by Kathleen Hodges, Maplewood K-8
Time and time again teachers ask you to research a topic and then present your findings in writing, a speech, or a PowerPoint presentation. Moreover, we remind you to "use your OWN words" and not plagiarize. But what does it mean to plagiarize? What's the matter with using someone else's words if they did a really good job of saying what you want to say? Why can't you just copy and paste sounds and images from the internet? Isn't that just working smart? This WebQuest is designed to introduce middle school students to the ins-and-outs of plagiarism and copyright protection.
Introduction
Plagiarism in Suburbia. Oh My!
Just last week Suburbia Middle School was shocked and embarrassed to find out that it's star student, Ima Googler, had been disqualified in the state Brainiac Multimedia Research competition. How could that be? Ima's project had the best writing. It had terrific visuals. The sound-bites were right on target.
Now, not only will Ima forfeit the first prize award of a guest appearance on "Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader", but she also got a zero class grade for her project and the principal called her parents. Ima's teacher, Mrs. Missy Jeaneous, decided to take action and created this WebQuest for her Language Arts students so that no one else had would find his- or herself in this embarrassing situation.