In groups of 3: You will define "plagiarism" and "copyright."
1) You and your group must come up with a working definition of "copyright."
Questions that must be answered in your definition.
a) What is "copyright?"
b) What items fall under "copyright?"
c) When you copyright a song, what does that mean?
2) You and your group must then define "plagiarism."
Questions that must be answered in your definition.
a) What is "plagiarism"?
b) What items fall under plagiarism?
c) When you plagiarize a song, what does that mean?
You will need to discover what these concepts are and what they are not. You will need to be able to successfully create your own definition of each of these terms. THIS IS TO BE WRITTEN OUT AND APPROVED BY ME. You cannot move on to the next assignment until I have checked and APPROVED your definition.
PART II
In groups of 3: You will then research the implications of plagiarism in your own lives.
1) You will need to discover what Koraes Elementary School's specific policy regarding copying and plagiarism. Your reference materials can range from specific teacher policy to what is stated in the handbook.
*Do not cite your friends' or your own experience of copying and getting caught.
2) As you are going to be in high school next year, you will need to go to your intended high school's website and find out information about their specific plagiarism/copying policy. Again, you can use their handbook (if available to you) or you can speak with teachers.
3) What are the ways that teachers can find out if a student is plagiarizing? You can use common sense, but I really want you to focus on electronic means, i.e. the Internet.
The purpose of this piece is for you to examine and take notes about plagiarism and copyright in your own experience. You will then meet with me and review your notes. ONLY AFTER I HAVE HAD A MEETING WITH YOUR GROUP CAN YOU MOVE ON TO PART III.
PART III:
In groups of 3: You will research real life cases of plagiarism and copyright.
1) Find three specific cases of plagiarism. You will need to answer the following questions:
a) Who copied what?
b) Whose materials were copied?
c) What were the consequences of this event? Ex: was money paid to the author, did someone go to jail, etc?
PART IV:
In groups of 3: You will create either a powerpoint presentation OR a brochure aimed to teach sixth and seventh graders about the dangers of plagarism. See the EVALUATION page for more specific instructions.
By yourself: You need to create an individual "Plagiarism Checklist" for your own use.
BOTH ASSIGNMENTS ARE DUE TO ME. IF YOU ONLY COMPLETE ONE THIS WILL REFLECT ON YOUR INDIVIDUAL GRADE.