50 Famous Stories Retold Copywork (Free Printable)

We have used the book 50 Famous Stories Retold in our homeschool to help our kids learn about the heroes of world history. In this 50 Famous Stories Retold Copywork free printable, your child will expand his knowledge of history while practicing excellent writing skills at the same time!

Fifty Famous Stories Retold

Every child should be familiar with the legendary tales from Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin. Kids learn the best of the best from England, Greece, Rome, the United States. The stories span from the Ancient World to Middle Ages to the Colonial Period.

I love how Baldwin tells his tales in short form so that children can read them in one setting. Each story is one or two pages in length which is perfect for kids ages 6-9.

I have read this book to all of our kids to set the foundation of learning about history. When they have a bank of beautiful stories from which to start, they want to know more about what happened in the past.

Our Kids Favorite Stories from the Book

These are some of our kids’ favorite stories from this book.

King Alfred and the Cakes
King Canute on the Seashore
Bruce and the Spider
The Black Douglas
George Washington and His Hatchet
The Story of William Tell
The Story of Cinncinnatus
Cornelia’s Jewels
Androclus and the Lion
Horatius at the Bridge
The Sword of Damocles
Alexander and Bucephalus
The Inchcape Rock
Whittington and His Cat

Ambleside Online has an helpful chronological guide for the stories that might help if you want to know where they fit in history.

Ambleside Online 50 Famous Stories in Chronological Order

Fifty Famous Stories Retold

Baldwin, James (Author)
English (Publication Language)
158 Pages – 08/03/2011 (Publication Date) – CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (Publisher)

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Why Use Copywork in Your Homeschool?

As a 15-year homeschool mom, if I could suggest one daily habit to include in your homeschool, it would be copywork. Have your child practice copywork every day. Copywork takes so little time, but covers so much ground.

Kelly Crawford says it well in this quote from her book Think Outside the Classroom: A Practical Approach to Relaxed Homeschooling.

“The grand goal is communication. Learning to communicate well will cover a multitude of deficiencies. How to achieve this? Copy others who do it well. It is the best way to learn almost anything!”

-Kelly Crawford

If we want our kids to write well, they should be come familiar with high-quality literature. What better way to do this than to copy the best selections from excellent authors?

How Do You Teach Copywork?

Encourage kids to copy the text just as it is written. Capitalize the first letter of every sentence or every line in a poem. Write quotation marks, semi-colons, colons, and apostrophes just as observed in the line. Have them write the title appropriately making sure to capitalize the first letters in each word of the title.

When they finish, review the copywork with them. Have them read it back to you. Have them correct spelling and punctuation errors. Ask them to spell key words. Refine their handwriting skills as needed. Ask them the meaning of any unknown words.

What skills are learned through copywork?

Handwriting
Spelling
Punctuation
Vocabulary
Good sentence structure
Writing style and form

Extensions of Copywork

These are some of the extensions we have added to copywork to teach other skills.

Vocabulary Words. Discuss unknown words in the context of the text.
Dictation. After copying, read the selection to the child and have them try to write it perfectly.
Typing. After mastering typing lessons, kids can practice typing copywork. (Not a substitution for copywork.)
Cursive. Children who learn to write in cursive can write their copywork in cursive.

FAQ About Copywork

For more information and FAQ about using copywork in your homeschool, you may enjoy these posts.

Evertyhing You Need to Know About Copywork

Step-by-Step Guide to Homeschool Writing

Does Copywork Really Work?

The biggest difference between copywork and traditional writing methods is this.

In copywork, the student first observes an excellent piece, slowly and carefully, copying with exact detail, and makes a conclusion afterward. The writing begins after the observation. Children can only express what they possess!

In most traditional writing methods, kids in early elementary school are encouraged to begin writing. Still, they have very little or no exposure to quality pieces of writing, nor do they have time to reflect on them.

When copywork is used along with the habit of narration, children observe first and write later.

What’s Included in the Fifty Famous Stories Retold Free Printable?

This free printable has 10 pages of free copywork from each chapter in the book Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin. Most of the copywork is 1-2 sentences, so it is perfect for a child in early elementary ages.

How to Access Fifty Famous Stories Retold Copywork (Free Printable)

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