Literacy

How to improve your child's reading, writing and speaking skills?

​Reading

• ​​Read with your child for 5 minutes every day.
• ​Encourage your child to decode unfamiliar words by using Fred Talk.
• ​Use flashcards to practise high frequency words.  Stick them on your fridge, child's wall or play a game.

Writing

• ​Encourage your child to develop their gross and fine motor skills by carrying out the following activities:

-  Playing dancing games e.g. hokey kokey, I'm a little teapot, Simon says.

​- Throw, catch, kick and bounce various sized balls.

​- Mark make outside using chunky chalk, paintbrushes and water, sticks in the sand.

​- Thread pasta tubes onto string or wool to make a necklace.

​- Cut plastic straws into different lengths.

​- Use plastic tweezers to pick up pasta shapes or chickpeas.

​- Stack paper cups.

​- Pop bubble wrap.

- Complete age appropriate puzzles.

​- Making various shapes using play dough e.g. flat, ball, snake.

• ​Encourage your child to write a list for when you go shopping or when you do something special e.g. Halloween party!

     - Encourage your child to listen carefully to the sounds they can hear in the words.

• ​Encourage your child to write a simple sentence e.g. I went to the beach.

Speaking

​

• ​Encourage your child to think about what they want to say.
• ​Encourage your child to speak clearly.
• ​Encourage your child to look at the audience/person when they are speaking (eye contact).
• Encourage your child to use gestures to support what they are saying.

Question ideas to ask to stimulate speaking:

1. ​If you could eat anything, what would it be and why?
2. If you could go on holidays, where would you go and who would you go with?
3. If you were stuck on a beach, what 3 things would you need?