Copycat Case Files

Teacher Discussion Guide • Lesson 3

Case #003

The Hook Activity

Display two "student" paragraphs on the board. One is the original from a book, and the other is a direct copy (plagiarism). Ask students to spot the difference.

Source Text (The Book)

"Penguins are flightless birds that spend about half of their lives on land and the other half in the sea."

Student Paper (A)

"Penguins are flightless birds that spend about half of their lives on land and the other half in the sea."

Case Study Scenarios

Read these "Case Files" to the class and have them debate: Is it Plagiarism?

Case #1: The Word-for-Worder

Level: Easy

"Marco found a great sentence on Wikipedia. He thought it sounded so smart that he copied it exactly into his report. He didn't use quotation marks."

Verdict: Yes. He used the exact words without giving credit.

Case #2: The Synonym Swapper

Level: Medium

"Sara read that 'Cheetahs are the quickest mammals on earth.' She wrote 'Cheetahs are the fastest animals in the world.' She changed two words but kept everything else the same."

Verdict: Likely Yes (Patch-writing). She didn't change the sentence structure or the "voice."

Case #3: The Researcher

Level: Pro

"Leo learned that polar bears have black skin under their white fur. He closed the book and wrote: 'Did you know that underneath all that white hair, a polar bear actually has black skin?'"

Verdict: No. This is successful paraphrasing! He processed the fact and shared it in his own voice.