Who Said It First?

This worksheet helps students in Grades 7 and 8 develop advanced academic writing, source evaluation, critical thinking, and research integrity skills by tracing information through its full source chain. Learners examine AI-generated passages to determine which ideas likely originate from primary research, which come from secondary summaries, and how AI restatements can blur authorship if not cited correctly.

Learning Goals

• Source Tracing (Grades 7-8) – Identifying primary researchers, secondary interpreters, and AI-generated restatements
• Academic Integrity – Understanding layered attribution and how credit shifts across sources
• Critical Thinking – Tracking how information changes as it moves through summaries and AI tools
• Writing & Explanation Skills – Clearly explaining who deserves citation at each stage of information use

Instructional Benefits

• Teacher-Created Resource – Designed to support deeper research literacy beyond surface-level citation rules
• Conceptual Focus – Moves students from “how to cite” to “why citation responsibility matters”
• Discussion-Ready Activity – Encourages debate and reflection about authorship and credit
• Flexible Classroom Use – Suitable for research units, AI literacy lessons, or academic honesty discussions
• Print-and-Go Format – Easy to use in classrooms or homeschool settings with minimal preparation

This printable worksheet helps students build a sophisticated understanding of attribution, source integrity, and ethical AI use. By analyzing who truly “said it first” and how information flows from original research to AI-generated text, learners gain essential skills for responsible academic writing. It is a powerful resource for classroom and homeschool instruction focused on transparency, citation responsibility, and critical engagement with AI-supported information.

This worksheet is part of our How to Cite AI as a Source Worksheets collection.