Let’s SPRING!
When You Don’t Know How to Write
I’ve never met a child who doesn’t have imagination. But, tragically, I’ve met many a child who is deprived of the tools that allows the imagination to play via pencil on paper.
I occasionally cross paths with older students struggling to read. But when it comes to crossing paths with students who are struggling to write, I am bombarded!
I wholeheartedly believe that we should be teaching students phonics for BOTH reading and writing from an early age. We should be offering our kindergarten students beautiful books and the best technology for learning—the pencil!
Ted Hughes opens the tale of The Iron Giant like so: “How far had he walked? Nobody knows. Where had he come from? Nobody knows. How was he made? Nobody knows”.
The sentences are simple. True. However, in this gorgeous opening, the author creates an atmosphere of mystery. We want to read on. There is rhythm in the way he ordered his Question / Statement pairs.
Our 3rd graders should be reading and considering wonderful passages such as this one. And these passages should be sparking ideas in their mind.
Our methodology begins in kindergarten and progresses through high school. Students will begin their English Language Arts journey learning and practicing and mastering phonics for both reading and writing. In the second grade they will be equipped to begin a tradition of reading great stories independently, journalling ideas along the way. By the time the child reaches 3rd grade, it’s time to read gentle literary chapter books like The Iron Giant and journal their way through the story, composing a hearty paragraph sparked by imagination every single week.
But what happens when the student is not taught the important relationship between reading and writing? What happens when a child’s imagination is left behind gasping for breath?
Recently I received the following writing sample from an upper elementary student. The teacher shared that this sweet human told her she had no idea how to use paragraph form and that she went on to ask, “Should I use punctuation?”
Like many students around this country of ours, this student fell through the cracks in public school so her parents moved her to a private school. Finally, right before she will enter middle school, her parents are putting her in the good hands of a teacher who will make a difference. “This student has never been seen,” that’s how Jennifer put it. This teacher will make a difference because 1) She understands the tools required to read and write and think well; 2) She understands that remediation requires individualization, mentorship, and community; and 3) She, like me, believes that curiosity leads to imagination and imagination sparks creativity and creativity leads to motivated students.
Work is GOOD. Every student has important work. This important work is the work of learning to write ideas.
So what happens next for this student?
The Wonderful World of Phonics
She will be guided on an amazing journey.
Examining the writing sample above, I will venture to say there are holes lingering from the 1st grade! This student has likely mastered consonant and short vowel sounds. But I see no evidence that she has mastered consonant blends or digraphs. I see evidence of simple sight word mastery: and, the, have. There are the “W” words: would, what, with, want. We see a handful of phonograms: or, ea (though even those seem to be learned visually, “popcorn”). This passage opens with the singular pronoun “I” uncapitalized! What I don’t see are concise sentences. I don’t see the variety of vocabulary I’d expect from a student in the spring before middle school. I don’t see a BIG idea. What I DO see is squelched potential.
The goal is for Jennifer to place this student into the remediation program right at the point where there is no evidence of mastery. I’m guessing she will need to begin with consonant blends.
Our toolkit of phonics includes all the tools needed to engage students in the process of remediating both reading and writing skills. It provides the teacher with all the tools necessary to guide the student into the wonderful world of phonics. Our curriculum, rooted in Orton-Gillingham wisdom, is user friendly and affirming for the older student who needs additional direct instruction and independent practice to shore up skills. We’ve included all you need to know about phonics, a placement guide, plus lesson guidance each step of the way.
Once Jennifer has this student working systematically at her personalized level, she will begin practicing phonics for reading and writing. After a few short weeks this student will be placed in a Level 1 CORE (grade 3) Integrated Literature and Writing unit and begin applying what she is learning. A few weeks after that, she will begin One True Sentence: Parts of Speech to learn the wonderful roles words play as she constructs sentences.
Every journey has a beginning. I’m thankful for teachers like my friend who dare to lead such expeditions.
C.S. Lewis said, “You can make anything by writing.”
Think about it.
Not if you don’t know how.
~Kimberly
Why the Writer’s Checklist
“What’s your big idea?”
The purpose of writing is to communicate an idea. In order to accomplish this goal, students need to develop the skills and confidence that will prepare them to communicate that idea well.
Teach your students early on to read what they write.
How?
Hand them a Writer’s Checklist!
All writing comes into being through a process:
1. First comes the IDEA. Without an idea, the writer will simply stare at the blank page.
2. Once there is an idea in the mind of the writer, the pencil steps in to translate the idea to words on the page.
3. When the pencil’s work is complete, the job of the writer is to become a reader. Encourage your students to READ everything they write—absolutely everything! It is often best to leave space between the “draft” and the “read” stage.
4. Next, make sure students use the RED pen as they read through the first draft of their idea. Teach them to look for spelling errors, for capitalization errors, and for grammatical errors. Beyond this teach them to use strong words, to fearlessly re-arrange, and to not be afraid to strike through unnecessary words.
