3 Ways to Tie Handwriting Practice and Copy Work into Your Landforms Unit Study

We are ending our 2024/25 school year with Day 3 of creation: God separated the waters by bringing forth dry land, and He also created vegetation. For our first week we are doing a unit on Landforms. Fitting, right?

Our weekly schedule is broken into blocks: Monday, Wednesday, Friday we do science/nature, history/social studies, and enrichment (think arts and crafts, music, etc.) and Tuesdays/Thursdays are reserved for math, formal reading, and formal language arts. These block days vary according to the unit we are working on.

Although language arts are scheduled just some days of the week, I incorporate some handwriting and reading every day in order to build strong literacy skills. I decided a simple copy work component would be a strong addition— especially to reinforce new vocabulary, build handwriting fluency, and to connect the bigger ideas we are learning, together.

Here are the three copy work ideas I included, and that you can choose from depending on what fits your homeschool rhythm:

✏️ Option 1: Simple Landform Definitions (Short Sentences)

(Best for young writers or slower paced days)

Example:

• "A mountain is a tall landform that rises high above the land."

• "An island is a piece of land surrounded by water."

• "A river is water that flows across the land."

✅ This reinforces basic definitions while practicing neatness and patience.
✅ You can make a quick mini-booklet where they copy one landform sentence per page OR have them write the definitions in their learning journals like I had my 6-year-old do!

✏️ Option 2: Scripture Connection

(Faith-based, gentle Charlotte Mason-inspired touch)

Examples:

• "Before the mountains were born... from everlasting to everlasting you are God." (Psalm 90:2)

• "In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him." (Psalm 95:4)

• "He established the earth upon its foundations." (Psalm 104:5)

• "The mountains and hills will burst into song before you." (Isaiah 55:12)

• "The mountains rose; the valleys sank down to the place that you appointed for them." (Psalm 104:8)

✅ You could pick one verse per day as a daily rhythm through the Landforms unit.
✅ You can frame it as "copy this verse and draw a small landform picture below it."

✏️ Option 3: Vocabulary Word Copy and Draw

(Word list format, good for tactile learners)

Example:

• Mountain

• River

• Valley

• Island

• Lake

➡️ Instructions: Copy/trace the word carefully, then draw a small matching picture next to it.

✅ This connects visual learning, spelling, and handwriting beautifully.
✅ It's light and very achievable even for wiggly students.

🌿 Bonus Tip:
Since today I included sensory play (dry land and water sensory bins), I don't like all 3 (of my young 4 children) playing in them at once. So I set up stations. I had a dry land bin station, a water bin station, a 'writing to remember" station (copy work/coloring), and a snack station. 😉 Once hands were clean, they transitioned into the next station.

Copywork doesn’t have to be complicated to make an impact. A few thoughtful words tied to what you’re already studying can reinforce big ideas, grow stronger writers, and make your homeschool days feel more connected without adding a ton of extra work. I hope these simple landform copywork ideas fit easily into your rhythm and give you one more tool to make learning meaningful.

P.S. If you’d like the landform copy work sheets I created and used to go along with your unit, download it using the 'grab it' button below! It’s ready to print and use!

related posts.