April 24, 2024 – Copywork, Cursive, and Comprehension

Mercy Every Minute

Deborah Wuehler, TOS Senior Editor

Three C’s That Give Big Returns

If you can implement these three C’s in your homeschool, you will see great returns on your investment!

1. Cursive: the benefits of learning cursive go far beyond beautiful writing.

• Learning cursive can ease symptoms of dyslexia
• Cursive and Special Needs
• It’s beautiful, professional, and smart!

2. Copywork not only exposes students to many styles of writing, but provides material for their own.

• Increases concentration on legibility and penmanship.
• Copying great writers helps one become a great writer.
• Improves spelling and provides attention to grammatical correctness.
• Copywork: Bible Verses about Writing

3. Comprehension: focusing on small pieces of copywork provides better understanding.

• Comprehension of a passage is easier when broken down for copywork.
• Smaller passages provide opportunities for points of analysis and discussion.
• Copywork encourages comprehension as the student absorbs what he is reading while he is writing.

I have my children copy Scripture until they know it by heart and by hand. Never underestimate the power of the Word of God written on our children’s hearts and minds. It will be their life and health and wisdom—all the things we want our children to possess at the end of this journey.

May you learn to comprehend God’s Word together with your children, and may He grant you perseverance as you keep them Home. Where They Belong.

 ~Deborah

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Janice Campbell

Copywork for Comprehension

Reading and writing are some of the most important skills students must learn. One of the best things about teaching these skills at home is that there are small, simple exercises you can use to strengthen your student’s reading comprehension while practicing both reading and writing.

One of my favorite ways to help students with reading comprehension is to have the student read the passage aloud, then offer a simple copywork exercise using cursive handwriting. When a student copies a meaningful passage, verse, poem, or paragraph, he or she is not only learning to form letters, but is also absorbing simple standards for spacing, spelling, and punctuation. You can use copywork for students of all ages. I have even used it myself in graduate school when working with a concept or idea that I wanted to remember and understand more deeply.

In copywork, cursive handwriting offers a special learning boost, making the student more likely to understand and remember whatever they copy. As neuroscientist Dr. William R. Klemm explains, “Cursive writing helps train the brain to integrate visual, and tactile information and fine motor dexterity.” In addition, the work that the eye and hand do when writing cursive tends to activate areas of the brain that are not engaged when keyboarding or printing.

To prepare copywork for a student who is just learning or reviewing cursive, it is a good idea to make simple copywork sheets by hand. Just copy the target passage onto paper with lines appropriately sized and spaced for the student’s age. Use your neatest cursive to write the passage, and—this is important—skip every other line. That way, the student can write directly under your letters, which makes it easier for him or her to use even spacing and letterforms. The student can copy the passage using a pen of a different color, so that it will be easy to compare the copy with the model.

As students read the passage aloud, then write it, each word is usually repeated silently as it is written. By the time the copywork is complete, the passage, verse, or poem is usually imprinted on the student’s heart and mind, with deeper comprehension than could be achieved by reading alone. It’s a simple exercise, but copywork and cursive together can truly make a difference for students.

Klemm, W. (2013, March 14). Why Writing by Hand Could Make You Smarter. Retrieved October 05, 2020, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/memory-medic/201303/why-writing-hand-could-make-you-smarter

About the author

Janice Campbell is the graduated homeschool mom of four sons. Inspired by Charlotte Mason and Classical education methods, she explores the art of learning with literature, living books, and learning journals. Janice is the author of the Excellence in Literature curriculum for grades 8–12, Transcripts Made Easy, TimeFrame Timeline, etc. In addition to writing for magazines, occasionally podcasting, and speaking at homeschool conferences, Janice enjoys spending time with her grandchildren. You can find her online at EverydayEducation.com, Excellence-in-Literature.com, and DoingWhatMatters.com.

Beth Mora

Royalty Training Through Copywork?