5. Lastly, teach them to polish the draft, preferably in cursive.
Our checklists will support students at various levels to re-read and edit as they progress through CORE Level 1 (3rd grade), Level 2 (4th and 5th grade), and 3 6th – 8th grade) to re-read with purpose.
And the best part, they are FREE! Click through to Print Shop to download.
Spring into Writing: Introducing The Writing Mentor
Style is one of the most important elements of writing—but how can you teach something that’s so personal, so impossible to quantify? It can feel like trying to explain Yosemite to someone who’s never seen a mountain or forest. Or describing how to perfect banana bread to someone without a sense of taste.
That’s where Blackbird & Company’s Tools of Style comes in. These guides provide training wheels to practice using rhetorical devices—the tricks writers use to tell their stories well. And newly supplementing our Tools of Style guides are the new downloadable Printshop resources, namely The Writing Mentor.
By using The Writing Mentor in conjunction with Tools of Style, young writers learn to ride the proverbial bike in scaffolded increments. They start by watching someone else ride a bike, then get on it themselves with a parent’s steadying hands holding them upright, and pedal until suddenly they’re riding under their own power.
Perhaps the best guidance we can give our student writers, is to challenge them to write like a painter.
Imagery is vivid and descriptive—figurative—language that helps readers see pictures in their mind while reading. Take a look at Print Shop on the website, where you can download this Writing Mentor lesson, for a limited time, for FREE. Your students will learn through a masterful example of imagery. They will practice by sprinkling imagery into scaffolded sentences. And, ultimately, get creative by crafting five imagery-filled examples that. they will then shape one into a singular poem.
If you can make your reader feel like they’re there, if you give them the means to smell freshly-cut grass and taste the tang of frozen yogurt on their tongue, you have accomplished something great indeed. Get into imagery—use The Writing Mentor!
~Claire S.
Just Sit Down and WRITE!
“The BEST thing is just to write; to sit down and write, to begin doing it and not to be scared by the blank page.” ~David Almond
As we SPRING into writing, it’s always good to take advice from the authors we are reading. Let’s fact it. The blank page is intimidating. David Almond has experienced this and is generously encouraging us to stare down that blank page and to fill it with our ideas. This is, first and foremost, what writing is all about. Grammar and mechanics, and syntax and style follow.
Writing is a courageous process.
David Almond goes on to remind us that our ideas are a gift, “We have each other, and our stories twist and mingle like the twisting currents of a river. We hold each other tight as we spin and lurch across our lives. There are moments of great joy and magic. The most astounding things can lie waiting as each day dawns, as each page turns.”
He reminds us to explore, “Writing will be like a journey, every word a footstep that takes me further into undiscovered land.”
He reminds us to be brave, “We have to allow ourselves to see what there is to see, and we have to imagine.”
He reminds us to play, “And what is wrong with playing with words? Words love to be played with, just like children or kittens do!”
Then, he gets to the crux of it: “Then what shall I write?
I can’t just write that this happened then this happened then this happened to boring infinitum. I’ll let my journal grow just like the mind does, just like a tree or beast does, just like life does. Why should a book tell a tale in a dull straight line? Words should wander and meander. They should fly like owls and flicker like bats and slip like cats. They should murmur and scream and dance and sing.”
I love that: “Words should wander and meander.”
When we read books, we are inspired. We grow our precious fund of knowledge. But we also, if we dare listen, learn valuable lesson about the art of writing!
~Kimberly
Let’s Spring into Writing
During the month of March we will be offering strategies to support and inspire your writing students.
Our spring stories bundle for 2nd grade is a wonderful place to begin. As is the case with all the Earlybird units, your students will explore five wonderful books, journalling their way through each story. They will explore wonderful words, learn to describe how characters think, act, and feel. They will be supported in constructing sentences that re-tell the plot. And, they will bring shape to a small weekly idea.
Journalling about great stories, overtime, builds strong skills in young writers as they spring into writing!
~Kimberly
Submit Soon!
Submissions are open NOW through June 5, 2026.
Writing is an artform that is meant to be read by a reader! Blackbird & Company Educational Press is proud to announce a call for submissions to student writers, Kindergarten through 12th grade, who courageously write from the heart using our curriculum.
The theme of Reveal 2026? Our students’ big ideas! This journal’s name—Reveal—captures the idea that every piece of writing is a revelation about the author, both in terms of what they stitch together in their imagination and what they send out into the world.
And the bonus? Submit work early, by March 31, 2026 and you will be automatically entered to win a Solo Stove Campfire kit.
For added inspiration, here is a published piece from Reveal 2025 crafted by Hadleigh R. as she worked through Introduction to Composition: The Essay, Volume 1. Notice—not a single passive verb throughout! Enjoy!
