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Copyright and Plagiarism


These resources provide lesson plans and handouts for teachers interested in teaching students how to understand plagiarism. The lesson plans in this section include activities that help students define plagiarism, assess their attitude toward plagiarism, and create a class plagiarism policy. The resources with titles that include "Handout" provide handouts that are free to print for your students by using the print option in your web browser. The "Handout" resources correspond with the resource listed above it.

Contributors:Cristyn Elder, Ehren Pflugfelder, Elizabeth Angeli
Last Edited: 2010-11-18 02:21:53

Time Estimate

30 minutes


Engage students in understanding the distinctions between copyright and plagiarism


Penn State: Copyright and Plagiarism

Scenarios handout

  1. Pass out the handouts and ask students to read the information that explains the differences between copyright and plagiarism. Follow up on their reading with a brief discussion of the distinction as you understand it.  It may help to explain the copyright is a legal distinction based on property rights and plagiarism is a civil distinction based on the process of creating. (10-15 min.) 

  2. Go over the scenarios on the handout and engage students in a discussion as to whether they fit under the category of plagiarism of copyright violation and why. (10-15 min.) Answers: 1. plagiarism 2. plagiarism, but could fit copyright violation 3. copyright violation 4. copyright violation 5. plagiarism
