Citing sources is a critical step in the research process, even for elementary students. But rather than have students try to copy the confusing format of individual citations, Citation Maker does it for them. After all, the important thing about citing sources is understanding WHY we cite, not having to memorize the oft-difficult HOW we do it.
When students are ready to create a citation, have them choose what type of resource it is (book, magazine, encyclopedia, website, online database, etc.). Citation Maker provides fields in which the students input the important information found in citations. Lastly, the students click Create Citation, and voila! The citation is created and ready for copy/paste into a Word document.
Citation Maker
http://www.oslis.org/resources/cm/mlacitationse
In my school students often use the citation engine built into MS Word or the Citation Machine at http://www.citationmachine.net/
ReplyDeleteHowever, no matter what they use, students often still need to think about if the maker is updated with the most recent revisions that are ongoing to the APA and MLA styles. I usually dissuade them at the high school level to use these because the also forget about the hanging indent formatting. My best recommendation for my students is to use the Purdue OWL site at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/. This still requires them to think about what they are citing, which I feel is a very important tool in high school.
Thanks for your comments! It seems like Citation Machine and Citation Maker are pretty similar, aren't they? I, too, like the Purdue OWL site. It's a nice reference tool for high school students. I often use it myself for my Lesley courses. At the elementary level, I'm less concerned if it's the most recent version of MLA or APA. So often in elementary research, there is NO citing of sources at all. Using a site like Citation Maker introduces the making of citations, and then I can emphasize the importance of why it's necessary to cite sources in the first place.
ReplyDeleteI was not aware of this resouce. I would love to use this when we do research in my classroom. It is so easy to use. I do agree it is great for Elementary students but not necessarily for older students. With younger students you do want to spend your time with making sure they understand the reasoning behind citing sources not necessarily to "format". I personally could use these resources because I have never been good at citing sources.
ReplyDeleteWhat an awesome resource! My students did a research project a few months ago and struggled with the citation part of it! They understood why to cite, but not how. You're so right - it's more important to understand why it's cited! I still struggle with making sure sources are cited correctly at times! Thank you fro sharing this resource.
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