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Martha
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| Posted: Oct 10 2006 at 12:54pm | IP Logged
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ARGH!!!
Now that's out of my system...
I am trying hard to move into a more relaxed hsing mode.
I'm failing miserably.
How do you get the boy to right neatly and correctly for copywork?
Here's what I'd *like* to do:
Monday we went over the poem in story with a view and he dictated the short tale he wanted to write.
Tuesday I told him to copy down in his neatest writing 2 sentences onto the sheet I provided. My hope was to have him do this a little at a time, so that by Friday he could illustrate his story.
He won't do it!!! Or he'll rush through it. Or he'll scribble all over it in a fit.
He can do it. I sat at the table and he did the first sentence great. He started the second sentence, but when I walked out of the room he completely made a mess of the rest of it. When I came back and told him to correct it....well everything went downhill from there.
What am I doing wrong? This, 1 page of math, and religion are all we had slated for the day - which is a very light day for us.
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Martha
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Yes, they're all ours!
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ALmom
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| Posted: Oct 10 2006 at 5:16pm | IP Logged
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Martha:
Boys just seem to be impatient with the writing stuff - either it is rush and get done or it is agonizingly slow for them. It really came home to me in the writing class co-op. The teacher divided the fast and slow writers (the slow writers just don't get what their assignment is written down as fast or when she calls out from their lists of worn-out words, the slow writers are all still working on the first word, while the fast writers are getting antsy waiting for the next word. Down the line, she said, the slow writers were all the boys in the class and the fast writers were all the girls  . Now, she didn't call them this, she just grouped them so that she could easily get to whomever needed help copying or more time. All of them are capable of writing neatly, and writing some really great stories - but the mechanics of getting the stuff written just takes so much longer for the boys - so keep that in mind when you chose what to dictate. It is frustrating to be just copying for hours on end when your mind is racing but your eye/hand just doesn't move fast enough.
If I want neat handwriting, I have to specify this in a short assignment. If I want something more lengthy than one line of writing, I generally have to allow for an extra several days to copy - or allow typing or accept less than stellar penmanship with lots of scratching out, etc. It does help to teach them that one line cross-out is acceptable.
Sometimes, I have to require that they pay more attention by not accepting something and requiring that they re-write it neatly. I do this if it is totally illegible to me. I also point out how their math errors are really copy errors due to sloppy handwriting and that really down to earh practical seems to bear more weight with my boys than it ever did with my girls.
It also just takes my dc longer to write things out neatly due to some vision problems everyone seems to have, but it is definitely more pronounced in boys.
I may not be the best person to answer this question because other than dictating spelling words, dictation and copywork do not work well for us, except as a very rare thing. But thought it might be reassuring to know it is normal for boys to develop in this area just a bit later than the girls and if you are used to teaching girls it can kind of take you by surprise at first.
Janet
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Becky Parker
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| Posted: Oct 11 2006 at 6:38am | IP Logged
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Just a thought along the lines of what Janet said. My ds (now almost 13) always had a terrible time with copywork. He did much better with dictation. The looking from one paper or book to his writing paper word by word drove him nuts. I think he had trouble re-focusing or something. However, when I dictated the same passage and helped him with spelling and punctuation, he did better. I did not cut out copywork because I think it is important, I just lowered my expectations. A few things you might try: If he is copying from a book, have him mark his spot with a ruler or even a small arrow that has been cut out from a piece of construction paper. Go over difficult spellings first and perhaps even highlight those words. Shorten the assignment and tell him you would rather have 3 beautifully written words than 3 messy sentences. One last thought, you might set a timer for lengthy copywork assignments. Tell him he has to do a good job, but he can stop after 5 minutes and pick up where he left off tomorrow. Somehow knowing there is an end in sight helps them be diligent about doing their best. Oh, and please don't take this wrong because I don't know your son, but there were days when my son was just being disobedient. I just calmly said something like, "You may have your computer time today (or go outside, or play with your favorite toy) when the copywork is completed perfectly." I know the word "perfectly" sounds harsh but if I didn't say it like that I would get something way less than his best work. I kept in mind that his best work would not be "perfect" for me, but for him it was. Does that make sense? Hope this helps a little!
Becky
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mom3bme
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| Posted: Nov 29 2006 at 4:21pm | IP Logged
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Ladies,
This topic caught my eye because I'm trying to decide the best way to have my son work on his penmanship skills. We haven't started homeschooling yet (January 2007). However I'm using this time to sketch out our plan.
One product I found that seems interesting is a pc based program in which you can print out lined paper with letters or phrases. It can be done in print or cursive. The website is www.startwrite.com . I thought this might be better than a preprinted handwriting book because you could determine what the kids work on. It could also be a tool for copywork or dictation.
Just a thought from a novice.
--Kelly
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Paula in MN
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| Posted: Dec 02 2006 at 5:48am | IP Logged
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Kelly -- I am currently using StartWrite with my children. We love it. We use it for narration, copywork, dictation, anything we can think of. It is well worth the investment.
Paula in MN
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Martha
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| Posted: Dec 02 2006 at 8:47am | IP Logged
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I forgot about this thread, but now that it's been bumped I'll give an update.
I started them in cursive! He's (ds is 7 rs old) so excited to be doing cursive that hedoesn't mind. I only give one line a day though since he is doing 2 things at once (learning cursive and copywork).
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Martha
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4Real Forums : Language Arts Come Alive
Topic: dictation and copywork
