Question about copywork

[Jill]

Hi. For first grade copywork, I usually print out the line of the poem on 1inch ruling paper and my daughter then copies directly onto the same page. Recently as her grammar lessons have progressed, she's become confused with the grammar differences in poetry. For example, she's confused about each line starting with a capital letter when she hasn't used a period before. I don't know whether to simply explain that poetry follows different rules or to make each line a sentence or take away the capital letter to make it less confusing and to reinforce standard grammar. Any suggestions on how I should tackle this issue?

[Carrie]

Jill,

Yes that is interesting, isn't it! Grammar books point out that poetry often does not follow the normal rules of grammar... so that is the route we go at our house. We just explain that poetry is different from other forms of writing and have the kiddos copy the poetry in the original form (to preserve the format that the poet intended).

Blessings,
Carrie

[my3sons]

Hi Jill! We do the same thing Carrie does. I just explain that poetry doesn't follow the rules, and writing it in the same way the author did helps us understand it and orally read it in the way it was intended to be read. I use the example of how we don't always talk using correct grammar either - for example, when I say "How many toys did you get out?" My son says, "Ten." He doesn't say, "I got out 10 toys." Sometimes we say, "Nope." "Huh?" "Yeah, right!" etc. That's because we don't always use exact grammar when we talk either - especially in our own homes. Those examples help our sons understand situations where perfect grammar is not always a necessity and can in fact, detract from the meaning, rhythm, and rhyme of a writing piece (especially in poetry). HTH! Great question!

In Christ,
Julie