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Research Skills: Bibliographic Citations Gr 1- 9

Students as early as grade 1 can understand the reason for giving credit for created works. Here are the suggested citation formats for students in grades 1-9, which include the most common reference materials.

Research and Style Manual - Grade 1-3 (MLA format)
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For a book
1. Name of the author.
2. Title of the book.

Example:  Joanna Cole. The Magic School Bus: Lost in the Solar System. 

For an article in a print encyclopedia or reference book

  1. Title of the article or chapter.

  2. Title of the encyclopedia or book. S

Example: Shark. The World Book Encyclopedia. 

For an article from an online database

  1.   Title of the article. 

  2.   Name of the resource site. 

  3.   Online.

Example: Abraham Lincoln. Kid Stuff. Online. 

For a Web page or article on a Web page

  1. Use the title on the page or of the page section you used.

  2. The title of the web page is found in the address bar.

  3. Online.

Example: New toys. Consumer Reports. Online.

 For an online Creative Commons-licensed image

  1. Description or title of the image. 

  2. Name of the Web site,

  3. CC.

Example: Butterfly. Flickr, CC.

Research and Style Manual - Grade 4-6 __________________________________________________________________

For a Book

  1. 1. The author's last name and first name. 
  2. 2. Title of the book, in italics.
  3. 3. Publisher,
  4. 4. The year the book was published.

Example:  Cole, Joanna. The Magic School Bus: Lost in the Solar System. Penguin, 2010.

For an Article in a print Encyclopedia or reference book

  1. Last name of the author, first name.
  2. Title of the article or chapter in quotes. 
  3. Title of the encyclopedia or book, in italics, 
  4. Publisher, 
  5. The year the book was published. 

Example:  Fisher, Joseph. “Shark.” The World Book Encyclopedia, Astor Press, 2021.

For an article from an online database

  1. Author of the article last name, first name.
  2. Title of the article in quotes. 
  3. Name of the resource site in italics. 
  4. The year the article was published, 
  5. URL of the article page. 

Example:  Winters, Paul. “Abraham Lincoln.” Kid Stuff. 2021, kidsdb.com/abe.

For a Web Page or article on a Web Page

  1. Use the title on the page or of the page section you used in quotes.
  2. The Web page's title is in italics and in the address bar.
  3. The date the page was published or last updated (day, month, year), 
  4. URL of the Web page. 

Example:  “New toys.” Consumer Reports. 10 March 2021, consumerreports/newtoys.

For an Online Creative Commons-licensed image

  1. Creators last name, first name.
  2. Description or title of the image, in quotations. 
  3. Name of the Web site, in italics. 
  4. The year the image was published, 
  5. CC. 
  6. URL. 

Example:  Schrock, Kathy. “Butterfly.” Flickr. 2011, CC. flickr.com/kathyschrock/345.html. 

Research and Style Manual - Grade 7-9  _________________________________________________________________

For a chapter in a book

  1. Last name, first name of the author.
  2. Title of the chapter in quotes. 
  3. Title of the book, in italics. 
  4. Publisher, 
  5. The year the book was published, 
  6. Page numbers of the chapter. 
  7. Hyperlink if needed

Example:  Smith Linda. “Virtual Reality.” New Technologies for Schools. Google Press, 2021, pp. 34-54. 

For an article in a print encyclopedia or reference book

  1. Last name of the author, first name.
  2. Title of the article or chapter in quotes. 
  3. Title of the encyclopedia or book, in italics. 
  4. Volume number, 
  5. Publisher, 
  6. The year the book was published, 
  7. Page number(s) of article. 

Example:  Fisher, Joseph. “Shark.” The World Book Encyclopedia. vol. 4, Astor Press, 2021, pp. 34-35. 

For an article from an online database

  1. Author of the article's last name and first name. 
  2. Title of the article in quotes. 
  3. Name of the resource site, in italics. 
  4. The date the article was published (day, month, year), 
  5. Title of the database, 
  6. URL of the article page. 

Example:  Winters, Paul. “Abraham Lincoln.” Kid Stuff. 4 January 2021, EBSCO, kidsdb.com/abe.

 For a Web page or article on a Web page

  1. Author of the article.
  2. Use the title on the page or of the page section you used in quotes. 
  3. The Web page's title is in italics and in the address bar. 
  4. Name of the publisher of the page, 
  5. The date the page was published or last updated (day, month, year), 
  6. URL of the Web page. 
  7. Date of access (day, month, year). 

Example:  Jones, Alice. “New toys.” Consumer Reports. Hearst Inc., 10 March 2020, consumerreports/newtoys. Accessed 29 Sept. 2021. 

For an online Creative Commons-licensed image

  1.  Creator’s last name, first name.
  2.  Description or title of the image, in quotations.
  3. Name of the Web site, in italics. 
  4. The date the image was published (day, month, year), 
  5. URL of the image. 
  6. Date of access (day, month, year). 

Schrock, Kathy. “Butterfly.” Flickr. 4 January 2018, flicker.com/kathyschrock/345.htm. Accessed 29 Sept. 2021.

Citation Tools (These may be used once your student understands the format)
  • Citation makers:

                BibMe
                Citation Builder
                Citation Generator
                Cite It In
                EasyBib (Chrome)
                eTurabian
                KnightCite
                Son of Citation Machine
                WorksCited4U

Research Template for Middle Grades

Middle-grade template Research report

Lesson Plans for Copyright

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