60-day returns • free shipping on USA orders $129+
How old is too old for copywork?
- This topic has 7 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 9 years, 9 months ago by
.
Viewing 8 posts - 1 through 8 (of 8 total)
- Posts
My 9 year old son struggles to write on his own. Meaning, that when I ask him to write he has difficulty remembering all of the spelling, grammar and punctuation rules not to mention difficulty thinking up a few sentences. However, when I have him dictate the sentences to me and then have him copy my record of his wording he has little to no problems. So, should I continue to have him do copywork like this or push him to write more on his own given his age? Advice please!
I think most people continue copywork until about age 9 or 10, and then move on to prepared dictation. Spelling Wisdom is a good, ready-to-go resource for dictation, but anything that you would use for copywork could also be used for dictation. Here is a good video from Sonya explaining more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGqakdjcS_U
I had no idea most people stopped copy work at that age! I am still doing copywork (on days we do not have dictation) with my 11 and 13 years old as a way to prepare for dictation and keep up w/cursive. Should we stop?
My 13 year old still does copywork (as do the 1o, 9, and 7 year olds, with the newly turned 6 year old ready to move into it as well). For us it has become a part of prepared dictation. The first day of the week they use their Spelling Wisdom/prepared dictation passage as copywork. Day 2 they copy out the words they are learning to spell from the passage. Day 3 they practice those words or copy the passage again (depends on the child and what works best for them). Day 4 they work on the punctuation. Day 5 is prepared dictation.
My 13 year old is probably ready to move into a Commonplace book. (I think there is another name but it escapes me at the moment). A Book of Mottoes? I think that is it.
In the SCM all day Charlotte Mason seminar, Sonya says that one can continue copywork as long as needed or desired. She said that she began to taper off with her girls around highschool because they were weary of it and had been doing it for so many years.
My daughter just turned 13 and we still do copywork once a week. We do dictation twice a week and composition twice a week. I may go back to more copywork for a while because my daughter’s handwriting seems to be getting a little off track lately. Eventually, we hope to start a Commonplace book and that will take the place of copywork.
When you ask him to write, what does a typical assignment look like in your house? It could be a matter of him needing more direction. For example, journals were not a great hit here. When we switched to Brave Writer assignments (just ideas from her daily tips), it was a complete switch. Suddenly the kids not only had ideas, they couldn’t wait to get them down on paper. Some favorites – silent conversation (set a timer and write your conversation down. No talking!), advice column (I had the kids write a “problem” – serious or silly – and then swap papers and write advice for each other.), guess what it is (they pick an item and write sentences to describe it – then you have to guess what it is. If you can’t guess, he has to write more descriptive sentences until you can guess what it is.)
I’d also offer him a reminder that these assignments are not times to worry about mechanics. If you haven’t already, introduce him to the writing process and let him know that all writers make mistakes. The first step is to get the ideas on paper, then you can take a piece and work through any errors if he wishes. We only take one piece a month (or every two months) through the entire writing process.
Another thing to try if he has trouble holding thoughts is to use a tape recorder. He can record his thoughts and then copy them on to paper.
We still do copywork (my oldest is 11). At this point we have no plans to stop.
Well, I do copywork, and I am 38! 😉
I think it depends on what you are meaning by copywork. Copying verses or passages into a journal because you want to remember them is different from copying teacher assigned passages to practice punctuation, sentence variety, and spelling. My nine year old does some of both.
If your child does not have a solid foundation in oral narration, then it will be very taxing for him to come up with sentences to write on his own. You could have him narrate to you from his reading then choose a paragraph (or sentence) from his reading for copywork. Maybe do studied dictation once each week. Allow him to study the sentence(s), copy, and practice difficult words prior to requiring him to write from dictation. You may even tell him where to place commas and other punctuation in the beginning to help him become comfortable with writing. Don’t rush it. Step by step…
Viewing 8 posts - 1 through 8 (of 8 total)
- The topic ‘How old is too old for copywork?’ is closed to new replies.