In France, the “À la manière de” (“In the manner of” or “In the style of”) is a pedagogical scenario that consists in asking students to copy a work of art with school resources. This model is highly contested, but also very widespread. This paradox prompts an analysis of the didactic model using the tools of art history, history of education and creativity theory. This analysis allows the formulation of seven modifications that could be made to the scenario to give it more pedagogical interest and artistic accuracy. Two teaching sequences in visual arts are proposed as examples of activities that replace the notion of copying with that of interpretation or adaptation.