Who says the Bible is an old dusty book? Not me! It is God’s Word for all of our homeschooling questions. For example, is copywork important? What purpose does copywork serve? Should I include it in my family’s curriculum?

Tucked away in Deuteronomy lies a golden nugget of knowledge that is there for you, dear homeschool educator! And can you believe it has to do with copywork and how to help make your future king or queen (aka: child/ren) successful in the eyes of the Lord?

“

And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites:

And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them:” (Deuteronomy 17:18-19).

Something happens when the pen connects with the brain, and God knows that. Copying the Words of the Lord profoundly affects the shaping of a successful king. Interestingly, the king does this in the presence of the priest. The priest may be there to answer any questions the king might have regarding the application of scripture or to make sure the king copies it correctly. Or, perhaps, the priest is there to give encouragement with the long passages.

Here are my takeaways:

• Yes, copywork is essential and effective.
• What your child spends time copying matters.
• Be present to discuss what is being copied.
• Copywork done right increases comprehension!
• Once mastered in print, write in cursive or calligraphy; it builds beautiful neural pathways.
• Reread copywork often.

My fellow home educators, you are royalty, and you’re also engaged in raising royalty.

“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;” (1 Peter 2:9).

What a privilege it is to serve the next generation!

About the author

Beth Mora is creator/teacher-on-camera for Here to Help Learning’s Homeschool Writing Program (grades 1–6) and homeschool conference and women’s events speaker. She loves to blog at Home to Home. She serves up HTHL’s Writing Tip of the Week for those teaching their kiddos to write. Everything she does, whether laughable or heart-gripping, is done to honor One. God’s grace is the salve that has healed her own life and is what she offers liberally to others.

Pillar of Future

Adam and Dianne Riveiro

Cursive Still Has Value!

Fun fact: I’m a bit of an old soul. Despite this, I don’t use cursive in my daily life beyond my signature . . . and I imagine most of us are in the same boat today. Yet, my personal writing habits notwithstanding, I’m still an advocate for cursive.

Hear me out . . .

I mentioned I’m an old soul, but I’m also a bit of a curmudgeon too. I have to admit I chafe a bit when we skip foundational skills with our learners simply because we deem those skills obsolete. Sure, calculators can do basic math, but we still teach the basics of 2+2. Artificial intelligence can write essays and word processors have spell check, but we still see the importance of grammar, punctuation, and creative writing. And while print is definitely the writing method of choice for adults, it doesn’t mean that cursive should go the way of the dodo bird.

Your young learners will benefit from cursive copywork if you expose them to it (and if you don’t present it to them as a drudgery).

Consider these advantages of exposing your children to cursive:

• Increased fine motor skills: The hand movements required for cursive writing are more complex than those required for print, which helps build fine motor skills at a critical stage in their development.
• Increased hand-eye coordination: When you print, there is no relation between each individual letter. However, cursive requires different strokes depending on how letters link together, increasing coordination and higher brain function.
• Increased comprehension: Learners need more focus to write in cursive than to write in print. This causes an increase of focus on the material their writing.

By the way, one final thought: all of our nation’s founding documents are in cursive. If we don’t teach our children a functional knowledge of cursive, how will they read these documents and understand our history? I guess they can always ask Google’s Gemini, right?

Sorry, that was my sarcastic curmudgeon speaking!

-Adam

About the author

Pastor Adam and Dianne Riveiro live in Easton, Massachusetts, where Adam leads Liberty Baptist Church. They’re the authors of several books, including Hope from Our Heart to Yours: A 30-Day Devotional Journey for Special Needs Families, available from their family’s publishing label at www.readyscribepublications.com. They have four children: Bethany, Kaylee, AJ, and Peyton. They’re passionate about helping their fellow special needs families find joy and contentment in Christ.

Are you looking for copywork to add to your child’s daily schedule? Everyday Copywork provides both print and cursive writing selections of more than 175 passages to help your children perfect their handwriting. Nearly 200 themed worksheets are available to download, including a few in Spanish and French. These are perfect for dictation practice, too!