Fourth Grade · Writing · week 16

Citing Your Sources, Kid-Style

Create a simple "Where I Found My Facts" source list crediting each source used, in a consistent, simplified format.

When you use someone else's research to write your own report, you give them credit by CITING your sources -- telling the reader exactly where each fact came from. This is not just a rule; it lets a curious reader go check your facts or learn even more.

You do not need a complicated grown-up citation format. A simple "Where I Found My Facts" list works great: the title of the book or website, and the author's name if you know it.

📋 For the teacher
Teach it (10–15 min):
  • Keep this simple -- a title and an author (or website name) is plenty for a fourth-grade citation; do not chase a complicated adult format.
  • Have your child physically check the front cover or "about" page of each real source to find the title and author.
  • Explain plagiarism in plain terms: using someone else's facts without credit, or copying their exact words, is not honest -- citing sources and writing in your own words both fix that.
  • Number the source list and keep it attached to the final report as its own short page.
Talk about it:
  • What two pieces of information go in a kid-style citation?
  • Why does citing sources matter, even for a short report?
  • Where did you find the title and author for each of your sources?

Mastery looks like: They create a correctly formatted, simple source list crediting every source used in the report.

Common stumbles: Forgetting to cite a source they actually used, or citing a source so vaguely ("a book") that no one could find it again.

Homework for this lessonType it, write it with a stylus, or print it for pencil & paper.open →
Records attendance + 15 min of Writing for this learner.
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