Reading 62

When progressing to more difficult texts, writing begins to replace images and children must rely more on creating their own mental images of what is happening in a story. The more we encourage this skill in the early years, the easier it will be for children to do this independently as they begin to graduate to higher level texts.

Reading comprehension can be improved through summarisation. After finishing a book, remember to discuss the key points. 

From an early age, the skill of inferring and making connections with the reading information is crucial. When reading with your children, use the recommended discussion topics to improve reading comprehension. 

Practise reading and sequencing skills with this matching cards game based on the book, Pete the Cat, Trick or Pete. Have spooky fun all year round

Fingers make the best pencil when it comes to practicing letter formation. Develop writing skills with this fun, sensory repetition exercise.

This game helps children learn how to use letters to build words by experimenting with their sounds.

Word building is a fun and easy way to practice spelling skills. Having letters to physically manipulate and experiment with is really important.

Using real life objects or toys for practising initial sounds is always a good idea. Children will love hunting for objects that match the initial sounds they are learning. 

Bingo is a fun and easy game for kids. Use it to promote the recognition of initial sounds. Kids will love to try and complete a line to win!

Practising initial phonics sounds should be a fun and engaging experience. Finding real life objects around the house is a great way to explore initial sounds.

High frequency or sight words are the words that appear the most often in written text. They need to be practised frequently. Repetition can be dull, so make it a game to keep it fun and interesting. 

High Frequency Words appear very often in written text (e.g. 'it', 'and') while tricky words also appear frequently, but don't follow normal phonetic patterns and can't be sounded-out (e.g. 'the'). Help your child get ahead in their reading with this printable list of Phase 2 — Phase 5 high frequency and tricky words.

Finding fun ways to practise high frequency words is a challenge! By using a tally chart, you can combine literacy and maths practice at the same time.

Puppets are a great way to bring a story to life! They open up a world of communication that supports the acquisition of language skills. Children love performing with puppets because they find them less intimidating than traditional acting. 

Double consonants can be very tricky to master. It is easy for children to forget that there are double letters as they only hear one sound. Use household items to spot double letters hiding in words.