Is it usual for a teacher to ask whether a child has copied something off the internet?

I'd read the comment first of all. It could have been meant in a 'wow - did you write this yourself? This is excellent!' way, which, admittedly you could misread the tone but would be a compliment. But in all honesty I would get over it. If it happens again then fair enough but if your daughter is not upset then why drag it all up and possibly undermine her teacher's authority? Nurture her 'talent' at home as you clearly already do and wait for a school report/parents eve to see how she's doing on English overall. Best of luck.

I like to think I can usually tell. I do ask first, also use the Google method.

put it into an online plagarism checker, easy.

Hmm. Too many birds in that last post, but you get what I mean.

But if you have the sort of 'magpie' memory (I do like that phrase) that I have, as do two of my children, you can find yourself unconsciously parroting whole phrases that you've read somewhere and stored, word-perfect. DS1 (autistic) used to be permanently suspected on copying strange, over-mature phrases from the internet, but it's just the way he speaks and writes, as he doesn't (or didn't) do much casual chat with his peers that would have taught him a less formal voice.

It would be easy to see if she'd copied it, surely. The teacher could have just googled a long phrase and it would have come up. Poor DD.

Yes, I did wonder BFS :)

Buggeration - that'll be the wrong thread!

Have reported, as you were...

I meant it's not always obvious a child has the ability.

Deste - the teachers would have said the same about me I fear. My terrible scrawl, my poor spelling and disjointed ideas yet it was all up there. I was so unhappy I couldn't think straight. My other work was remedial, I couldn't tell the time. I could go on. It's not always obvious a child doesn't have the ability. Ability can always develop later although this isn't widely believed it seems.

oh dear - "who's tried really hard"

can spell, honest.

I've just been picking up some creative tips from Kate Dunn. For example:

Show, don?t tell

Another old chestnut with a kernel of pure truth at the centre. A good writer doesn?t tell a story, she shows it unfolding and that way the reader is drawn in, rather than remaining on the edge of the action. ?Re-reading the letter from her brother the girl felt sad. It was not good news? is a colourless description compared to ?She read the letter again, mouthing the words, the thin pages trembling in her fingers. When she had finished it, she folded it in half and then in half again, as if the bad news could be shut away inside it, to be hidden in the back of a drawer and then forgotten.?

Direct her to the website & further feed her interest - there's lots of good, less obvious stuff on adverbs etc. Get her to do even more to knock the socks off that teacher.

Another thought, could it be a compliment in a 'can this be your own work? It's beyond outstanding' sort of vein?

This sounds crap - I used to get the occasional "did you think of this yourself?" and cynical comments from teachers and they just really discourage a child whose tried really hard at her work. Also, a lot of writing IS about imitating, as is all learning, e.g. seeing how newspapers write sentences and being able to write in that style, and how that's different from advertising or fairy tales or whatever.

I would probably find a time to speak to the teacher quietly after school (maybe not in front of your daughter) and assure her that she writes these stories unaided and in front of you. I know it's difficult so early on in the school but she may find other English teachers as she goes along who appreciate her ability and encourage her, even if/when she's not in their class. Is there a book group or writing society or school newspaper she could get involved with?

Meh- teachers have always done this. I used to get 'is this your own work?'
I think the fact that your daughter is not bothered is a good sign she knows that she is good at writing and not concerned about the teacher's allegations queries.
One thing that you could do would be to encourage your daughtere to write in different voices- My DD wrote stories in a very Jacqueline Wilson style- although good it was a) derivative and b) a bit boring.

It's possible she "borrowed" from some source and the teacher recognised it. Pop the story into Copyscape and you'll know! But writers DO take from others to some extent...it's part of learning to write imo...trying on different styles...

What exactly did the teacher write on the piece of work? Can your daughter ask to speak to the teacher about it and say it was honestly her own work? Is it possible your daughter did add something to her writing that wasn't her own work? (see final paragraph below).

Slightly off topic but I think also worth mentioning is I noticed a child I taught a long time ago was copying work, from books and other children. I think it can be a phase and often springs from children not believing that their own ideas are good enough etc. I told this child that her own ideas were those I wanted to see written down and I believed in her. She stopped doing it.

Again slightly o/t but our primary is speaking a lot about 'magpie - ing' (how ever you spell it) ideas from stories you've read etc. These can be actual words and phrases - the children are encouraged to keep on ongoing list to use in their writing. This would have been frowned on in my day but now it seems to be all about collaboration - whether that's between you and a class mate or you and J.K. Rowling etc...:)

Being on the other side we had a student who was lazy, could hardly string a sentence together but the final essay she handed in was brilliant. We marked her down because she let slip the month before that her mother was an English teacher at a senior school, it was obvious her mother had done it. The difference here is that we knew she didn't have the capability to do the essay.

Wolfiefan when I said we went to a lot of trouble I meant looking for information for her to take home. We were on holiday but took time out to get information for her project. We could have sat by the pool but thought her project was more important for her. None of it came off the Internet.

I would advise you to get your DD to enter some writing competitions - google "writing competitions" and you will find many to choose from. Also investigate your local council website - many LAs run these.

If she wins or gets an honourable mention in one of these the school will not be able to ignore her talent as it will have been objectively assessed by a neutral third party - can't just dismiss this as doting mummy thinking her precious offspring is a genius! .

My DD won a poetry competition run by our LA as part of our Readers Festival and the school were over the moon, saw it as a really big deal and made lots of fuss of her. She was in the school newsletter, had her piece displayed prominently and was congratulated by the Head in the end of term assembly. It really helped her confidence and has made her believe in her talent. The school had already recognised that DD is talented, however, she has not had the problems your poor DD had.

I emailed the head of year and head of English to let them know she had won and the school took it from there.

I would also have a look at your DDs work and read what the exact comment was that the teacher made. If it is as bad as your DD says I would complain loudly. Accusing someone of cheating just because they produce exceptionally good work is outrageous. Most teachers would be just thrilled to have such a talented DC in their class!

My longer-term concern would be that the current class wont stretch your childs ability.
The "cheating" bit could be used by you as a route to getting your child moved to a higher level set or getting her some extension/gifted and talented work.

Given that she has been in the class now for six months it really is time for her literacy lessons to ratchet up a gear.

From the other point of view (teacher) copy and paste is so common you have to think about it. The first thing that allerts me is when a piece of work suddenly goes from English to American spelling.

I think looking at her work is a good idea than you can see what the teacher has said and why.

Writers have a voice. Teachers often think a child has cheated if the work does not sound like theirs. Hint deste WE went to a lot of trouble!!

Many years ago I took my DD to the Middle East when the Hajj sp was on. We bought the local English papers every day went to an exhibition during the holiday, bought postcards with photos etc etc. We went to a lot of trouble band she put in a lot of work but she was given a low mark because the teacher said she got it off the Internet.