Notes, Sources and Paraphrasing

1. Show the passage: "Wetlands act like giant sponges. During heavy rain, they soak up water and release it slowly, which helps prevent floods in nearby towns. Wetlands also clean water, because plants and mud trap dirt and chemicals before they reach rivers."
2. Show three paraphrases of the first two sentences. A: "Wetlands are like giant sponges that soak up water and release it slowly." B: "When it rains hard, a wetland holds on to the water and lets it out bit by bit, so towns nearby are less likely to flood." C: "Wetlands cause floods because they fill up with rain."
3. Pairs underline any run of three or more words copied from the source. A copies "giant sponges" and "soak up water and release it slowly." Ask which is best. B. Then ask about C: no copying at all — but is it true? No. It says the opposite of the source.

1. Write the four steps on the board: "COVER — SAY — WRITE — CHECK."
2. Before reading anything, fill in the source record strip: "Title: Wetlands at Work. Author: (from the card). Page: 12." Say why it comes first: ten seconds now saves a lost source later.
3. Read the third sentence aloud twice: "Wetlands also clean water, because plants and mud trap dirt and chemicals before they reach rivers." Then cover it with an index card.
4. Say it aloud in your own words, as if telling a friend: "The plants and the mud in a wetland catch the dirt, so the water going into the river is cleaner." Then write exactly what you said.
5. Uncover and check twice, aloud. Check 1: any three words in a row copied? "Plants and mud" — that is a subject phrase, allowed. Nothing else. Check 2: same meaning? Yes — dirt is caught, water is cleaner. Point out that "chemicals" was dropped; ask whether that changes the meaning enough to matter. Add "and some chemicals."
6. Show where notes go: two category headings on the notes page, "Stopping floods" and "Cleaning water." Each paraphrase goes under one heading.

“Read it twice, then cover it. Say it out loud like you are telling a friend — talking uses your words, copying uses theirs. Then write what you said, uncover, and check two things: no copied phrases, and the meaning is still true.”

1. Pairs get two short passages on the same card. Passage 2: "Many birds use wetlands as resting places during long migrations, stopping to feed before continuing their journey." Passage 3: "Over the last hundred years, many wetlands have been drained to make farmland, and the animals that lived there have lost their homes."
2. One partner covers and says; the other listens and checks against the source. Then they swap roles for the second passage.
3. They record the source strip first, then sort each paraphrase under a heading — adding a new one, "Wildlife," for passage 2 and "Wetlands in danger" for passage 3.

“Listener, your job is to hold the card and catch two things: words copied straight off it, and anything your partner said that the card does not say.”

1. Students complete the paraphrasing page. The passages and source details are on the sheet.

1. Read one paraphrase aloud next to its source. The class says "copy" if they hear three source words in a row and "changed" if the meaning shifted.