Copywork is a tool many educators rely on. While it is one of the simplest educational tactics to use, many parents have questions about it. What is copywork? How do you choose what to copy? Most importantly, how do you teach with copywork? Let’s answer those questions right now.
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What is copywork?
Simply put, copywork is copying. Children carefully duplicate the pieces of literature or other writing you provide for them. In a Charlotte Mason education, copywork replaces grammar, spelling, handwriting, and punctuation, and it prepares children for dictation. In a nutshell, copywork teaches early writing skills.
How do you choose copywork?
Any piece of excellent writing qualifies as useable copywork. Quality passages from literature, Scripture, hymns, essays, lectures, poems, or any other well-written works relevant to the child’s life and studies are great choices. Begin with smaller pieces, as little as one letter or word for the youngest copiers, and work your way up to long selections.
Families differ in how they select copywork. Some “wing it,” assigning a piece from the day’s readings for the students to copy. Others select passages in advance; they may have a rotation, such as non-fiction on Monday, fiction on Tuesday, and so on. Still others purchase copywork books, gentle grammar books which include copywork, or books of quotes and poetry for ideas.
How do you teach with copywork?
- Present your child with the selection. Go over any punctuation and spelling you want to introduce. Take a moment to discuss the meaning of the work as well.
- Ensure the child is looking at a complete word while copying as opposed to letter by letter (for young copiers) and complete sentences or phrases as opposed to word by word (for older copiers). Writing the complete word or phrase helps to improve spelling and memory.
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- Ask for excellent handwriting and exact copying. Watch over young children to be sure they are forming letters properly. Stop and correct each error so they grow accustomed to only seeing the words written properly. For older children, have them correct their own work when completed by meticulously comparing their version to the original. Correct it yourself as well until your child has mastered precision.
- The goal is for the child to remain completely attentive to the task at hand. If a child loses attention after five minutes, have them copy attentively for five minutes and then stop. Gradually increase the time as their ability to focus improves.
Copywork done correctly is a powerful tool in the Charlotte Mason toolbox. After years of copywork, your children will have beautiful keepsake books of great phrases and ideas to ponder and enjoy.
I’d love to hear your best copywork tips or questions on how to teach with copywork in the comment section.
Copywork Resources
While it is always beneficial to allow your students to choose copywork, it is also helpful to many parents to have the copywork selections prepared ahead of time. Doing so saves time, and can enable parents to place the copywork models in a true handwriting font, allowing the copying work to double as handwriting practice as well. One curriculum that does this is the Writing Through History series. This series teaches students in grades 1 to 5 to write via oral and written narration, copywork, and studied dictation, using historical narratives, primary source documents, tales, fables, and poetry.
The copywork models do come in a true handwriting font, both print and cursive. These books are so successful partly because copywork is so powerful.