copywork spelling grammar




	Copywork starts with learning how to print. Then Charlotte wanted them to use those skills to copy meaningful quotes or excerpts. They are looking at the text as they copy it. Learn Italics or Traditional penmanship.


	After about a year of copywork, try dictation. Child reads the material to be dictated, then parent reads the text in phrases as the child writes.


	“The whole secret of spelling lies in the habit of visualizing words from memory, and children must be trained to visualize in the course of their reading. They enjoy this way of learning to spell.” ~ Charlotte Mason


	For more on spelling, visit the beginning reading portion of this website.

GRAMMAR:
Speak correctly to model good grammar. When an error is made by the child, restate it properly as you continue the conversation so the child hears good grammar.

Use mentor sentences from books you are reading to teach grammar. Here is what I have developed. Replace the mentor sentences with sentences from books that you are reading. For 1st or 2nd graders, think of this as exposure to grammar. Have the young child say sentences orally. Ask them to write their own sentences, modeled after mentor sentences, in 3rd and 4th grade.