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1. Help your child learn the letters of the alphabet. Read ABC books, play letter-matching games, and work on puzzles to help her identify letters. Invite her to make letters using clay.

2. Take pictures of an activity that is especially interesting to your child. Use them to write a story together.

3. Keep a portfolio of your child's writing attempts. At different times in the year, show your child her writing samples and comment on her progress.

4. Bring writing materials with you whenever you go out to the grocery store, doctor's office, or a restaurant.

5. Celebrate your child's writing by prominently hanging her work in places where it is visible to all. Knowing that writing is important will go a long way toward motivating her to write more.

Writing supplies to have on hand:

paper (lined and unlined)

colorful stationery

chunky pencils, markers, and crayons

ink pads and rubber stamps

an old typewriter or keyboard

your child's writing samples

alphabet letters

Post-Its

envelopes

stickers

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Help your child learn the letters of the alphabet. Read ABC books, play letter-matching games, and work on puzzles to help her identify letters. Invite her to make letters using clay. Take pictures of an activity that is especially interesting to your child. Use them to write a story together.

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Words for Life | National Literacy Trust

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Activities and support for parents, children and young people to improve language, literacy and communication skills from home.

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Games for teaching vocabulary development

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Games for teaching vocabulary development

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In this post, we'll share four classroom games that we also find effective in teaching vocabulary to English Language Learners.
Nine Box Grid
We use this simple game, which we learned and modified from English teacher Katie Toppel, a lot. As you can see from the image, it's just a matter of putting nine words (or, when we teach phonics, letters) on a numbered three-by-three grid (for a total of nine boxes/spaces) on the class whiteboard.

Then, we give students mini-whiteboards (sometimes they play with a partner and sometimes individually), markers, and erasers/cloths (if you haven't invested in a class set of mini-whiteboards, we'd strongly advise you do so - either buying them from a store or making your own - search "make mini-whiteboards" online for instructions).

Next, we take out two huge foam dice we bought online for a few dollars. One student rolls the dice and then everyone gets one minute to write a sentence on their board using the chosen word or writing a word using the letter. If they roll an eleven or twelve, they must use their choice of two words or letters on the grid. Students are told to hold up their boards at the end of a minute and the teacher gives some quick feedback.

Then, another student rolls the dice and the game continues. Unlike some of our other games, we don't keep score in this one and students enjoy it just the same.

After a few turns, we'll ask the rollers of the dice to change a word or letter on the grid. This move promotes more student engagement and ownership (though it can get a bit loud each time the dice roller is lobbied by the rest of the class when they are at the board!).
Fill-In-The-Blank
This simple game also requires mini-whiteboards - one per group. We usually have students divide into pairs and give each "partner group" a number. We then put the number on the board and give them points when they make a correct answer.

In this game, the teacher writes and reads or just says a cloze/gap-fill sentence ("Mr. Ferlazzo is a "; "I am going to over the weekend").

Students must fill in the blank and write a complete sentence on their board. They will get one point for every word they add if the sentence is correct - this feature encourages students to avoid the easiest answers. However, if there is an error in their more complex sentence, they do not get any points - no matter how many other words they use. In this game, as in all of the games, the teacher is the ultimate Decider!

However, even though the teacher is the final judge, students can also take turns being the leader and giving the class their own clozes.
Pictionary
Everybody reading this book probably is already familiar with Pictionary. The teacher or a student draws an object, living being, or action on the front board or document camera, and then students (again with whiteboards) are given a minute to write down what they think is being drawn. We want to encourage full-class participation, so in our version people don't shout out their answer and students don't get points for being "first." Everyone who has the correct answer written down thirty seconds after the drawing is completed receives a point, and can "bet it all" prior to the last drawing.
Categories
We use this game primarily for vocabulary review. Students are divided into pairs and, as usual, each group is given one mini-whiteboard. The teacher calls out names of categories (home, animals, things that move, things made of metal, things that people do for fun, etc.). Students are given one-minute to write down as many (classroom appropriate) items as they can on their whiteboard. They get a point for each one that is correct. This game can also create opportunities for speaking practice when there is a dispute about an answer - students had to convince us once that "fighting" qualified under "things that people do for fun."

