Category: Announcing

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Month of Poetry Giveaway

A lexicon is a collection of words.

One of my favorite elementary memories is my Word Box, where I organized the many wonderful words I collected as I read. This month, as we celebrate  National Month of Poetry, we will be giving away two wooden card catalogue boxes, complete with ABC dividers and 3 x 5 cards.

Enter to win below:

National Poetry Month

And that’s not all! We are offering a discount on our Operation Lexicon units, plus all things poetry during the month of April. Using the code NatPoe10 you can pick up Introducing Poetry and Small Forms Poetry too! What better way for your students to start collecting and crafting words than to dive into one of these unique units?

Exploring Poetry will inspire your students to use words well:

Small Forms Poetry will inspire students to explore to poetic forms, the small ones, inspiring them to make ever single word count:

Operation Lexicon inspires students from 3rd Grade…

…through 12th grade to collect words:

Operation Lexicon 11 - Shakespeare

And if that’s not enough to inspire, consider the following CORE Integrated Literature and Writing units that are poetry adjacent:

  • Earlybird, Douglas Florian

  • Level 1, Love That Dog

  • Level 2, The Poet’s Dog

  • Level 2, Inside Out and Back Again

  • Level 3, Out of the Dust

  • Level 3, Locomotion

  • Level 3, Silver People

  • We have wonderful words for ALL!

It’s April! It’s time to dive into the wonderful world of poetry!

A great place to start is “How to Read a Poem” by Billy Collins—start HERE.

~Kimberly

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Let’s Celebrate Poetry

Poetry begins with the utterance of a single word, but not just any word, a singular word.

Think bevelled. Toothsome. Quintessential and Zenith.

This month, we will explore a vast array of wonderful words and ways you might inspire your students to become word collectors.

With words, we build phrases—another inky night sky, that supercilious salamander, you marvelous prickly cactus.

With phrases we form sentences. Take this one, crafted by Welsh poet, Dylan Thomas about poetry (an Ars Poetica sentence, if you will):

“Poetry is what in a poem makes you laugh, cry, prickle, be silent, makes your toenails twinkle, makes you want to do this or that or nothing, makes you know that you are alone in the unknown world, that your bliss and suffering is forever shared and forever all your own.”

Stay tuned this month as we share all things poetic.

 

~Kimberly

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Spring into Writing Wrap-Up

As we teach students to write, we aren’t just mentors; we’re writing architects. Instead of rulers we use the Writer’s Checklist, in place of a drafting table we pen rough drafts, and where architects create art out of concrete and wood and beams, we employ adjectives and verbs and semicolons.

Oh, and one more parallel: the stronger our foundation, the higher we can build. 

That’s why Spring into Writing is a launching point rather than a destination. Seeking to master the art of writing is akin to climbing a mountain and never quite catching a glimpse of its peak. All we can do is put one step in front of the other, taking the journey mile by mile— meanwhile widening and strengthening our foundation. 

The resources we’ve highlighted this month are exactly how you can grow that foundation of skill and ideas. From reading with a perspicacious eye, to writing like a painter with The Writing Mentor, to using the Writer’s Checklist and remediation help and abecedarians, we offer support for every level. We’re here to leap into this tumultuous, beautiful, soul-touching, mind-bending art of writing right beside you.

So to wrap up our March theme of springing into writing, I thought I’d pull in writing wisdom from some of my favorite authors:

  • “I write to discover what I know.” — Flannery O’Connor
  • “There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” — Ernest Hemingway (debated)
  • “Instead of telling us a thing was ‘terrible,’ describe it so that we’ll be terrified. Don’t say it was ‘delightful’; make us say ‘delightful’ when we’ve read the description. You see, all those words (horrifying, wonderful, hideous, exquisite) are only like saying to your readers, ‘Please will you do my job for me.’” – C. S. Lewis
  • “Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen.” – John Steinbeck
  • “To be a successful writer, you need at least the following four things: persistence, revision, characters with distinct viewpoints, use of concrete detail.” – Brandon Sanderson

May this spring be the start of something great. Happy writing!

 

~Claire S.

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Last Call to Enter our Giveaway!

We are down to the close of our Giveaway!

It’s NOT too late to submit.

Enlist your students to choose a favorite polished draft from this year’s work utilizing Blackbird & Company curriculum, submit the work to our journal of student writing: Reveal. Simple!

We invite writers, Kindergarten through 12th grade, who courageously write from the heart using our curriculum to submit! BUT March 31, 2026 is the deadline!

Each submission will earn your family a submission to our Giveaway!

And the prize? A Solo Stove S’Mores Bundle!

From the very first flicker of the tabletop fire bowl, you’ll be ready to roll into seasonal storytelling with this S’Mores kit from Solo Stove! This tabletop “Fire Bowl” + sticks, fuel, & bamboo tray is sure to add s’more fun to this year’s story making!

Winners will be announced on our social media April 1st!

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Let’s SPRING!

winter SPRING, summer, fall

Welcome Spring!

John Muir reminds us: “Spring work is going on with joyful enthusiasm.”

Think about it. Every time a child picks up a pencil, this is a courageous act. And like John Muir, I believe that joyful enthusiasm is just around the corner for everyone who dares to compose an idea. As we empower children to value their ideas, to dig into the work of writing, to press into the process, joy will follow.

It’s simple…

Let’s SPRING into writing!

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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.

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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

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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

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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
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Print Shop for Elementary and Middle School

Campfire Tip #6: Offer Independent Writing Skills Practice

Print Shop is a Blackbird & Company New Year Resolution!

Print Shop downloads offers an awesome opportunity to set your students into independent writing activities.  We are building a collection of downloadable activities designed to engage students, 3rd through 8th grade, in focused, independent work pinpointed on specific writing academic skills with opportunities to build upon the fund of knowledge. Click through to see our offerings, and check back often this month as we add more bundles—lessons on crafting exceptional sentences, extras tied to Tools of Style, activities exploring etymology and so much more. Each downloadable activity comes with instructions. We are so excited to grow this offering!

Now through the end of January 2026 all  Print Shop downloads will be FREE!

 

~Kimberly