Virginia SOL 11.R.1.G

ELA11th GradeEvaluation and Synthesis of Information

The Standard

Define the meaning and consequences of plagiarism and follow ethical and legal guidelines for gathering and using information.

Virginia Standards of Learning for English

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students decide when borrowed words, ideas, images, or media require credit or permission. They use sources honestly and follow citation, copyright, and reuse rules.
What Mastery Looks Like: Students can spot direct copying, patchwriting, weak paraphrasing, and missing credit. They quote, paraphrase, and summarize accurately while citing sources and following reuse permissions.
Common Misconceptions: Students may think changing a few words makes copied material their own. They may also believe online images are free to use, or that citing a source permits unlimited copying.
How to Assess It: Give students a paragraph containing an uncited paraphrase and an uncredited image. Ask them to identify both problems and write specific corrections.

Lesson moves

Give pairs six source-use cards to sort into acceptable, needs citation, or plagiarism, then have them defend one disputed choice.
Write a response to this prompt: When does borrowing become plagiarism, and what academic, legal, or personal consequences can follow?
Run a citation relay where teams correct flawed quotations, paraphrases, image credits, and Works Cited entries before passing each card.
Have students inspect a news article, YouTube video, and Creative Commons image, then record how each creator permits reuse.

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A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to 11.R.1.G, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.

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