Grade 5 · Writing · Lesson 22

Use citations and credit sources including AI

When you write a report, an essay, or even a short paragraph that uses facts from somewhere else, you must tell the reader WHERE those facts came from. That is what a citation does. A citation is a little label at the end of a borrowed idea, fact, or quote that names the author, the title, the year, and the source. In Grade 5, citations protect you from plagiarism, build trust with your reader, and make your writing look more grown-up. They also handle a brand-new kind of source: AI tools like ChatGPT or Claude. If you used an AI to help you, you cite it just like a book.

What this lesson teaches

1Explain why citations matter and how they prevent plagiarism
2Match each source type to its kid-friendly citation format
3Fill in citation parts in the correct order: Author, Title, Year, Source
4Cite an AI tool by listing the tool name, the prompt, and the date

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