Copyright for Kids

What is Copyright? Copyright is a United States LAW that protects the works of authors, artists, composers and others from being used without permission. IT’S A LAW!

Why learn about Copyright? When you do RESEARCH, you look for answers to your questions: In Non-Fiction books … In Encyclopedias … On the Internet …

So what? When you SHARE YOUR RESEARCH (present the answers to your questions) you have used someone else’s: Ideas Words Music Pictures WORK!

What if I put it in my own words? Even when you TAKE NOTES and use your own words, you must give credit to the original author’s ideas. ALWAYS GIVE CREDIT TO THE AUTHOR!

What if I don’t? Then you have stolen someone else’s work! This is called plagiarism. You have BROKEN THE LAW!

What is Plagiarism? Using other authors’ words and ideas in your writing without giving them credit.

How Can I Avoid Plagiarism? Always develop a Bibliography or a Works Cited list. Use quotation marks when you record the author’s exact words. Common knowledge (like the fact that birds fly or frogs are amphibians) does not need in-text citations but must be written in your own words. Just list the source in your bibliography.

Citing Sources

How do I show where I got my RESEARCH information? Where you found your RESEARCH information is called your SOURCE. There is a proper way to list, or CITE, your sources. We use the MLA style to CITE sources. Copy RIGHT … Don’t Copy WRONG!

How do I cite my information? See MLA Handout.

COPY RIGHT Be sure to cite!

What about MY Work? Whenever you write a poem, or story, or paper, or draw a picture, you own the copyright to it! Copyright protects the work of ALL authors and creators. You alone have the right to make or share copies of your work.

Copyright Vocabulary

Vocabulary Review Research: Asking questions and finding answers Source: Where you found the answers for your research Cite: Listing your sources Bibliography: A record of all sources used in your research Works Cited: a list of all sources that you cite in the text of your paper Copyright: A law that protects someone’s original work Plagiarism: Using other author’s words or ideas without giving them credit