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D. Composition: Expressing Ideas and Creating Texts · Writing for Real Audiences

Research: Reliable Sources and Giving Credit

D1.3 A2.3 A2.1 A3.1About 45 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can gather information from several sources and record it in my own words.
  • I can check whether a source is reliable using simple questions.
  • I can record the creator and source of any words, pictures or sounds I did not create.

Words to know

source
Where information comes from: a book, website, video, article, map or person.
reliable
Able to be trusted to give correct information.
credibility
How believable and trustworthy a source is.
expert
A person who knows a lot about a topic from study or experience.
creator
The person or group who made a text, picture, video or sound.
cite
To name the source of information, words or images you used.
plagiarism
Using someone else's words or work as if they were your own.

Remember from Grade 4

In Grade 4 you gathered information from different sources, took jot notes in your own words, and recorded the creator and title of each source.

Grade 5 researchers add two important jobs:

  1. Check if a source is reliable before you trust it.
  2. Give credit for anything you use that you didn't create, including pictures, diagrams, music and sounds, not just words.

Why check sources?

Anyone can make a website, a video or a post. Some sources are careful and correct. Others are out of date, are trying to sell you something, or are just someone's guess. A Grade 5 researcher asks four simple questions.

Check a source: 4 questionsWHOmade it?WHEN wasit made?WHY wasit made?WHERE ELSEsays so?Expert? Up to date? To inform or to sell?Do other good sources agree?
Four questions for checking a source: Who made it? When? Why? Where else does it say so?
QuestionLook forWarning sign
Who made it?An expert, a museum, a library, a government, a university, a well-known news organization, or a person with real experienceNo author or organization named
When was it made?A recent date, especially for topics that change (technology, sports records, populations)No date, or very old information about something that changes
Why was it made?To inform or teachMostly trying to sell something, or full of strong opinions
Where else does it say so?The same fact in another reliable sourceYou can't find the fact anywhere else
Simple criteria for reliability
Worked example

Let's check three sources

Topic: snowy owls in winter. You find three sources (pretend titles, made up for this lesson).

  1. Source 1: a book called Owls of Canada written by a wildlife biologist and published in 2021. Who: an expert. When: fairly recent. Why: to inform. Likely reliable.
  2. Source 2: a website selling owl T-shirts that says Snowy owls are the smartest birds on Earth! Who: a store. Why: to sell. Smartest on Earth is an opinion that can't be checked. Not reliable for facts.
  3. Source 3: a provincial park's web page about birds that visit in winter. Who: the park staff. Why: to inform visitors. Likely reliable.
  4. Where else: Sources 1 and 3 both say snowy owls nest in the Arctic and some fly south to southern Canada in winter. Two reliable sources agree, so we can use this fact.

Use Sources 1 and 3. Skip Source 2 for facts, because it was made to sell and states an opinion as if it were a fact.

Giving credit to creators

When you use something you did not create, you must say who created it and where you found it. This is called citing or giving credit. It is honest, it is respectful to the creator, and it lets your reader find the source too.

This includes:

  • Words (facts and quotations)
  • Pictures, photos and diagrams
  • Music and sound effects in videos and podcasts
  • Maps, charts and videos

Record: creator, title, where you found it (publisher or website), and date. For a website, also write the date you looked at it.

Worked example

Let's write credits

Write a credit for a book and for a photo you used in a slideshow.

  1. Book (pretend): Owls of Canada by Jordan Lee, Maple Leaf Press, 2021.
  2. Credit: Lee, Jordan. Owls of Canada. Maple Leaf Press, 2021.
  3. Photo (pretend): a photo of a snowy owl by Sam Kaur on a park's website, looked at on November 3, 2026.
  4. Credit under the photo: Photo: Sam Kaur, from the park's Winter Birds web page (viewed November 3, 2026).
  5. Also check: Is the photo allowed to be used? Some sites say photos are free to use for school with credit. If you are not sure, ask a grown-up, or draw your own picture.

