Questions about copywork

[Evergreen Mama]

Hi!
Last year (1st grade) I had my son doing copywork. I would type the proverb or quote etc. and have the blank lines under what I expected to do as copywork. He did well.
This year, I have been handing him a copy of the poem and asking him to copy a certain amount in his composition book. He is really struggling. Not just with distraction but a lot of grammar and spelling errors.

My questions are:

how much do you "correct" copywork and do you have them re-do it?
how much time should I allow for copywork?
Would you just print the copywork line for line for him to copy because he is struggling or is this something that he needs to "work on"?

Appreciate any advice~
Thanks

[netpea]

After hearing the women on here rave about StartWrite, I downloaded the demo and tried it. It's eliminated my copywork battles with my son. I paid for the full version and we use it for the poems, memory verses, etc... I even use it to print out the verses to copy into his science notebook for Bigger, then we just tape the copywork into his composition book. Maybe that would help you too?

[Evergreen Mama]

Thank you for StartWrite. I am not a regular on the board and hadn't heard of it yet. I downloaded the free trial and will be playing with it today. Computer time seems to suck my time.

I would still like to know how copywork is implemented though as far as whether you expect perfect copy of the original or if you correct mistakes. Maybe I just don't know what the bottom line "intent" of copywork is for to focus on that goal with it.

Off to get focused on Him~

[Mom2Monkeys]

I would watch him closely as he is writing. Give gentle reminders if you see a mistake about to happen (what kind of letter starts a sentence? How do we end a sentence?, etc.). You want him to see the correct way of writing and mimic the correct way of writing so it starts to imprint on his mind. That's why I would say its good to stop a mistake before it's completed so he only writes it correctly. It also keeps him from having to hear a list of "his failures" called out each copywork session and he doesn't have to write so much (compared to making the mistake, being corrected, and erasing and rewriting). IMHO, that puts the focus on the wrongly done parts instead of on the properly done parts. And the imprint will likely lean towards where the focus has been.

I'm no expert though! This is just how I'm handling my dd7 with her copywork...its always full of errors if I'm not there to prevent them. Her free writing has improved so much since I started this.

HTH

[Evergreen Mama]

You described it beautifully. The fear of only commenting on mistakes is why I haven't been on top of correcting the mistakes. I have a couple of times but it just didn't feel right. Your suggestions were exactly what I was looking for. In essence, we are doing copywork for the sake of habitually "imprinting" the correct spelling and grammar in our mind through the medium of the poem/verse/quote etc.? Does that sound right?

So, as a 7yo boy should he be tracing or look-retain-copy onto another paper?

Thanks for the patience with all my questions that probably seem trivial to most.

[Mom2Monkeys]

I had to start by showing her only part of it at a time. Maybe by rewriting on a dry erase board for her to copy, or cutting a rectangle out of a piece of construction paper and using the empty area to show what she is be to writing (you could do it line by line, or 2,3,4 at a time..whatever he can handle. If he knows how to print his letters, I wouldn't see a need to have him trace, but maybe instead, you write a line and have him write it below it. Then move to writing two lines and have him write below it, then 3, then 4, until he is doing a good chunk at a time. So, you could have him copy a whole stanza at a time. But at first do it line by line then two lines-- leave room for him to write then--- two more lines, etc. Then I'd make a HUGE deal of him copying the whole stanza!! Be sure to watch closely and prevent those errors! My dd drives me nuts with her carelessness at times, but it really is a skill to be learned at this age.

In essence, we are doing copywork for the sake of habitually "imprinting" the correct spelling and grammar in our mind through the medium of the poem/verse/quote etc.? Does that sound right?

Sounds right to me

[netpea]

In essence, we are doing copywork for the sake of habitually "imprinting" the correct spelling and grammar in our mind through the medium of the poem/verse/quote etc.? Does that sound right?

Yes that sounds right.

So, as a 7yo boy should he be tracing or look-retain-copy onto another paper?

My son is 8yo, and while he should probably be able to look-retain-copy to another line or another sheet of paper, it's just not worth the fight for us. He will happily (or at least not grumbly) trace his poems from Startwrite and I know he is getting the grammar and spelling that way. He does do the dictation, without complaint, but I let him do that in print instead of cursive.

If his tracing is not done neatly, then he has to copy it by hand without tracing the Startwrite page, so he does it very neatly. I also won't accept dictation unless it is done neatly (although I don't expect it to be perfect form, just neatly done.)

[Carrie]

The ladies are doing such a good job of helping you! I am short on time this evening, but I know there have been some wonderful copywork threads in the past. If any dear ladies have a chance to link you to those, I know that would really help as well.

Blessings,
Carrie