We include copywork pages in almost every Fun-Schooling journal. Sometimes, a mom asks, “What is copywork?” or “What do I do with these copywork pages?” Today, we wanted to explain copywork, how it is done, and why we incorporate it.
What is copywork?
Copywork was popularized in homeschooling by Charlotte Mason but has been a part of education—and writing—for much longer. Professional writers, copywriters, students, CEOs, and others use copywork. In a home education setting, copywork involves a student copying a passage from a book, scripture, or poem.
The student, teacher, or parent can select this passage. Some families print up a selection of copywork passages for a student to keep in their journal and complete. Other families mark passages that stand out while reading for students to refer back to. Personally, I like to use book darts for this!
Copywork has been proven to be one of the most effective ways to teach spelling, grammar, punctuation, writing mechanics, and style. Writers regularly use copywork and copy passages from other writers whom they want to emulate. It helps create a muscle memory for writing well!
How does a student do copywork?
Copywork is simple. Students should copy the passage using their best handwriting, going slow and steady to ensure no errors. It is an exercise in handwriting, spelling, language arts, and attention to detail.
Some children may do best if they put a solid piece of paper on the passage they are copying. They can then move this paper down line-by-line to avoid the visual overstimulation from too many words on a page. Sometimes, you may want to provide two pieces of paper to cover everything except the current line a child is working on.
How much should my student be completing?
Many children may only be able to get through a sentence when beginning. Some families choose to have their children focus on a length of time, ensuring they’re doing their very best work. Others require a specific length of text. Keep an eye on your child to see how they are progressing and adjust accordingly.
Early elementary– 1-5 sentences, 5-10 minutes.
Late elementary– 1 paragraph-half a page, 10-15 minutes.
Middle school & high school– half a page to a full page- 15-30 minutes.
Remember- these are just general guidelines! You will also find a handful of our journals encourage writing the same short passage seven times. Repeating something seven times cements it into your memory and creates new neural pathways. This can be beneficial when you’re looking to memorize or emulate someone else’s writing.
If your child can fluently write independently, you may be surprised it takes them much longer to do copywork. This is normal. The child is paying strong attention to detail, focusing on their best handwriting, and no errors. Whereas, in other writing tasks, they know they can go back to edit and aren’t as concerned about writing perfectly.
Why do you include copywork in Fun-Schooling journals?
We believe it is one of the best ways to teach a child all the aspects of writing. It is also beneficial for developing attention to detail, focus, and concentration. And we have seen the studies about how effective it is across disciplines- not just writers! You’ll find copywork in our Mom School journals too. It’s a fantastic skill for everyone. Copywork helps you store important words and skills in your mind and heart.
What if my kid doesn’t like writing?
Having your child do some copywork every day is essential. Copywork is a no-pressure form of writing where they do not have to remember the mechanics, think of ideas, or worry about spelling. It can be effective for kids who are reluctant or struggling writers. Here are a few other tips for kids who struggle with writing-
First of all, writing is much more difficult than we realize! Schools push kids to write and writing skills kids are not developmentally ready for. It’s perfectly normal for kids to struggle with and dislike writing.
Use gel pens or colored pencils to make it extra fun! From there, you can decide how much writing you want to require your child to do.
Our Dyslexia Games helps with writing. It is excellent for all children- not only those with Dyslexia, especially younger children. We’ve had just about as many non-dyslexic kids use it as those with Dyslexia. I highly suggest it for helping with writing, reading, spelling, problem-solving, math, creative writing, and comprehension.
A couple of other ideas/ suggestions:
– Print PDFs “booklet” style. This prints them smaller and gives children less of a “blank canvas” to work from, making writing less intimidating.
– Let kids draw, color, or cut out photos and collage in their journals instead of writing.
– Kids can dictate to you and you can write for them.
– Use talk-to-text and print their answers.
– Discuss the answers and make a few notes after your discussion is over
– Kids can repeat journals. Let them write a couple of short sentences when they’re younger and then revisit the same journal years later and expand!
– Our pocket-size core journals are also a popular option for kids who don’t love to write. They’re tiny and not as intimidating as a full-size blank page. https://www.amazon.com/dp/1539449793/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1539502821/
You can also use PDFs digitally with the following apps/programs-
-Goodnotes
-Kami
-Notability
-Liquid Text
-PDF Expert
Make sure your child does some copywork every day. It’s the best way to teach writing skills.
We hope this helps answer the “what is copywork” question. Feel free to reach out if we can offer any additional clarity.
Check out this article for more helpful writing tips.