The "category" could also be "words that start with the letter 'b'". And, if you are teaching a more advanced ELL class, you can even make it more challenging by combining two categories (e.g. "words that start with t and are in a home").

You can do this occasionally in reverse and throw in a question where you give the words and they have to write the name of the category.

These four are just a small sampling of games that can be used in class for vocabulary instruction. You can find more here, and we hope you'll share your own in the comments.

Larry has written a previous British Council post sharing other vocabulary instructional strategies and links to online games ( see Five Strategies For ELL Vocabulary Instruction)
(This is adapted from the new book, The ELL Teacher's Toolbox: Hundreds of Practical Ideas to Support Your Students, by Larry Ferlazzo and Katie Hull Sypnieski )

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In this post, we'll share four classroom games that we also find effective in teaching vocabulary to English Language Learners.Nine Box GridWe use this simple game, which we learned and modified from English teacher Katie Toppel, a lot.

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Activity ideas for developing vocabulary skills at home

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Activity ideas for developing vocabulary skills at home

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This channel has songs and raps that your child can sing along with and add their new words to.

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Share your videos with friends, family, and the world

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A website with interactive games to aid children with their phonics. Split into phases to ensure your child is working at the correct level. If you are unsure of which phase your child should work on, please contact your class teacher through the enquiries email.

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A site packed with interactive phonics games, phonics planning, assessment ideas and many teaching ideas and resources to help children to learn to hear phonemes, recognise graphemes and develop the blending and segmenting skills that are vital for learning to read and spell.

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Some excellent recommendations with links to storytime read alouds.

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Links to stories suitable for 7-11 year olds read aloud by some of our favourite authors.

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Do check out these ace E-books, Comics and Magazines.

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Looking for book recommendations for children who have been hooked in by a particular series or author and are ready to branch out? Check out these Branching Out booklists.

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Looking for book recommendations for children who have been hooked in by a particular series or author and are ready to branch out? From Harry Potter and Tom Gates to Rainbow Magic and The Worst Witch, we've got you covered with our Branching Out booklists and free, printable display posters.

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A range of activities based on some of our favourite Julia Donaldson stories, including Zog and the Highway Rat.

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Results 1-10 of 22

Free

A great home learning activity pack based on Julia Donaldson's classic tale Zog.

Free

This home learning activity pack is based on Julia Donaldson's magical storybook Zog.

Free

This home learning activity pack is based on the popular picture book The Highway Rat by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler.

Free

This home learning activity pack is based on the popular picture book The Highway Rat by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler.

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Results 1-10 of 22 Free A great home learning activity pack based on Julia Donaldson's classic tale Zog. Free This home learning activity pack is based on Julia Donaldson's magical storybook Zog. Free This home learning activity pack is based on the popular picture book The Highway Rat by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler.

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Online audio stories for children: for Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 primary school pupils, aged 4 - 11. Stories cover a broad range of primary topics. Stories are grouped by theme and Key Stage and are typically about 5 minutes long. Ideal for fostering speaking and listening skills and stimulating children's imaginations. New stories added week by week.

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BBC Teach > School Radio > English

Online audio stories for children: for Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 primary school pupils, aged 4 - 11. Stories cover a broad range of primary topics. Stories are grouped by theme and Key Stage and are typically about 5 minutes long. Ideal for fostering speaking and listening skills and stimulating children's imaginations. New stories added week by week.

Travel and Transport

Early Years / Key Stage 1

Music

EYFS / Key Stage 1 / Key Stage 2 - Stories for all ages exploring the wonder of music.

Animals

EYFS / Key Stage 1 / Key Stage 2 - Stories featuring all kinds of animals... both familiar and extraordinary.

Space

EYFS / Key Stage 1 / Key Stage 2 Stories about journeys into space... and aliens visiting the Earth!

