Blackbird & Company Literature Discovery guides are an integrated approach to mastering language arts skills. Each guide is a reading and writing journey. Our titles span a wide range of genres and represent what we believe is the best of classic and contemporary literature on the market today.
The Literature Discovery Guide will do just as the title suggests, guide your student through a close reading of a story. The reading of a single book is divided into four sections to help pace the reader. Each week, as students explore one section of a great story, they will not only discover the components that writers use to tell great stories, but will practice crafting words to bring shape to their own original idea sparked from the weekly reading.
We understand that it is easy for the study of a piece of literature to overshadow the story itself. With this in mind, our goal is to lead the reader through each piece of literature in a way that plumbs its depths while keeping its intrinsic value intact. We further understand that reading has the profound potential to pique the reader’s curiosity and to spark a new idea in the mind’s eye. For this reason we provide weekly occasion for the student to bring shape to a new idea through a directed writing activity. The ultimate goal is to create a routine, but not just any routine, a purposeful routine. We believe that the right kind of practice over time develops a habit of being regardless of the subject being tackled. A habit of being in language arts, once established, will not only create an appetite for great stories but also the skill and tenacity to pin down great original ideas.
Level 1 guides are recommended for a wide range of lower elementary students (grades 2-3) who have acquired the foundational skills necessary to independently read and respond to a simple piece of literature. Because there is a vast age range at this level, books have sophisticated content at an emergent reading level. Each guide is designed to be completed in five weeks, which allows students to work through six to eight units in a typical school year.
View our Level 1 titles here »
Level 2 guides are recommended for middle elementary students (grades 3-5) who are in the process of acquiring the proficiency necessary to confidently read and to respond to a complex piece of literature. Because there is still a range of reading competency at this level, Level 2 books have sophisticated content at an advanced emergent reading level. Each guide is designed to be completed in five weeks, which allows students to work through six to eight units in a typical school year.
View our Level 2 titles here »
Level 3 guides are recommended for confident upper elementary and entry-level middle school students (grades 5-8) who have acquired the proficient skills necessary to read and to respond to a complex piece of literature. Each guide is designed to be completed in five weeks, which allows students to work through six to eight units in a typical school year.