The Whirligig
Catching a glimpse of my sister waving at me from the corner of my eye, I hustle across the lush lawn of the rest stop to join her and Jagger at the workout/playground area. A tarp covers the playground to protect it from the Texas sun, making an excellent place to rest. Unlike most play structures, this one is metallic and sturdy, perfect for a teenager hoping to enjoy some quality time with her younger siblings at the rest stop. They wave their hands excitedly from the top of the highest structure as I come closer, but I don’t plan on climbing it and making a fool of myself, so I beeline for a small green circular platform with a wheel for holding on. I should be able to keep an eye on them from there. But when I step onto it, gripping the wheel for balance, I realize I missed an important detail. The dais is tilted so that whenever someone steps onto the platform, they start to spin, their weight fueling the centrifugal force. In a single second, the world whips around me at full speed, blurs of green and brown as I spin faster than I imagined possible. I glance down at my hands, which seem to be the only things around me not twirling. My fingers squeeze tight to the metal, not daring to let go. Only yards away from me, my mother walks our mutt. I yell for help, but she doesn’t seem to hear me as my view of her whips by again and again. Closing my whirling eyes, I spin alone in a vacuum chamber of blackness. When my mom shouts my name, I open my eyes to the swirling colors again, summoning the courage to leap from my imprisoned state. Facing my fear of twisting my ankle, I leap from the apparatus, stumbling to lean giddily on the now-motionless handle as the world still spins. Once it slows, I lurch around to come face-to-face with a concerned-looking mother and her two, small, openmouthed children. Smiling weakly, I apologize, loping away as fast as I dare, my siblings following close behind.
~Kimberly
Great Sentences Begin Here
Beginning Sentences
One of the challenges of writing sentences is creating variety. Sometimes a short, simple sentence will do just fine, but there is something wonderful about a long luscious sentence! Let’s practice writing concise sentences with a punch of rhythm. In this beginning activity, let’s practice writing ideas into exceptional short and long sentences. Click through to this activity which will pair perfectly with students in CORE, Level 1 (3rd grade, or older struggling writers).
By now, you’ve likely heard about Print Shop for Primary students, kindergarten through 2nd grade. We are very excited that our first few Print Shop offerings for elementary and middle school are now live!
Introducing, The Writing Mentor
The Print Shop Writing Mentor will grow into a collection of exercises to help young writers write well. Great writing begins with words. Words combined well form phrases. And great sentences are made of wonderful words and fantastic phrases that communicate ideas articulately with precision.
Through the end of February, all our Writing Mentor lessons on Print Shop are FREE.
Intermediate Sentences
It’s easy to write the way we speak to our friends. However, when we write the way we speak, our writing can be confusing to readers. Writing like we speak often ends up in run-on sentences and sentence fragments. These distract the reader from focusing on our important ideas. Since, as writers, we want to make the reader’s job as easy as possible, it’s important to avoid run-ons and fragments! In this intermediate activity, let’s practice tightening up ideas into exceptional, concise sentences. Click through to this activity which will pair perfectly with students in CORE, Level 2 (4th or 5th grade, or older struggling writers).
Advanced Sentences
Stilted, awkward paragraphs are jarring to read. Reading one is like hearing a choir that is off key. They grate on the ears. They are repetitive and lack flow. In this advanced activity, we will practice tightening up ideas into exceptional, rhythmic sentences. Click through to this activity which will pair perfectly with students in CORE, Level 3 (6th – 8th grade, or older struggling writers).
~Kimberly
Valentines and Letter Writing
Valentine’s Day is the perfect opportunity to craft a letter by hand!
A card and letter—the kind that is written by hand—is a true kindness, a keepsake.
This offering can take many forms. Original poems are little gems that pair perfectly with a sweet Valentine card! Terrific poems start with smart sentences. Read how by clicking through, then encourage your students to practice poetry.
For longer Valentine’s Day messages, our FREE Letter Writing will scaffold the activity each step of the way.
And, when it comes time to putting an original poem or letter into the polished draft ready for the card itself, check out our Letter Forms activity.
Remember, handwritten sentiment is a beautiful gift!
~Kimberly
The Winter Mitten
Winter. We are in the midst of it.
The Mitten is a Ukrainian folk tale from the 19th century that has been translated into many languages. In our house we read Jan Brett’s beautifully illustrated tale over and over. This said, when it came time to curate our Earlybird Winter Stories bundle, we chose a lesser known author, Alvin Tresselt, originally published in 1964, and illustrated by Yarroslava Sills. Even though he won the Caldecott for White Snow, Bright Snow in 1948, his most popular book is The Mitten.
After Journalling through the Earlybird unit, your student will be more confident writing character descriptors, exploring new vocabulary, and crafting sentences in collaboration with the Student Journal. At the end of Earlybird Winter Stories, students choose a favorite book and create a Section 5 project. This little “Maker” enjoyed collaborating with his mama!
Pick up a copy of the unit and add some warmth to the long, chilly winter days!
~Kimberly