Literacy: Trains of thought
John Burningham’s books are immediately captivating, taking children on magical journeys which carry powerful messages. Support them to use their phonic knowledge to decode words.
Literacy is one of the seven areas of the early years foundation stage and is used to develop a child's ability read and write. Children show this in range of ways including understanding simple sentences, familiarity with phonics, demonstrating understanding of what they have read, the ability to write spoken sounds and words and even simple sentences.
Below you will find a range of practical articles and expert features that cover literacy to help you develop these skills and overcome challenges you might encounter. For more information on the EYFS you can download latest version of the statutory framework here.
John Burningham’s books are immediately captivating, taking children on magical journeys which carry powerful messages. Support them to use their phonic knowledge to decode words.
Celebrating Mother’s Day is a great way to encourage children to talk about their mums and exercise their literacy skills as they make cards and learn to write simple, loving messsages.
Have fun reading all the letters in The Jolly Postman and encourage children to compose their own letters, supporting them to create simple sentences and even a Valentine’s Day message.
Many settings love to celebrate Valentine’s Day – not only does it brighten up what can be a bleak month but it’s an opportunity to talk about love and kindness with children, says Annette Rawstrone.
Chances are your book corner already has at least one title by author and illustrator Anthony Browne. Try these activities to engage children with his themes of family and friendship, and have fun exploring their surreal sense of humour!
How to use simple resources such as fabrics, hats and a basket of natural objects to encourage children to experiment and use their imaginations to create characters and dialogue.
Claire Hewson focuses on wish fulfilment stories which can help children to learn valuable life lessons, since they always carry a cautionary message. By discussing the stories with children we can help them to explore these ideas in relation to their own lives.
Winter is nearly over and if you’ve recently done an audit of your outdoor space, you might now be thinking about giving your mud kitchen a revamp, and introducing some new resources. If you haven’t yet set up a mud kitchen, now is definitely the time to start planning one.
Judith Harries’ series focusing on the best-loved and most widely acclaimed picture books has been steadily growing in the last six months. Here we round up some of the titles she has recently focused on with ideas for enjoying them and maximising their potential for learning.
'There's no such thing as bad weather – just inappropriate clothing,' as the saying goes. Use children’s colourful winter clothing as a link to many areas of learning.
Find out about the latest offer from a reading scheme that provides a range of fiction and non-fiction books which celebrate diversity and gender equality.
Now is the time to look at how wintery weather affects British wildlife. Start with birds that can be observed in your outdoor area and help children to discover why they need our help when the days become cold.
Continuing our exploration of the prime and specific areas of learning, this month we focus on the specific area of literacy and discuss how we can support the children in our settings.