On Tuesday, I shared a video in which I
discuss how two personal experiences helped me develop the lens of gratitude
that makes my new book Thank You, Moon: Celebrating Nature’s
Nightlight so much more than just a matter-of-fact
book about how moonlight affects animals. I hope you’ll take a few minutes to
view it and think about how the approach I used can help students avoid
plagiarism when they write nonfiction.
Today, I’m going to dig deeper into this topic by sharing some books by other
authors that can be used as mentor texts as you help students learn strategies
to avoid plagiarism.
During a recent trip to the library, I found three groups of traditional
nonfiction books about science topics that are typically part of the elementary
curriculum—the water cycle, light, and matter.
As I paged through the books about the water cycle, I noticed that they
were extremely similar. Same information, same order, very similar wording. The
three books about light also had a lot in common, as did the books about matter.
This kind of overlap is inevitable when you write a general introduction to a topic
in a simple, concise way.
When students use these kinds of books as their only research sources and
then dive straight into writing, teachers shouldn’t be surprised if their drafts
border on plagiarism. Simply put, the students don’t know how to write about
the topic in any other way. They simply recite the facts they’ve learned.
But when teachers encourage students to put a piece of themselves into
their writing, as I did in Thank You, Moon, the results will be unique and fascinating.
This type of writing isn’t easy. It takes time and patience and practice.
Students need to spend time synthesizing and assimilating the information, so
they can make their own meaning. They need to view it through their own unique
lens and find their own special way of sharing the information with their target
audience. There are ideas for doing that in this video and in the anthology Nonfiction Writers Dig Deep.
During this process, mentor texts that look at standard curricular topics
in engaging, creative, innovative ways are a huge asset.
Before students write about the water cycle, share books like All the Water in the World by George Ella Lyon and Katherine Tillotson and Water is Water by Miranda
Paul and Jason Chin.
Before students write about light, share books like Light Speaks by Christine
Layton and Luciana Navarro Powell and Spark! Shine! Glow! What a Light Show by Lola M. Schaefer and James Yang.
Before students write about matter, share Hands-on Science: Matter by Lola M. Schaefer
and Druscilla Santiago. The title of his book may seem traditional, but the innovative
approach will captivate young readers. The book goes beyond typical experiment-based
active nonfiction by inviting students to participate in a way reminiscent of Press Here by Hervé Tullet.
Books like these show students what’s possible when it comes to the wide
and wonderful world of nonfiction. There are so many choices, so many ways to
write about a topic. And playing with different approaches can be a fun game.
Just like playing a sport, writing is about practice. Finely-crafted
nonfiction literature can act like a coach. By demonstrating different
techniques, it can guide students as
they develop skills to hone their craft. And one critical skill is learning to
move beyond simply regurgitating what they’ve read. Great nonfiction writers share
ideas and information they’re passionate about in a way that’s uniquely their
own.
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