Over the past five years, I’ve noticed a steady decline in students’ ability to copy writing accurately from the board or a screen—and I mean simply copying what’s there. Attention to spelling, punctuation, and capitalization is often missing. To address this, I now have students write the day’s instructions in their notebooks at the start of class. I’ve also increased the number of spelling and editing activities I use, with the goal of retraining students to notice the small—but essential—details of language.
Worksheet:
