Category: Language Arts

Dictation: A Natural Way to Teach to Language Arts
What if your kids could learn to write from real-life, published authors? Sounds pretty amazing…and maybe even a little expensive, right?

The good news is they can do just that when they learn language arts naturally using copywork and dictation to develop their writing skills. BookShark Language Arts uses this approach.

Tools for Teaching Language Arts Skills

When we incorporate copywork and dictation into language arts, our kids learn to write from those who do it best.

Copywork and dictation are similar in many ways. In copywork, students write from the written word while in dictation, students write from the spoken word.

Don’t let the simplicity fool you though. Both are incredibly effective. And as students progress from copywork to dictation, they start applying what they have learned through copywork. Dictation requires higher-level thinking and writing skills and helps you to evaluate what they really understand.

How to Use Dictation to Teach Language Arts

How do you do dictation? Read a sentence or passage aloud, and have your students write what you are saying. It’s harder than it sounds though, especially when you consider the thinking skills that go into it.

Language Arts Skills in Dictation

Students are translating what they hear into the written word. That means they have to:
- Remember how to spell the words
- Distinguish between words that sound the same but are spelled differently, and then choose the correct one
- Choose the correct punctuation (and there are a lot of different types of punctuation!)
- Know when to capitalize a word
In other words, as they write from dictation, students are making decisions that will reveal if they are understanding and applying what they have learned in the context of real writing.And while they are doing all of those things, they are also absorbing the rules of grammar and usage, discovering different types of sentence structure, learning new vocabulary, and more, like they do in copywork. They are learning to write from real writers and see the rules of language in action. (And an added bonus: Kids who grow up doing dictation are great note takers in upper level classes!)

BookShark Language Arts integrates dictation exercises into the curriculum. So you don’t have to choose passages. You simply follow the Instructor’s Guide.

Extending the Dictation Lesson

Once kids have written a passage from dictation, you can then use it as a basis for personalizing their language arts lessons. You can teach them what dictation reveals they don’t know or understand yet. But be careful, you don’t want to overwhelm them. You don’t have to do all of these things every time! These are simply possibilities for how you can get the most out of dictation.
1. Create a personalized spelling list or notebook. Have them write down the words they misspelled during dictation. Talk about why it is wrong. Is there a spelling rule they didn’t follow? Students can even categorize frequently missed words that have the same rule.
2. Look up a mechanics rule in a reference book. Did they use a semicolon when they should have used a colon? Read the rule together and then simply correct the mistake.
3. Allow them to correct their mistakes. A lot of learning happens by going back to correct mistakes on their own. Have them look at the passage you are reading from and correct their own mistakes.
4. Let them make their arguments for why their way is also correct. Sometimes in language there is more than one way to write something. Let them share with you why they made the decision to use a certain word or punctuation mark and see if it is a valid alternative.
Why Dictation Teaches Students More Than Exercises in a Textbook

When students do exercises in grammar books, they are seeing a rule used in contrived sentences over and over. Often they do great on the exercises, but then struggle with the concept in their own writing.

Or they will get 100% correct on a spelling test after studying lists of words, but then turn around and spell the word incorrectly when they write it later. Why does this happen?

Because they are learning rules and words apart from the context of writing.

Dictation, however, is the application of all the rules and skills students learn in their language arts studies. When students can successfully do dictation, you know they truly understand what they are learning.

Tips for Beginning Dictation

Like any new skill, it will take time and practice for students to get comfortable with it. You can ease them into dictation so they don’t feel overwhelmed, though.
- Begin dictating just one or two sentences. They can then do the rest as copywork. Slowly increase the amount of dictation as their skills increase. A little done well is better than overloading your student.
- Start with copywork. Assign the sentences or passage as copywork one day, and then use the same passage as dictation the next.
- Let students study the passage they will be writing from dictation before you start. As students become more comfortable with it, simply talk about the passage before you begin.
- When you are starting out, don’t hesitate to repeat the sentences as many times as you need to. Begin by reading the entire passage and have them listen. Then break it down sentence by sentence or phrase by phrase if that works better for your children.
- Exaggerate the pauses. Ask questions to help them along like “What punctuation do we use when there is a pause in the middle of a sentence?”
- Answer their questions. If they ask how to spell a word or what punctuation to use, in the beginning go ahead and answer. It’s a big step in learning to recognize what you don’t know. Then transition them more and more by asking them to write down their best guess.
- Reassure the perfectionist. If you have a perfectionist, remind them that dictation isn’t graded. It’s for pinpointing what they know and don’t know which provides direction for their language arts lessons.
- Be their biggest cheerleader. Let them know that dictation takes time and practice. They will get better and better at it, and you are there to help.
BookShark Language Arts programs help you to teach language arts naturally by choosing dictation passages from the books your kids are already reading, ones that are appropriate for their level. But remember: You are the teacher. You can always modify the lessons in order for your students to experience success and grow as writers at their own pace.
03/19/2025
Copywork: A Natural Way to Teach Language Arts
Do you remember what it was like when your sweet little babies began to utter their first sounds? Did you run to get a textbook so you could teach them how to speak? Of course not! You certainly didn’t freak out thinking there was no way you would be able to teach them how to talk.

Instead you began to say simple words to them like mama and dada. And each time they attempted to make the same sound, you excitedly cheered them on.

But for some reason, the thought of teaching language arts seems to strike fear into the hearts of many homeschool parents. There’s no need for fear.

Remember, you’ve been teaching your kids language skills since the day they were born, even if you didn’t realize it.

How Children Acquire Language

Children learn language naturally. Just like your kids learned to talk without a Teach Your Baby to Talk board-book-textbook, they can learn how to write in a natural and fun way—a way that will help you both get excited about learning.

For homeschooling language arts, you can opt for a textbook approach like a public school does. Or you can choose the natural approach for listening, reading, writing, and speaking. A natural approach to language arts (like the one BookShark uses) immerses kids in all facets of communication in an age-appropriate way.

One tool in this natural teaching toolbox is incredibly simple yet extremely effective. It’s kind of like the Swiss army knife of language teaching methods since it teaches and reinforces multiple skills.

This tool is copywork.

What Is Copywork?

Copywork is simply writing down a sentence or passage from an example. While children copy from this example, they can concentrate on punctuation, correct spelling, and penmanship because they aren’t busy composing the sentences themselves.

When we consider all that young learners are putting together at the same time, it’s easy to understand why writing might be overwhelming.

Copywork reduces the overload.

Copywork is closely related to how your kids learned to speak. You, an expert in talking with many years of experience, spoke to them, and they imitated the sounds. And with each new word they acquired, you kept talking to them. Before you knew it, they were stringing whole sentences together—eventually grammatically correct sentences without ever being formally taught the rules of grammar.

With copywork, kids get to imitate both expert and experienced writers by writing the author’s words on paper.

Copywork—An Effective Way to Teach Language Arts Skills

In the natural approach, language skills aren’t seen as separate subjects to be taught, but as a whole. That doesn’t mean you won’t ever focus on a particular area. But your curriculum will be real books.

When kids consistently use copywork as a part of their language arts studies, they encounter words in context and see how rules are applied. You will be amazed at how they naturally absorb rules of capitalization, punctuation, spelling, phonics, and other grammar skills.

Go back to the idea of how they learned to talk. They didn’t need grammar lessons. But as they heard you speak correctly over and over, they mastered the rules of grammar and sentence structure simply by absorbing them. Sure, they made mistakes along the way, but you knew it was just a part of the process. You even thought their mistakes were cute.
Why Copywork Works

Copywork respects the way kids learn language skills and takes advantage of it. Kids learn to write from actual writers, not textbook producers, by immersing them in real writing.

Copywork reinforces skills they have already learned. Your students copy out of the books they are reading. They’ll encounter the passage within context. They will both hear it and write it.

Skills are reinforced in a natural, not contrived, way. Our kids can do countless exercises in grammar books and memorize a multitude of spelling words, but when they do those things out of the context of real writing, those skills often don’t translate to their personal writing. With copywork, students encounter words in context and see the rules of grammar in action. They know not just the what but the how.

How to Use Copywork

Start small. Think of it as building language muscles. Just as you wouldn’t have a child start lifting one-hundred-pound. weights to get in shape, you don’t want to overwhelm them with long, complex copywork passages. For example, BookShark copywork passages have been chosen with children’s abilities in mind. But every kid is different! You are the teacher, so adjust the amount of copywork if needed to fit your child. If the passage seems too cumbersome, either shorten it or stretch it across more days.

Though studying many subjects works great sitting on the couch, be sure they are comfortably working at a table or desk to do copywork. Sitting up straight with feet on the floor will help young learners both focus and form good writing habits.

We are more likely to embrace something when we understand the rationale behind it. So show your kids why copywork is beneficial. Talk about the fact that they will be learning to write from great authors. Explain that copywork will help them go beyond learning rules to actually applying them.
Don’t Fall into One of These Copywork Pits

A pitfall is a hidden or unsuspected danger or difficulty. These are a couple of common pitfalls when it comes to using copywork in your homeschool language arts.

1. Lack of Consistency

Guess what? No matter how great any learning method is, sometimes kids will balk at being required to do anything. They would often rather be building LEGO bricks or coloring.

When kids think there’s a choice, they’ll usually go with whatever requires the least amount of effort (a lot like us adults!). Copywork requires focus, and it can be uncomfortable in the beginning for many children. That’s okay.

For those who are especially reluctant, you might need to shorten copywork passages, or perhaps let them choose what they will copy that day. You can even set a timer for around five minutes so they know there’s an end in sight. But do require something each day so that it becomes a habit.

2. Not Valuing Copywork Enough

It seems too simple to be really effective, doesn’t it? Since most of us were brought up with a learn with constant drill-and-practice mentality, it’s easy to think copywork won’t really be that beneficial. If you don’t believe how effective it is and embrace it, neither will your kids. It’s amazing how much our kids pick up on our attitudes.

BookShark Language Arts

When your children study language arts the natural way as BookShark teaches it, they will really learn it. Not simply to pass a test, but in a way that truly makes them better communicators.

Copywork is just one of the many ways your kids will encounter language naturally. With BookShark, all of the components of a well-rounded, natural approach to teaching Language Arts will help your students to grow in their abilities in a way that is developmentally appropriate.
03/19/2025
How Reading Helps the Anxious Child Overcome Anxiety
Having a child who lives with anxiety can often be an overwhelming experience. It’s painful for us, as parents, to watch our children struggle with the weight of anxiety disorder. We work tirelessly to help them learn coping mechanisms, develop strategies for managing their anxiety, and help them live their best lives. What if there was one small thing—something many of us might already be doing—that could add another layer of support to their anxiety management?

I am currently parenting and home educating a child who has generalized anxiety disorder. Because I also happen to be an adult who lives with anxiety disorder, I have a deeper understanding of what my child is experiencing. I’ve been there and can truly empathize with my child’s feelings.

After a lifetime of searching out different coping techniques, I still find new things to try or think about. I recently came across an article discussing how reading can help anxiety. It made me think about all the books I crawled into when I was younger, as a way to self-manage my anxious moments. I thought about the times I snuggled up to my kids with a good book when one of them was having their own hard day. It really clicked, and I started to dig a little deeper.

Bibliotherapy Soothes the Anxious Mind

Above the door of the ancient library at Thebes, was inscribed the phrase Healing Place For The Soul. As long as there have been stories to tell and stories to read, humans have used the written word as a way to soothe our hearts and ease our minds.

There is a term for this, bibliotherapy, the act of using books to aid in treating mental health disorders. Particular stories can give our minds a way to see things and find solutions.

Sure, we all love a good book or a good story, but how can we use books intentionally to help our children deal with their anxiety? One of the most effective treatments I’ve tried for anxiety disorder is cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). In a nutshell, this is the act of retraining how we think about a situation, so that we can rewire our brain in its reaction to the situation.

Reading a novel can be a powerful way reframe a bad or scary thing. In the book, we watch the character solve that problem and fight that scary thing to victory. The more we read about a character overcoming a struggle, the more our brains start to learn other ways to respond to a threatening trigger.

Reading Lets the Anxious Child Be The Hero

GK Chesterton once said, “Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.”

Books show us that the things we’re scared of, the situations that trigger our anxiety, can be beaten. Our children read a hero’s tale and see an ordinary everyday character—just like them—go on a journey through dark moments and scary places. They see our hero fight the darkness and emerge victorious.

Reading puts our children in front of these heroes and lets them imagine themselves as the victor, conquering the dragon. It gives them a brief experience of feeling that bravery and beating their foe.

Reading Reminds Us That There is Good in the World

When you live with anxiety, the world can seem overwhelming—full of terrifying events. To our children, these fears can become all-consuming. When we read a book, we are reminded of the good in the world:
- that people can be strong and brave
- that love can, and does, win
- that we can persevere and overcome
Finding books with characters who do the good things and overcome adversity reminds our children that the world is not such a scary place.

Reading Gives the Anxious Mind Something to Do

A child who is feeling anxious will often have a million thoughts going all at once. They may be scatterbrained, or they might become intensely fixated on one problem or thought. When we sit down to read an engaging book, we give our minds something productive and enjoyable to do.

In an anxiety episode, our child’s mind is looking for trouble—in full flight or fight mode. If we give the mind something to focus on, it can’t keep fixating on the anxiety trigger. This kind of mindfulness activity can be an excellent coping mechanism, and books are a great way to do it. You can’t read a book and think of five other things at the same time. A good book will pull you in, and your mind will slowly let all the other worries fall off to the side.

Once your child spends time focusing their mind on one task, their mind can feel less scattered and frantic. Along the way, they’ll hopefully get pulled into a wonderful story or a fantastical world.

As home educating parents, we read all the time. We have family Read-Alouds in our curriculum, and literature for our homeschool lessons. We listen to audiobooks in the car on our way to activities. Reading can be such a large part of our lives already. How wonderful it is that we can also use it to help our children cope with fear and anxiety. with our children. Draw out the topics they are interested in and can relate to, ask questions that spark opinions and more questions, and get excited about what will happen next. Your kids will follow suit and you’ll be digging in and having valuable discussions with them before you know it.

About the Author

Nadine Dyer is a homeschooling parent to two great kids and the lucky wife to one amazing guy. She and her family, which also includes four spoiled guinea pigs, reside in beautiful (and chilly!) northern Ontario, Canada. Nadine is the author of upabovetherowantree.com where she shares her journey, with all its ups and downs, as a secular homeschooling parent. When she isn’t homeschooling or writing, Nadine can usually be found in search of good coffee, good books, and great conversation.
03/19/2025
10 Ways to Raise Little Bookworms
This might sound crazy, but one of my biggest fears as a new mom was that my children wouldn’t like to read.

You see, I’m a bookworm of the highest order. I’m always reading something, actually several somethings. I have my upstairs book, my downstairs book, and my car book. I am a bibliophile.

I’m also an educator. Before homeschooling, I was a school psychologist. In that role I saw so many children who loathed reading. Some of those children had underlying disabilities that made reading challenging, others were pushed to read too soon and balked while others lacked exposure.

I wished that I could go back and change reading for every reluctant reader I met to help them fall in love with reading.

And that was one of my biggest wishes for my own children. Thankfully, they did fall in love with reading with the help of these ten methods I used to help them fall in love with reading.

Learning to read is a skill, and like all skills, it requires hard work and heaps of practice in order to become proficient.

In order for kids to want to put all that time and effort in, we need to provide them with oodles of positive early reading experiences. If reading is pleasurable, they are going to want to learn how to do it themselves.

1. Surround yourself with words

If you want your children to read, surround yourself with things to read! Here are some ideas:
- Access to a variety of reading materials, from books to newspapers to magazines
- Book baskets in every room
- When watching television, enable closed captioning
- Label items in your home, such as toy bins and dresser drawers
2. Read aloud every single day

Reading aloud is the best thing you can do for your child’s future reading success. By reading aloud to your child, you are building
- Vocabulary
- Background knowledge
- Reading fluency
- Pronunciation
- Listening skills
Make a promise to read at least one book aloud to your children every single day. If you find you are too tired by the end of the day, start your morning off with a read aloud. By reading a book at breakfast, you’ll be starting off the day on the right foot.

3. Visit the library or a local bookstore

Nothing gets kids more excited to read than a special trip to the library or local bookstore! When you are surrounded by so many fresh books, it is hard to be inspired.

4. Let your child select books

Sure, they may not choose the books that you would choose, but if you want your children to be passionate about reading, you have to let them discover what they love. In our family, each child has a library tote back. Each week, they check out as many books as they can carry from the children’s section.

5. Sprinkle in fantastic reads based on your child’s current passions

Children are always passionate about something. What is your child obsessed with at the moment? Guess what? There’s a book about that! Every week, while my children are busy filling their library totes, I select a few additional books based on their current passions. Then, when we get home, I leave them out in plain view. Without fail, they read the book.

6. Reread, even when you don’t want to

Sometimes one of my children will approach me with a book that I have read a gazillion times. Children learn through repetition, so do not get discouraged if you feel that you are reading and rereading the same books every day.

7. Make read aloud time something everyone looks forward to

By creating memorable read aloud moments, you are not only connecting to your children but you are also making reading a pleasurable experience for your child. When reading is fun, kids are going to want to do it! Here are some ideas to jumpstart your read alouds:
- Grab some blankets and snuggle up together with a good book
- Have a picnic and bring your favorite story
- Plan a related craft for after your read aloud
- Grab a flashlight and read in the dark
8. Don’t pressure your child to learn to read

Nowadays there is so much pressure to read early, but this pressure makes reading anything but fun. If reading is seen as a job, rather than a joy, children aren’t going to want to spend their time reading! Instead, focus on enjoying good books together.

9. Set aside quiet reading time each day

The importance of reading aloud cannot be overstated. Still, silent reading is important too. In our family, we have an hour of quiet time every afternoon. This time is usually spent reading. Even my littlest guy, who is not yet reading, will spend that time paging through his favorite books.

If you are homeschooling, choosing a literature-rich curriculum will ensure there’s time spent each day with great books.

10. Set an example

Do you know what I do during that afternoon quiet time? I read my book. Make sure your children see you reading. Children learn by watching you, so give them something to imitate!

By providing your child with positive reading memories, you will not only connect with each other, but you will be helping your child’s future reading and learning success!ns with our children. Draw out the topics they are interested in and can relate to, ask questions that spark opinions and more questions, and get excited about what will happen next. Your kids will follow suit and you’ll be digging in and having valuable discussions with them before you know it.

About the Author

Cait is a school psychologist, mom to three amazing children, and an unexpected homeschooler. She loves nature, good books, board games, strong coffee, and dancing in her kitchen. You can read about all of these things and more at My Little Poppies.
03/19/2025
Discussing Books with Kids: How to Foster Valuable Conversations
Have you ever had a conversation like this in your home?

Parent: How’s your book?

Child: It’s good.

Parent: Why is it good?

Child: I don’t know. I just like it.

Talking with our kids about a book they are reading can peter out before the conversation even starts. Why? The questions we ask, what we know about the book, and the way we hold discussions all matter. Good discussions are all about connection, and if there is one thing we homeschoolers do well, it’s connecting with our children.

Looking for ways to having rich, meaningful discussions around the books your homeschoolers read? Here are some of my favorite ways to create conversations.

1. Read the Books Your Kids are Reading

It’s pretty hard to have a conversation about a book you don’t know anything about. We can ask questions, but the heart of a discussion lives in everyone being somewhat informed.

If you can’t read the books your kids are reading, find summaries. The more you know about the book, the richer our conversation will be.

2. Ask Open-ended Questions

Questions that have a right or wrong answer, that elicit a one-word answer, or that don’t spark interest will not get our kids talking about books. The questions we ask need to invite them to think about their opinions, the world around them, and who they are as a person.

Try questions like these:
- What do you like about this character?
- What is something that annoys you about this story?
- Why do you think the character made that decision?
- What would you have done in the character’s place?
3. Use Reading Strategies

Reading strategies are tools that help readers think beyond the basic plot of a story. Use reading strategies to craft your questions and discussions:
- Predict: Discuss what is going to happen next. Find evidence in the novel to support your predictions.
- Connect: Discuss how you each relate to the characters, conflict, or setting.
- Question: Discuss what you’re wondering? What doesn’t make sense? What does the author not tell us?
- Comment: Discuss your opinions. What do you think, like, dislike?
- Infer: Discuss what you know by reading between the lines. What are the clues that support your findings?
4. Model Excitement About Reading

Modeling excitement is one of the best ways to create conversation because the more excited we are about reading, the more our kids will be.

This next tip may sound silly, but it works! While you’re reading in earshot of your kids, react audibly to your book.
- Shout, “What?!” when you reach a shocking part.
- Laugh loudly when you get to a funny part.
- Gasp loudly at a scary part.
When we express what’s going on in our head while we’re reading, our excitement does a couple of things. If you’re reading independently, it sparks interest. Your kids are going to want to know what is so funny or unbelievable, which will spark discussion. If you’re reading out loud together, it’s a great place to stop and discuss what’s going on or how they are feeling.

5. Create Conversation Midstream

While adults often wait until they have finished a book to discuss it, this isn’t always best to do with kids and teens. They need conversation throughout. It will help them stay interested, make sure they are understanding what is happening, and dig deeper.

If I’m reading out loud with my kids, we’ll stop and discuss when we’ve ingested a lot of information, get to a really important part, when they are starting to get antsy, before we read and after.

If we’re reading the same book independently, I try to create a conversation (even a small one) before and after we read each day. The discussion questions in each BookShark Instructor’s Guide give you perfect conversation starters if this doesn’t come naturally to you.

6. Be Truly Interested

Have you ever tried to talk to someone who was looking at their phone or not focused at all on the conversation? It can make us feel pretty small and unimportant. Discussions are conversations. They should look like people paying attention, listening, and truly being interested in what the other person is saying. If you don’t find the books your kids are reading interesting, remind yourself that you are interested in your child and helping them learn. (Or switch to a curriculum full of fascinating books!)

7. Have Real Conversations

Books invite us into real-world problems, historical mishaps, conflicts, and so many lessons. Use a character’s flaws, values, and problems to discuss the best ways to handle struggle and conflict. Books can be wonderful ways to introduce and create conversations around hard topics. Create conversations that are meaningful and go beyond merely discussing a book for school.

If you have ever had a really good conversation with a friend about a book, you know the power of discussion, of lifting up the characters you liked, what you each thought and wondered. We can have these same types of conversations with our children. Draw out the topics they are interested in and can relate to, ask questions that spark opinions and more questions, and get excited about what will happen next. Your kids will follow suit and you’ll be digging in and having valuable discussions with them before you know it.

About the Author

Kelly left teaching middle and high school English to homeschool her children and reclaim how she and her family spent their time. Followers of interest-led learning, her family’s days rarely look the same, but they tend to include a lot of books, art supplies, and time outside.

Kelly facilitates local writing circles for women and children and blogs about nurturing the love of learning on her blog, Curiosity Encouraged. She loves to journal, read memoirs, hike, and travel. She seeks quiet mornings and good coffee daily.
03/18/2025
How BookShark Language Arts Works: A Natural Approach to Skillful Communication
Communicator: a person who is able to convey or exchange information, news, or ideas, especially one who is eloquent or skilled.

Thanks to the Internet, we live in a time where everyone can express their thoughts and feelings in an instant. Yet it seems people struggle to actually communicate.

Communication requires skills that go beyond simply sharing opinions. Unfortunately, many in our world tend to talk at other people instead of to or with them.

A good communicator is one who:
- takes in information and reflects on it in order to understand
- is able to organize thoughts and express them clearly
- listens to opposing arguments with the intent of understanding differing viewpoints
These skills don’t come naturally for all of us. Thus children need to be taught how to be skillful and thoughtful communicators.

Teaching your students to communicate well is a lofty goal—one that goes beyond simply making sure they can read and write. How can you do it? One answer is to teach language arts the BookShark way.

Teach Language Arts Skills Naturally

Natural learning methods take advantage of the way children have been learning since the day they were born.

Many language arts curriculums teach language skills in a disjointed way, as a collection of separate subjects. Because of this approach, students often struggle to apply what they’ve learned about grammar or literary elements or even spelling in their actual writing and speaking.

When students learn language arts naturally, they see how these skills fit together. They see the application of the rules through reading, copywork, dictation, and narration.

Read Great Books

Reading aloud to students gives them the opportunity to hear books beyond their reading levels. This habit has several benefits:
- Develops vocabulary. In order to master new words and incorporate them into both their spoken and written idiolect, students need to encounter them multiple times. It also helps to hear, see, and write them.
- Exposes students to good writing. Students hear well constructed sentences, great descriptions, and literary language. No, they may not be consciously thinking about language as they listen to a story. But they nevertheless absorb the traits of good writing in much the same way they learned to speak —by being immersed in language.
- Cultivates listening skills. Consistently reading to students develops their ability to listen. Don’t worry if your little one is rolling around on the floor while you’re reading! You’ll be amazed at how much they are retaining.
- Encourages great conversations. Discussion questions, like the ones provided in BookShark’s Instructor’s Guides, are a great starting point. Reading books together gives parents and students a way to interact with ideas, character issues, and both fun and difficult topics.
The BookShark language arts program includes a variety of read alouds from historical fiction to biographies to nonfiction.

Learn to Write with Copywork, Dictation, and Narration

Let your children learn to write from those who do it best: authors. Copywork, dictation, and narration are the foundation for learning language arts the natural way.

Copywork

With copywork, students copy from the books they read. This allows them to learn writing skills within the context of real writing—instead of doing drills in a grammar textbook or studying a separate, unrelated list of spelling words.

Dictation

After students are comfortable with copywork, they are ready for the next step. Instead of copying text from books, they write it as someone dictates the sentences and passages to them. This requires higher level thinking skills as they choose what punctuations to use, remember how to spell words, and apply the rules of grammar like capitalization.

Through copywork and dictation, children learn grammar, sentence structure, correct usage, mechanics, and spelling.

Narration

When students narrate, they retell something you’ve read to them in their own words. In order to do this they have to use several skills:
- Listening carefully. This is pretty obvious, but students can’t retell something if they aren’t listening. If a child struggles with narration, consider building their listening muscles and ask them to narrate a smaller portion you read. Or tell them specifically what to listen for before you read.
- Organizing their thoughts. Have you ever heard someone speaking who seemed to wander all over the place? Or maybe they were constantly inserting ums? Often people do these things because the information in their brain is a bit jumbled. When students practice narrating, they need to organize their ideas so they can convey the information in their own words.
- Understanding what is being said. It’s impossible to put into your own words something you don’t understand. How do we understand what is being read? We listen carefully and ask questions when needed. When students know they will narrate what they are hearing, they know they’ll need to do the same: listen carefully and ask questions.
The ability to narrate means students know how to summarize and paraphrase. These skills are essential, especially when they begin writing essays.

Have Students Write About What They Know

When kids struggle to write, it’s often because they don’t have anything to draw from. It’s like going to a well without a bucket. If you want your children to be able to write, then you have to fill their buckets.

BookShark’s writing activities relate to the topics students are encountering in their Readers and Read-Alouds. Their buckets are filled with facts, ideas, imagery, and stories.

Then, with the skills they are learning through copywork, dictation, and narration, they’ll be able to organize and express this knowledge in writing form—sharing what they’ve learned with others.

Teach Language Arts Naturally to Help Your Kids Become Better Communicators

Students who learn language arts naturally know how to communicate well. Why? They’ve learned from some of the best communicators there are—actual writers. These students:
- Apply the language arts skills they’ve learned to their writing and speaking.
- Listen carefully
- Seek to understand
- Organize their thoughts before speaking
- Write about the things they know
BookShark language arts teaches in a way that will help you reach the real goal of teaching children how to read, write, and speak well. It will help your kids learn to be better communicators. And we could all use more of those in this world. e memories regardless of our personal beliefs. We all believe in this—our kids are best served by being educated at home by their parents.
03/18/2025
Why You Don’t Have to Be Good at Language Arts to Teach It Well
Many of us were taught language arts as a disjointed set of unrelated skills—a very ineffective way to learn it. Can you relate to any of these experiences?
- Learning about a grammar concept and completing ten to twenty exercises after the lesson to practice the new skill.
- Receiving a list of spelling words on Monday and memorizing them for a test on Friday. Then spelling them incorrectly in your own writing.
- Defining literary terms and never noticing them in the books you read.
- Memorizing vocabulary words, but never actually using them while speaking or writing—and then forgetting them.
- Following a formula to write a paper and hating every minute of it because you were as bored writing it as your teachers were probably reading it.
You did the work in school, but without context and without connection. As a result, you may believe you aren’t good at language arts. The truth is, you struggled with language arts because of how it was taught, not because of a lack of intelligence. Unfortunately we have a tendency to homeschool in the same way we learned, even if we believe our own education was lacking.

There’s a better way. You can teach language arts effectively, no matter your own school experience with the subject. After all, Albert Einstein said, “Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.”

Life-Long Learning Starts with You

As a homeschooler, know it’s perfectly fine to learn alongside your children. You don’t have to be an expert in every subject. It’s not even possible! What you do need is an attitude that says, “We can figure this out together.”

As Anthony J. D’Angelo said, “Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow.”

This we-can-learn-it attitude is incredibly beneficial to your students as they realize
- You are never too old to learn and grow.
- It’s okay if you don’t master something the first time around.
- Learning is a process that takes diligence and practice.
- They don’t have to do it alone.
Modeling learning means you’re showing them how to learn, not just what to learn. You also get the benefit of a better grasp of language arts skills you can use in your own life. And you’ll also be more sympathetic when they struggle, because you know what it feels like.

Teaching Language Arts Comes Naturally

“Learning is not the product of teaching. Learning is the product of the activity of learners.”—John Holt

Your children began learning long before they ever started school. From the moment they were born, you watched in amazement with each skill they added from rolling over to lifting their heads, from sitting to standing, from crawling to walking.

You wondered as they picked up word after word and began speaking in phrases and sentences. You laughed at their grammar mistakes because they were adorable, and you knew one day they would say it correctly.

You were their first teachers. You encouraged them, you helped them, and you gently corrected their mistakes.

You’ve been teaching them since the day they were born, and you can continue to teach them everything they need to be effective communicators.

BookShark gives you the tools to help you teach language arts skills naturally, in the way kids were designed to learn.

Real Authors are Ready to Help

Workbooks and textbooks may offer lessons and exercises to teach kids language arts skills, but they are ineffective to inspire a love of literature and writing. Often students don’t know how to apply those exercises to their actual writing. They miss those things that make writing compelling to read and their speeches compelling to listen to.

With a natural approach to teaching language arts, students learn to write from real authors. They learn to communicate from those who do it best.
- Spelling and vocabulary comes from the books they are reading.
- Writing assignments are tied to the subject matter they are learning about in the books they read.
- Grammar skills are learned through copying and writing from dictation using sentences and passage from the books they are reading.
You see the pattern. Students learn from published authors—experts in their field. Good writing inspires good writing as students absorb language arts skills naturally.

You Have a Guide

Anatole France correctly said, “Nine-tenths of education is encouragement.” As a homeschool parent, tou have the opportunity to be your students’ biggest cheerleader—the one who encourages them and helps them stay on track.

But you also have a coach to help you along the way.

With BookShark Instructor’s Guides, you have everything you need to teach language arts, even if you don’t feel confident in your own skills. You get:
- A 36-week, 4-day schedule designed to save one day a week for co-ops, music lessons, sports, field trips or other extra-curricular activities.
- Weekly overviews
- Student Activity Sheets
- Separate parent instructions, answers, and definitions
- Rubrics to help you evaluate more subjective activities
You Can Teach Your Children Language Arts

You may not consider yourself equipped to teach language arts because you didn’t understand the way it was taught to you. But there’s good news. You aren’t alone. BookShark can help.

You’ll have everything you need to teach your kids naturally, and along the way learn a few things yourself. It’s one of the reasons homeschooling is so successful. As a homeschooler, you are the facilitator of your children’s education. You don’t have to know everything, because like any life-long learner, you can find the resources to help.

About the Author

Kelly left teaching middle and high school English to homeschool her children and reclaim how she and her family spent their time. Followers of interest-led learning, her family’s days rarely look the same, but they tend to include a lot of books, art supplies, and time outside.

Kelly facilitates local writing circles for women and children and blogs about nurturing the love of learning on her blog, Curiosity Encouraged. She loves to journal, read memoirs, hike, and travel. She seeks quiet mornings and good coffee daily.
03/18/2025
Five Ways to Have a Successful Family Reading Time
Although having a family reading time is important to my family, I realize that with the numerous other obligations a homeschool mama has, reading aloud as a family might not seems doable. Our family reading time is one of our favorite times of the day, but it didn’t always look like it does now. Here are five easy tips to help you and your family have an awesome daily reading time together:

1. Be choosy about the time of day.

Your family reading time will be affected by the ages of your children and your daily activities. It may also change over time, depending on how your schedule shifts through the year. Choose a time of day that is more relaxed. If your evenings are always very hectic, that probably isn’t a good time for you.

We used to read in the mornings before school until the baby became a toddler. Our family reading time suffered while our mobile little sweetie was getting into everything under the sun. To say she was distracting is an understatement. We ultimately moved our reading time to evenings after the baby was in bed and after the older kids were showered and ready for bed themselves. Changing our family reading time to evening made it a great transition into bedtime.

2. Choose books that interest your children.

If your children can’t stand fanciful stories, don’t read them. Find an author that they love, and read his or her books. My kids love Roald Dahl! On the flipside, challenge your kids to try new literature styles, too. But make sure that they are having fun. Family reading time should not be torture.

3. Read an array of books together.

Sometimes I chose books that correlate with the season or an upcoming holiday. Sometimes my selections go with what we are studying in science or history. Other times they don’t match our homeschool lessons at all.

The point is that I select a wide variety of books, authors, and subjects. Changing it up keeps family reading time from getting dry and boring. Let your children suggest books they want to read. Other times choose for them.

4. Keep little hands busy.

I have been reading to my kids for a long time, ever since they were very small. I’ve even read chapter books to my three-year-olds, but to expect them to sit still and not wiggle is unrealistic. Have a special activity that your little ones can do while you read. Make sure this activity is mostly mindless like these examples:
- squeezing silly putty
- stacking and unstacking blocks
- matching socks
This kind of physical action will keep them mostly stationary and quiet while you read. They may still be moving while they do their activity, but they are listening!

5. Be consistent.

When I’ve tried to read only one chapter every week or so, I almost never finish the novel. Being consistent in your reading time is key to being successful. With too much space between reading sessions, your kids (and you) will forget what is going on in the story. Shoot for at least reading four times per week. It will start to become part of your daily routine, and your kids will miss it when you don’t read.

Happy reading to your family!

About the Author

Alicia Hutchinson is the homeschooling mom to four. She and her children love reading and history and exploring outside. They are just settling into their new home in the Minneapolis area, where they just relocated from North Carolina.

You can read more about Alicia and their homeschooling adventures, current projects, and thoughts on motherhood at her blog Investing Love.
03/18/2025
Help! My Child Doesn’t Like to Read
When I started homeschooling many years ago, one of my main goals was to raise readers. As an avid reader myself, I’ve always understood the value of reading. It expands our vocabulary, teaches us, ignites our imagination, challenges us, transports us to amazing worlds, and so much more.

I knew I wouldn’t be able to teach my girls everything, but if they could read well and enjoyed the process, they would be able to learn anything they wanted to. So I did whatever I could to make reading exciting and accessible. Here are ways to nudge your child toward becoming a lifelong reader.

