Scrabble is great fun but for younger children, it is better to start with a simplified version. This game is great for blending and practising the spelling of CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words. 

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

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

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.

Learning new vocabulary should be a daily activity. Having a 'Word of the Day' to focus on is a good way to encourage the learning of new words.

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.