QUESTION 3
What do quotation marks show?
That you copied exact words from a source.

Reflect: citing sources.

Have students explain two ways to use a source honestly (paraphrasing and citing). A printable citing sheet is in the ELA library.

Study · Flashcards

Study the key terms

Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.

🃏 Citing Sources & Avoiding PlagiarismFlip
Card 1
Term
Tap to flip →
Meaning
0

Nice work!

Practice · Quiz

Check your understanding

A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.

📝 Citing Sources & Avoiding PlagiarismQuiz
Score: 0
1 / 6
Question 1
0%

Nice work!

Practice · Worksheet

Printable worksheet

A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.

🖨️ Citing Sources & Avoiding PlagiarismPrint
Name: ________________________
Date: ____________

Part A · Write the word that matches each meaning

Word bank: bibliography, cite, credit, honesty, paraphrase, plagiarism, quotation, source
  1. naming the creator
  2. being truthful
  3. where info came from
  4. to give credit
  5. put in your own words
  6. exact copied words
  7. copying without credit
  8. a list of sources

Part B · Show what you learned

  1. What is plagiarism?
  2. What is a citation?
  3. What do quotation marks show?
Answer key — Part A: 1) credit · 2) honesty · 3) source · 4) cite · 5) paraphrase · 6) quotation · 7) plagiarism · 8) bibliography
Part B: 1) Using someone else’s words or ideas as if they were your own. 2) Giving credit by naming where information came from. 3) That you copied exact words from a source.