A Lesson on Copyright Laws for 5 – 8 grade students. Copyright & Fair Use A Lesson on Copyright Laws for 5 – 8 grade students.

Opening Questions Discuss these questions with a partner or group for 5 minutes. Have you ever used the internet for help with your school work? Discuss examples of how you used the internet.

Group Discussion Let’s share! One person from each group share some examples of what you have discussed. One person in the class take notes on the white board or chart paper.

Copyright Definition Examples Rules that keep others from copying work without the author or creator’s permission. a textbook written by a professor a book report written by a student http://www.teachingcopyright.org/resources#copyright_fair_use http://www.copyrightkids.org/defframes.htm

Fair Use Definition Examples "Fair use" is the right of the public to make reasonable use of copyrighted material in special circumstances without the Copyright Owner’s permission. using a magazine advertisement in a collage that criticizes advertising (parody and criticism) recording a TV show so you can watch it later

Public Domain Definition Examples Works that are in the public domain belong to everyone and can be freely used without compensating the authors. space photos taken by NASA a photograph of Woodrow Wilson (c. 1912) Shakespeare's plays facts

Lesson Activity With your group, choose 3 of your favorite websites you use for school work. Use the Copyright Clearance checklist. Decide with your group whether or not the images, text, or video you use violate fair use

Closing Activity Think about the examples we discussed earlier of how you use the internet for homework. Which examples may be copyrighted, fair use, or public domain? Why?

Sources Copyright Kids http://www.copyrightkids.org/defframes.htm Teaching Copyright http://www.teachingcopyright.org/curriculum/hs/1 Love, Cassaundra “Students as Creators: Exploring Copyright” http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson1085/CanIUseIt.pdf