Grade 5 · Technology and library skills · 25 minutes
Credit your sources
Choose an adult-approved factual source. Share observations in a guided discussion.
Mr. S Teaches · Starter mini-lesson · elem-5-credit-your-sourcesLearning objective
Explain and practice credit your sources using the activity and evidence, then take part in a grade-appropriate discussion.
Gather your materials
- Paper and pencil
- A book, printed page or adult-approved device as needed
- Pretend information for privacy activities; no accounts required
Use the items named in the teaching steps; paper models or adult-prepared photographs can replace physical equipment.
Supporting Common Core connection
SL.5.1Prepare, build on others’ ideas, follow roles, and draw conclusions from discussion.
Read the official standard ↗Code and grade verified 2026-11-03. This mini-lesson addresses a selected skill, not the entire standard. The connection is to the guided literacy discussion; it does not establish alignment with this subject’s content standards.
Teach it step by step
- Choose an adult-approved factual source.
- Record title, author when available and link.
- Paraphrase one idea in the learner's own words and attach the source credit.
- Prepare the slide, respond to partners and summarize why credit matters.
- Prepare evidence, respond to others, and summarize where the group agrees or differs. Give each person a turn, invite a question, and finish by naming an idea heard from someone else.
Watch, notice, discuss
Video choices for this lesson
Preview a video, then choose what fits your learners. “Show to class” opens a larger view; use the player’s play and full-screen controls when you’re ready.
Teacher preview needed. Check the language, level and length before showing. YouTube may show ads or related videos.
Citing Sources: Why & How to Do It
By OSLIS Elementary Videos
Connect this video to the lesson on credit your sources. Pause to try an example together.
Open on YouTube: Citing Sources: Why & How to Do It (opens a new tab) ↗Understanding and Avoiding Plagiarism
By PBS Western Reserve Educational Productions
Use the explanation to discuss when to use your own words and when to credit another creator.
Open on PBS: Understanding and Avoiding Plagiarism (opens a new tab) ↗Credit a source you used. Record its creator, title and link, and explain why credit matters.
An external player loads only after you choose Preview or Show to class. Playback connects to YouTube or PBS. Videos belong to their creators; availability and embedding can change.
Make the thinking visible
Example to work through together
A slide can say: Source: a named book or page, author if shown, and its link. Credit tells readers where to check the idea; it does not make the claim automatically true.
Try the starter activity
Create a short research slide with source title, author if available, and link. Then discuss your findings with a partner or adult, using the discussion goal above.
Student practice
Make one research slide with a paraphrased fact and complete available source information; discuss it with a partner.
Quick check for understanding
Why should you show where information came from?
Sample answer and teacher guidance
Sample answer: Credit acknowledges another person's work and helps readers locate and check the source. Do not invent a missing author.
Listen or look for: Credit acknowledges another person's work and helps readers locate and check the source. Do not invent a missing author.
Invite the learner to explain, demonstrate, draw or dictate their reasoning. Revisit a teaching step when the explanation is unclear.
Make it work for your learner
A little more support
Provide a title/author/link template and a short source selected by an adult.
An additional challenge
Compare a paraphrase with the source and revise wording that copies too closely while preserving meaning.