Citations & Transparency

When you use an AI tool to help with your lessons, you have to be honest about it. A citation is a short note that tells your reader who or what helped you, and where the information came from. Being open about your tools is called transparency, and it keeps your work trustworthy.

What an AI Citation Includes

1. Author — the company that made the AI (for example OpenAI or Anthropic).
2. Tool name — the name of the model or product (for example ChatGPT or Claude).
3. Date — the day you used the tool to get the answer.
4. Prompt used — the exact words you typed to ask the AI.
5. Source URL — the homepage or link to the tool you used.
6. Note — a short tag like "AI-assisted" so your reader knows which parts had help.

When to Cite AI

A good rule: if the AI gave you words, ideas, images, or facts that you kept in your work, cite it. If you only used the AI to spell-check or to reword your own sentence in a tiny way, mention it in a short note. Always check with your grown-up about what counts as cite-worthy in your lessons.

• Cite when AI summarized a topic and you used the summary.
• Cite when AI brainstormed an idea you decided to keep.
• Cite when AI rewrote your sentences in a new way.
• Cite when AI generated an image, chart, or example.
• Cite when you quoted a website AI sent you to.

When You Do Not Need a Citation

• Your own opinion that you formed yourself.
• Common knowledge — facts most people already know.
• An observation you made with your own eyes.
• A creative idea that came from your own imagination.
• Spoken instructions from a parent or group poll.