Copyright education tools

Copyright exists to protect creators and to ensure they can choose exactly how their work may be used. However, we know that teaching people, especially children, about the importance of copyright can be challenging. So, we’ve produced some new, fun resources to help make it more manageable.

As part of our ongoing sponsorship of the CILIP Carnegie and Greenaway book awards, we have produced a number of activities to help students and teachers understand more about copyright, and what is and isn't allowed.

A teaching resource for students in upper Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3 prepared for ALCS by the National Literacy Trust.

Designed as part of our work with the National Literacy Trust, this task challenges pupils to think about what copyright is, who and what it protects and why it is so important to protect creativity. It also asks them to consider what plagiarism is, what happens when you plagiarise and why it is wrong to do so.

Aimed at pupils from KS1-KS3, it's simple and flexible so teachers will be able to slot it into their class time. Equally, it can be run as a voluntary activity in the school library or as a club activity.

Devised by teachers for upper KS2 and KS3, this copyright education programme breathes fresh life into the teaching of what many students consider a difficult subject, and increases their enjoyment of the Bard’s work through lively creative writing and group activities. It also introduces them to the concepts of copyright and plagiarism. It’s free to download, follows the National Curriculum and contains handy teachers’ resources, a quiz and student activities.

What the Dickens? celebrates the genius of Charles Dickens’ bicentenary and combines this important anniversary with a detailed consideration of the complex problem of copyright abuse and plagiarism. The resource encourages students to explore the issue of copyright abuse at first hand by enabling them to enjoy and hopefully enhance their own creativity. In doing so, the students will develop a deeper respect for the work of others (and indeed for their own work) as well as a profound appreciation of the short and longer-term implications of copyright abuse.