Cathy Duffy Reviews home > Handwriting > Copy Book I, II, and III Copy Book Cursive I Composition and Sketch Book I

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Copy Book I, II, and III
Copy Book Cursive I
Composition and Sketch Book I

Publisher: Memoria Press Review last updated: 2009

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Copy Books, at first glance, appear to be nothing more than handwriting practice books for students in grades K though 2. They ARE handwriting practice books, but they are much more than that. In Copy Books, students are also working on memorization, spelling, reading comprehension, punctuation, vocabulary, and drawing.

Here's how it works. Students begin in Copy Book I learning how to form both lower and upper case letters by tracing, then writing them on their own. Once they've learned the letters, they begin with the copy lessons. Lessons each feature a Bible verse (KJV) or a line from a classic children's poem.

Each of these copy lessons has seven brief steps. The first is Bible Story Time. You write the verse or line on the board and read it to your child.

Second, you will study the verse with your child. Discuss unfamilar words and their meanings. You can also use this time to introduce simple grammar concepts such as identifying nouns and verbs or types of punctuation when children are ready for such topics.

Third, you work with your child to help him or her memorize the verse or line.

Now that children are familiar with the verse, they tackle the fourth step, copying. In the first two books, they copy immediately beneath models, while in the third book, they copy on a blank, lined page to the right of the model.

The fifth step is proofreading and correction. The sixth step is illustration. Students draw a picture to illustrate the verse or line in the space provided in the lesson.

The final step is to review all the verses they've memorized thus far.

As students work with models of excellent prose and poetry, they absorb proper forms of spelling, grammar, punctuation, and usage.

Copy Book verses are reviewed in Memoria's Christian Studies program for students in grades 3 through 5, so Christian Studies becomes a reinforcement tool for the memory work done in the Copy Books.

The three original Copy Books teach only printing/manuscript. A new Copy Book Cursive I is now available that teaches letter and number formation in cursive, using the hymns and prayers of Memoria Press's Latina Christiana Latin course. The original Copy Book III can be used for cursive practice once students have already learned the forms, even though cursive is not modeled.

Composition and Sketch Book I can be used by students who have mastered the basics of at least manuscript printing. It has a lined page facing a blank page so a student can write his or her own composition, then add an illustration.

Copybooks work especially well as part of a classical approach to education, but they are not limited to that approach.

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