Summary
In this lesson, students will examine and explore examples and non-examples of MLA formatting in order to come to a clear understanding or correct citation.
Essential Question(s)
Why does citing sources matter? What does citing sources offer to readers? How should correctly cited sources look?
Snapshot
Engage
Students use the I Notice I Wonder strategy to discuss the importance of crediting sources.
Explore
Students participate in a Rainbow Write card sort to become acquainted with citation procedures for books, articles, and websites.
Explain
Students complete an eLearning activity demonstrating several rules of MLA formatting while taking notes on what they learn.
Extend
Students work through an Examples and Non-Examples activity, reviewing several citations and making corrections to those that contain errors.
Evaluate
Students write a short essay using proper MLA formatting and citations.
Materials
I Notice/I Wonder- Making Sense of MLA (attached; one per student)
Rainbow Write Citation Cards- Making Sense of MLA (attached; one per group of students)
Examples and Non-Examples- Making Sense of MLA (attached; one per group of students)
Fahrenheit 451 and Television Essay Sample- Making Sense of MLA (attached; OPTIONAL one per student)
MLA Citation Rules Handout- Making Sense of MLA (attached; one per student)
Highlighters
Red Pens
Engage
Begin the lesson by displaying slide 2 of the attached Lesson Slides and introduce the students to the lesson.
Move to slides 3-4 and share the Essential Questions and Learning Objectives for the lesson to the extent you feel necessary.
Pass out the attached I Notice, I Wonder handout and share the I Notice I Wonder instructional strategy with students. Display slide 5 which has a side-by-side image of Olivia Rodrigo’s Sour Prom cover art next to Hole’s Living Through This cover art, or go to the StereoGum Article, which features the image. Have students write down things they notice and wonder on their handouts. After a few minutes, provide them with time to share their thoughts with a partner and add to their notes. Next, have students share out with the whole class. Finally, share with students that, although the images are similar, Olivia Rodrigo did not credit Courtney Love with the original idea, which upset the Hole’s singer. Share with students the importance of giving credit to the original author or artist when using their images, likeness, words, ideas, etc.
Explore
Move to slide 6, share the instructional strategy Rainbow Write with the students, and pass out one set of the attached Rainbow Write book citation cards to each pair of students. Have them take a few minutes to look at the cards in front of them.
If the students haven’t already done so on their own, instruct them to put the cards in a rainbow order (red, orange, yellow) and move to slide 7 to share an example book citation. Share with them the citation format at the bottom of the slide and point out any key elements they may have missed when discussing the book citation format. Be sure to point out the last section has the city of publication, publisher, and publication date. You may even want to pull a book off the shelf to demonstrate where to find this information on the book.
Display slide 8. Pass out one set of the journal citation cards to each pair of students. Have them take a few minutes to look at the cards in front of them.
If students have not already done so on their own, instruct them to put the cards in a rainbow order (red, orange, yellow).
Move to slide 9 to share an example journal citation. Share with them the citation format at the bottom of the slide and point out any key elements they may have missed when discussing the journal citation format. You may even want to pull a journal off the shelf to demonstrate where to find this information.
Display slide 10. Pass out one set of the website citation cards to each pair of students. Have them take a few minutes to look at the cards in front of them. At this time, they should already be keyed into the fact that their citations should be in rainbow order.
Move to slide 11 to share an example website citation. Share with them the citation format at the bottom of the slide and point out any key elements they may have missed when discussing the website citation format. Point out that this looks like a lot of information; however, they will rarely, if ever, be able to find all of this for every website they want to cite. What is most important is that they try to get as much of the information as possible.
Explain
Move to slide 12, pass out the attached Fahrenheit 451 and Television Essay, and share the link to the Making Sense of MLA eLearning Activity with students. Instruct them to take as many notes as they want as they go through the activity. They can use this later on to reference when they’re writing their own essays.
Once all of the students have finished going through the activity, take a few minutes to answer any questions they may have about MLA formatting. Remind them that this is just an introduction to formatting and there will be plenty of time to practice!
Pass out the attached Rules for Citing in MLA Format to the students and provide them with a few minutes to review it. What are some key things they noticed? How does this handout match up with the storyline? Does the sample essay follow the same rules?
Extend
Move to slide 13, pass out the attached Examples and Non-Examples handout and share the Examples and Non-Examples instructional strategy with the students. Have students work in pairs to review each of the citations. If the citation is written correctly, they do nothing. If, however, if it is written incorrectly, or has an error, they should make the necessary revisions using a red pen.
Evaluate
Move to slide 14 and share with the students that it is their turn to practice writing in the MLA format. Instruct students to write a one (1) page paper, in which they provide a critique of a book that they are currently reading and provide reasons for why their classmates should read it. Be sure to let students know that they can provide their own reasons, but that they should also include examples from the text and support their reasons through quotes or research they find on the topic. This ensures they get the practice of citing sources in their works cited page.
Resources
Helman, P. (2021, June 26). Courtney Love calls out Olivia Rodrigo for prom-themed photo, demands flowers. Stereogum. https://www.stereogum.com/2152482/
K20 Center. (n.d.). Examples and Non-Examples. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/163
K20 Center. (n.d.). I Notice, I Wonder. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/180
K20 Center. (n.d.). Rainbow Write. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/80
