Paraphrase vs. Quote — and the 3-Column Note-Taking Routine

Source mystery: teacher shows 4 sentences and asks children to identify each as PARAPHRASE or QUOTE. (1) 'Honeybees are amazing.' (no source — wrong, neither) (2) 'Sandra Markle writes, "Honeybees do a special dance."' (3) 'According to Sandra Markle, honeybees use a dance to share information.' (4) '"Honeybees do a special dance," Sandra Markle explains.'

• Read each sentence aloud
• Ask 'paraphrase, quote, or neither?'
• Name why: paraphrase = own words + named source; quote = exact words + quotation marks + named source

M-3-S-RES-10-C Photograph

Reference photo of a 2-slot card holder on a Grade-3 desk: blue index card labeled SOURCE 1 (with title 'The Honeybee', author 'Kirsten Hall', year '2018', type 'book') and green index card labeled SOURCE 2 (with website name, URL, type 'kid-friendly website'). Print-ready 4x6 photo for materials reference.

MG-15 Chart

Source-card system: visual reference of the recommended setup — a 4x6 index card per source, color-coded (Source 1 = blue index card; Source 2 = green index card). Top of each card: TITLE / AUTHOR / YEAR / SOURCE TYPE (book / website / encyclopedia). Lower half: 3-4 lines for paraphrased facts with checkbox 'paraphrase' or 'quote'. Each card sits in a 2-slot card holder on the child's desk during the research arc. Print-ready 4x6 catalog photo for materials reference.

Today we meet the most important distinction of the research arc: PARAPHRASE vs. QUOTE. Look at MG-7. PARAPHRASE (green border) puts the source's idea in YOUR OWN WORDS. No quotation marks needed but the source MUST still be named. Example: 'According to Sandra Markle, honeybees use a special dance to tell other bees where flowers are.' QUOTE (orange border) uses the source's EXACT WORDS. Quotation marks hug the words; source is named with a signal phrase. Example: 'Sandra Markle writes, "Honeybees do a special dance called the waggle dance."' KEY RULE: BOTH paraphrase and quote MUST name the source. The source disappears only if the fact is something EVERYONE knows ('Honeybees make honey' — common knowledge). At G3, the goal is TWO PARAPHRASES per essay and ONE QUOTE maximum. Why mostly paraphrase? Because paraphrasing shows you UNDERSTAND the source, not just copied it. Now meet the 3-COLUMN NOTE-TAKING TEMPLATE (MG-6). Column 1 SOURCE: title, author, year, source type. Column 2 FACT: what the source SAYS — exact words OK if you want to quote. Column 3 MY PARAPHRASE: put it in MY OWN WORDS, no copying. The template enforces the discipline: you can't write the essay until you've put every fact in your own words first.

• If your paraphrase has more than 3 words in a row from the source, it's not a paraphrase — it's partial copying. Change the words, change the sentence shape.

  model Source = 'The Honeybee' by Kirsten Hall, 2018, picture book. FACT (column 2) = 'A honeybee can visit 100 flowers in one trip from the hive.' MY PARAPHRASE (column 3) = 'In one trip out of the hive, a honeybee can land on as many as 100 different flowers.' Notice: the paraphrase says the SAME IDEA but uses DIFFERENT WORDS and DIFFERENT STRUCTURE.

  prompt Teacher fills a 3-column template for one fact from a teacher-curated source.
• Quote keeps the source's words exactly. Use a quote ONLY when the words are striking and you couldn't say it better yourself.

  model Kirsten Hall writes, 'A honeybee can visit 100 flowers in one trip from the hive.' (with quotation marks).

  prompt Teacher shows a quote version of the same fact.

• What is the difference between a paraphrase and a quote?
• Does a paraphrase still need to name the source?

M-3-S-RES-10-A Chart

Reproduction of MG-7 at 11x17: two side-by-side columns. LEFT (green border) PARAPHRASE: 'Put it in YOUR words. No quotation marks. Still name the source.' with example 'According to Sandra Markle, honeybees use a special dance to tell other bees where flowers are.' RIGHT (orange border) QUOTE: 'Use the SOURCE's exact words. Put them in quotation marks. Name the source.' with example 'Sandra Markle writes, "Honeybees do a special dance called the waggle dance."' Bottom rule: 'G3 goal: 2 paraphrases + 1 quote (max) per essay.' Print-ready, dyslexic-friendly font.

MG-7 Chart Physical / non-image

Paraphrase-vs-quote anchor chart: two side-by-side columns. LEFT COLUMN (green border) PARAPHRASE: 'Put it in YOUR words. No quotation marks. Still name the source.' Example: 'According to Sandra Markle, honeybees use a special dance to tell other bees where flowers are.' RIGHT COLUMN (orange border) QUOTE: 'Use the SOURCE's exact words. Put them in quotation marks. Name the source.' Example: 'Sandra Markle writes, "Honeybees do a special dance called the waggle dance."' Bottom rule: 'TWO PARAPHRASES per essay is the goal; ONE quote per essay maximum at G3.' Print-ready 11x17.

• Use the teacher-provided source excerpt. Fill the 3-column template for 3 facts. Each fact must be PARAPHRASED in column 3.

  scaffold MG-6 template at 1.5x + source excerpt at desk + MG-7 anchor
• Pick the strongest sentence from the source and convert it to a QUOTE with attribution. Add it to the bottom of the template.

  scaffold Signal-phrase card + MG-7 anchor

M-3-S-RES-10-B Chart

11x17 reproduction of MG-6: 3 vertical columns — SOURCE (blue band, 1-line slots for title/author/year/page), FACT (orange band, 5-line slots), MY PARAPHRASE (green band, 5-line slots). Top of page: 'Is this a PARAPHRASE or a QUOTE?' checkbox. Worked example filled in below the blank template for the honeybee source. Print-ready.

MG-6 Chart Physical / non-image

3-column note-taking template (printable, 1 per source, 5 rows): COLUMN 1 SOURCE (blue band — 'Title, author, year, page or URL'), COLUMN 2 FACT (orange band — 'What the source SAYS (can include exact words)'), COLUMN 3 MY PARAPHRASE (green band — 'Put it in MY OWN WORDS, no copying'). At the top of the page: a checkbox 'Is this a PARAPHRASE or a QUOTE? If quote, mark with quotation marks.' Print-ready 8.5x11.

• Pick ONE paraphrase from your template. Read it aloud. Partner checks: does it have ANY 3+ word streak from the source?
• Self-rate your 3 paraphrases: GENUINE / PARTIAL / COPYING.

• Hold up your template.
• Predict: tomorrow we meet the SEQUENCE text-structure (and the words FIRST, NEXT, FINALLY).

• At home tonight, pick one informational book or magazine article on your topic. Identify ONE fact you might paraphrase for your essay. Bring the source name on a sticky note.