Create a Book Loving Home

First, it’s important that our children know that we, as parents, think books are important. In our home, we have multiple bookshelves that are filled with a variety of books. Our Kindle ereaders get frequent attention. Library trips were (and still are) frequent and positive. We invest in a literature-rich homeschool curriculum.

My husband and I read regularly, so our kids see us getting caught up in stories and hear us discuss what we’re reading. Remember that our kids tend to value what we value.

What if you’ve done all you can think of and your child still doesn’t like to read? It’s time to ask yourself some questions.
- Could your child have a learning disability, like dyslexia, that makes reading hard for him? Sure, we should all challenge ourselves by reading difficult books, but every time we pick up a story, it shouldn’t be a chore.
We’re lucky that today, more than ever, there’s help available for those who have trouble reading. If this is an issue for your child, I would encourage you to seek assistance instead of deciding that he’s just never going to be a good reader.
- Is your child a slow reader? Sometimes, especially with longer books, it’s hard to keep motivated when it seems to take forever to finish. Is he slow because he’s having trouble focusing? Is the story or vocabulary too challenging?
Think about what can be done to break down any barriers for him. Reading isn’t a race, but see if you can help him pick up his pace, so he doesn’t get frustrated or lose interest while reading.

Does she find the books she is reading boring? Do you let her choose her own books or is she regularly assigned reading material? Maybe she just hasn’t found the right subject to ignite her passion.

Sure, children have to read books for school, even if they find them boring. Just make sure that you’re encouraging her to read for pleasure as well.

4 More Tips for Turning a Non-Reader into a Reader
- Spend part of your day reading aloud together, regardless of your child’s age. Yes, read aloud time is still valuable for teens! There is something very powerful about spending time as a family reading a story. Just be careful to avoid these common read aloud mistakes.
- If the act of reading is challenging for your child, turn to audio books. By listening to books, instead of reading them, they can still develop the passion for the stories without having to struggle.
- Introduce your child to a wide variety of books. Encourage her to explore the various genres and topics to find one that excites her. Make up a list and each time you go to the library, have her choose one or two different types. You both might be surprised by what grabs her attention!
- Make sure your child is reading books that are at the right level for him. Books that are too hard or too easy can turn off a child’s interest. Challenge him to move up his reading material as he grows, but don’t jump so far ahead that every page is difficult for him to understand.
Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that homeschooling or following any of these tips will raise a reader. However, instead of throwing in the towel claiming, “my child’s just not a reader,” persevere in your efforts to turn your non-reader into a reader. Some readers bloom later than others! And your investment may pay off in years to come.

About the Author

Megan Zechman is a veteran homeschool mom of two girls. Over at Education Possible, she shares creative, hands-on learning activities for middle school.
03/18/2025
7 Tips for Handling New Vocabulary During Read-Alouds

Reading books to our children isn’t merely an ideal way to cement family relationships or enjoy a pleasant afternoon. It’s also an excellent method to introduce new vocabulary words to our children and help them master those words.

Here are seven easy tips for teaching and reviewing new vocabulary learned during read-alouds with your children. Pick and choose from these different options. You don’t want to use every tip for each new word you encounter. Choose the words that you think are most integral to the story or words that your children are most likely to encounter in their daily lives or academic reading.

1. Stop and define the word

Stop reading as soon as you run into the new word and define it immediately. Your children will immediately hear the word in context and how it’s used in literature.

2. Ask children to define the word

Instead of defining the word yourself, ask your children if they know what it means. If they don’t, help the children figure out what the word means from the context and see who can come up with the best guess.

3. Look it up in the dictionary

Another way to learn a new vocabulary word is to look it up in the dictionary after you ask the children to predict what the word means. This is also an excellent way to teach dictionary skills and ingrain the lifelong habit of checking the dictionary for any definitions the child doesn’t know.be assured that you can cover nearly every academic subject with almost any topic. Look for the connections between your child’s current passion and math, science, social studies, English, writing, and history. And then set them free to learn with full excitement!

4. Write it down to look up later

Instead of stopping the storyline in the middle of action and possibly losing children’s interest, keep a notepad next to you and write down any words you’d like to discuss later. Discuss and look up the words after you’ve finished the day’s read aloud.

5. Review new vocabulary at the end of the session

Defining new words is important, but it’s also just as important to help the kids retain the new vocabulary words. As you finish the day’s read aloud, ask the children to review the new vocabulary words and their meaning with you. See who can remember the most words and hand out high fives to the kids as they define the vocabulary.

6. Define words at dinner time

Every evening review the new words at dinner time. Make an impromptu game to see who can use the most new vocabulary words at the dinner table. How many unique and challenging sentences can be spoken?

7. Use the word as many times as possible

Use the words yourself as many times as you can during the next week. The children may not use the vocabulary word in their spoken vocabulary, but even the smallest child will begin to understand the vocabulary words as they hear them in use.

Read-alouds bring a wonderful opportunity to expand your children’s vocabulary. Using these seven tips to discuss and review the words in context will cement the vocabulary in your children’s mind better than any program.sitive emotional and social benefits far beyond merely escaping a negative public school environment where bullying is rampant.

03/18/2025