Teaching Ideas

Role Play

Key Ideas

Ownership of creative work is important. Stealing such work hurts the owner and is wrong.

Materials

1. Drawing or writing instruments
2. Paper

Background

This activity is designed to teach students that intellectual property is an important thing, especially when it is one's own intellectual property. No background reading or research is necessary, since the activity relies on the students' existing sense of ownership and possessiveness.

Procedure

1. Give students an assignment to do some kind of creative project; artwork will probably work best with younger students, while a writing assignment might work better for older ones. What is most important here is that they are given an opportunity to create something that they will be proud of.
   
2. As the class is finishing their projects, go around the room and choose one to single out. Tell the student how good it is and how much you like it, making sure that everyone else can hear you. You might compliment other students as well to remain inconspicuous, but perhaps not as energetically.
   
3. Take up the projects and move on to another lesson where students are working at their desks. While they work, "plagiarize" the singled out project. Copy it as closely as possible, changing only a few words (e.g., perhaps character names) or picture elements (i.e., lines or colors)--i.e., only enough so that you can defend yourself (in vain) against charges of plagiarism. The reason for making these slight changes is to teach the lesson that changing a few words out of the encyclopedia article does not constitute paraphrasing.
   
4. After students have completed their other lesson, return the students' creative projects and have each student show their work to the rest of the class. At some time after the student with the singled out project has shared, share your plagiarism, trying vainly to make the case that it is yours.
   
5. Let the ensuing argument segue into a discussion on the ownership of creative work and copyright.
   

Class Discussion Topics

1. How does it feel to have someone pass your work off as their own?
   
2. Why is it wrong to steal someone else's work?
   
3. What are some other ways to steal someone's work (i.e., intellectual property)?
   
4. What is copyright?
   
5. How might this lesson extend into other matters of your school work?

Assessment

For younger students, participation in the discussion might be a sufficient assessment instrument for this lesson; however a follow-up check a week or so later might be in order. For older students (or for a follow-up for younger students), include copyright issues in your discussion and then give an assignment that will tempt them to violate copyright. Grade them on their compliance.

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