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The First Time Using MLA

Lesson Author: Cody J. Fulmer, SUNY Plattsburgh

Subject/Course English 8
Topic MLA Formatting & Citation
Unit The MLA Starter Pack
Grade Level Eighth Grade
Lesson Duration FIRST HALF DAY OF THE SCHOOL YEAR: 20 minutes

LESSON OBJECTIVES:
Students Will:
Duplicate teacher actions.
Reproduce their own MLA headings/works cited.
Demonstrate proficiency in Microsoft Word.
Classify sources in alphabetical order.
Examine a source for author, title, date, website title, and publisher.

COMMON CORE STANDARDS:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.8.2.E
Establish and maintain a formal style.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.8.4
Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are
appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

ISTE STUDENT STANDARDS:

STANDARD NUMBER 1EMPOWERED LEARNER
Students leverage technology to take an active role in choosing, achieving and demonstrating
competency in their learning goals, informed by the learning sciences.
STANDARD NUMBER 3KNOWLEDGE CONSTRUCTOR
Students critically curate a variety of resources using digital tools to construct knowledge, produce
creative artifacts and make meaningful learning experiences for themselves and others.
STANDARD NUMBER 4INNOVATIVE DESIGNER
Students use a variety of technologies within a design process to identify and solve problems by
creating new, useful or imaginative solutions.

SUMMARY OF TASKS/ACTIONS:
Before Class Begins:
Teacher will write Agenda/Daily Objective on the Board.
Agenda for lesson:
1. MLA Set Up
2. Citation Machine
Daily Objective:
Students will learn how to set up a paper in MLA format

Last Revised: 30 April 2017

 2

During Class:
Students will log on to the computers and open:
1. My website at http://www.cfulm001.wix.com/website
2. Microsoft Word Document
Students will open the MLA Page Set-Up Style Guide from the RESOURCES tab of the
website
Students will then follow along with the teacher as the teacher demonstrates the process
of putting together the headingteacher will have students read aloud the steps
for putting together the heading.
Now that the paper has been set up, the teacher will have students save their work, then
enter down to page 2 of their word documentswork will now begin work on
the works cited page.
The teacher will have students visit the second link on my website, which will lead
students to http://www.bibme.org/
The teacher will demonstrate (with a pre-picked link) how to use Bibme and insert their
citations into the word document. No NP/NDs will be allowed, and teacher will
demonstrate how to find the publisher and date published.
Students will then be given the last ten minutes of the period to find a link of their choice
online, cite it, then insert it into the word document. The final product will need to
be approved by the teacher.
Once students have cited their own source, students will need to completed an exit ticket.
On the exit ticket, students will write one thing that they completely understood,
and one thing that they didnt understand or seemed fuzzy.
After Class:
Teacher will evaluate student exit tickets and begin class the next day based on moments
that students did not understand. On that next day, the teacher will answer
questions that students have on MLA set up/citation.

MATERIALS/EQUPIMENT NEEDED:
A computer
Microsoft Word
Access to bibme.org
Access to my website: cfulm001.wix.com/website
Google Search Engine

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT:
Students will complete an exit ticket before the period ends, providing one thing that they
completely understood, and one thing that they didnt understand or seemed fuzzy.

HOMEWORK ASSIGNED:
If students do not complete their personal citation, students will need to complete this for
homework.
Students will review the instruction sheet online so that they can apply material learned during
this lesson to the next lesson.

Last Revised: 30 April 2017