Each credit tells who made it and where it came from, so readers can check and creators get recognition.

The parts of a book creditLee, Jordan.creatorOwls of Canada.titleMaple Leaf Press,publisher2021.dateFor a website, also write the date you looked at it.
A credit tells who made it, what it is called, where it came from and when, so readers can find the source too.

Words in your own words

Read a section, close the book, then write jot notes from memory. Open the book to check your facts. If you want to use the author's exact words, put them in quotation marks and name the author. Copying without credit is plagiarism.

Just for fun

The T-shirt website says snowy owls are "the smartest birds on Earth!" The snowy owls have not confirmed this. 🦉 (That's why a store selling owl shirts isn't a reliable source.)

Hands-on activity

Research with three sources

You need: a library visit or access to the internet with a grown-up, paper, a pencil.

  1. Choose a question, such as How do Canada geese get ready for winter? or How do maple trees make sap?
  2. With a grown-up, find three sources: try a book, a website, and a video or a person who knows about it.
  3. For each source, answer the four questions: Who? When? Why? Where else? Give it a check mark if it seems reliable.
  4. Take jot notes in your own words from the reliable sources only.
  5. Record a credit for each source you used.
  6. Circle one fact that two sources agree on.

Grown-up note: Search the internet together, and use kid-friendly sites and search tools.

Your turn

1

Name the four questions for checking a source.

2

A website about volcanoes has no author, no date and lots of ads. Is it a good source? Why?

3

Which source is more reliable for facts about the human heart: a hospital's children's health page, or a comment on a video?

4

Why does the date matter for a source about the fastest computer in the world?

5

What should you record when you use a photo from a website?

6

Turn into jot notes: Canada geese often fly in a V shape, which may help them save energy on long flights.

7

What is plagiarism?

More practice: warm-up

1

What is a source?

2

What does reliable mean?

3

Name one kind of expert who could tell you about bears.

4

Do you need to give credit for music in your video if you didn't make it?

5

What punctuation shows you are using someone's exact words?

More practice: on your own

1

Two sources disagree about how long a moose can live. What should you do?

2

Why is a museum website usually more reliable than a store selling toys about the same topic?

3

Write a credit for a pretend article: Saving the Monarchs by Lina Morales, on the website Nature Kids, viewed October 5, 2026.

4

A video says Polar bears live in Antarctica. Your book from a zoo says polar bears live in the Arctic. Which do you trust, and how could you check?

5

Why should you record sources while you research, not at the end?

Challenge

1

A post says Scientists say kids should eat ice cream every day! There is no scientist named and no link. Use the four questions to judge it.

2

Explain why giving credit is about respect as well as honesty.

3

You want a picture of a moose for your report, but you can't tell whether the photo you found is allowed to be used. Give two good choices.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Which source is most likely reliable for facts about weather?

2.

Which is a warning sign about a source?

3.

Why ask Where else does it say so?

4.

Which needs a credit in your slideshow?

5.

What is the best way to avoid plagiarism?

6.

A website's main purpose is to sell hockey sticks. It says Our stick makes you score more goals! This is...

For parents and teachers

Big idea (D1.3): Grade 5 researchers gather information from multiple sources, judge reliability using simple criteria, and record the creator and source of any content they did not create. This connects to evaluating information (A2.3), responsible digital citizenship (A2.1), and research across subjects (A3.1).

How to help at home:

  • Search online together. Before clicking, read the website name aloud and ask: Who made this? Why?
  • Visit your public library; librarians are research experts and happy to help.
  • Model giving credit: "I read that in the newspaper's weather section this morning."

Common difficulties:

  • Trusting the first search result. The top result is not always the best one.
  • Forgetting to credit images and music. Remind them that credit is for everything they didn't make.
  • Copying sentences. Use the close-the-book trick.

Please note: The book titles, authors and websites in the examples are pretend, written for this site. The snowy owl and polar bear facts are general facts found in reliable wildlife sources.