Weather and Seasons

EYFS / Key Stage 1 / Key Stage 2 Stories exploring or inspired by the weather and seasons.

Fantasy

EYFS: Fantastic fantasy stories.

Fables

EYFS / Key Stage 1 / Key Stage 2: Fables - many adapted from Aesop... some not.

Food

Audio stories about pancakes and ice creams!

Special days

Audio stories about special days.

Relationships

Audio stories with a focus on personal relationships.

Tradtional stories and stories from diverse cultures

Audio versions of traditional stories from diverse cultures.

Bible stories

KS1 / KS2. Stories from the Bible.

Festivals

Key Stage 1 / Key Stage 2 - Stories linking to Diwali, Hanukkah, Holi and Harvest...

Christmas

Key Stage 1 / Key Stage 2 - Three stories for Christmas...with more to follow.

Historical stories

Age 9 - 11. Bringing the past alive with stories about real life people and events. These stories have been selected from our collection of 'Audio stories'.

School

Key Stage 1 / Key Stage 2 A story about starting at a new school... with more to follow.

Time for a Story (BBC Scotland)

A collection of audio stories for young children.

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Online audio stories for children: for Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 primary school pupils, aged 4 - 11. Stories cover a broad range of primary topics. Stories are grouped by theme and Key Stage and are typically about 5 minutes long. Ideal for fostering speaking and listening skills and stimulating c…

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QR Codes and links in the document link to story readings on Youtube and all of the books we've chosen are read aloud by their fabulous authors and illustrators. Many of them are on our Forest Fantastic Reads list!

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With access to libraries, classrooms and bookshops limited for many, we’ve been busy finding some of the best online storytimes for children to access freely at home. The QR codes and links lead to videos of children’s books read aloud by authors and illustrators.

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Explore thousands of high-quality resources for lesson planning and curriculum design. All optional, adaptable and free.

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Forest Fantastic Reads booklist - Reception

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Forest Fantastic Reads booklist - Reception

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Forest Fantastic Reads booklist - Year 1

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Forest Fantastic Reads booklist - Year 1

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Forest Fantastic Reads booklist - Year 2

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Forest Fantastic Reads booklist - Year 2

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Forest Fantastic Reads booklist - Year 3

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Forest Fantastic Reads booklist - Year 3

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Forest Fantastic Reads booklist - Year 4

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Forest Fantastic Reads booklist - Year 4

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Forest Fantastic Reads booklist - Year 5

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Forest Fantastic Reads booklist - Year 5

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Forest Fantastic Reads booklist - Year 6

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Forest Fantastic Reads booklist - Year 6

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Amazing Talk4Writing Activity booklets that can be printed and are split into different year groups.

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Dear Colleagues,

Here are the free Talk for Writing Home-school units. The units are age-related but please pick and choose what is right for each child. They all include a model text which is also available as a streamed audio recording.

This first group is free. We'll send out a second group in a fortnight. There will be a modest charge for these to raise money for Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity to help it survive in these trying times.

Here are two more ways we are supporting schools:

- RadioBlogging.net- Pie is presenting a free, daily, interactive literacy show with language games, creative writing, poet of the day and author of the week. Ideal for families and schools.
- Online CPD training and support - Our trainers can provide CPD tailored to your school's needs e.g. curriculum development, schemes of work & 'staff-meeting' CPD on all aspects of teaching English. Contact our trainers here.

Wishing you all the very best - Pie, Julia and Nick

Playing the mysterious game resulted in a big problem. Discover what it was and write and publish your own finding tale. Written by Maria Richards. Download it here.

Working at greater depth: Doors open a world of possibility and a whole range of writing opportunities. Hone up your creative writing skills and write your own portal story. Written by Jamie Thomas. Download it here.

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Free Talk for Writing Home-school Booklets

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Dear Colleagues, Here are the free Talk for Writing Home-school units. The units are age-related but please pick and choose what is right for each child. They all include a model text which is also available as a streamed audio recording. This first group is free.

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BBC Bitesize have provided daily lessons and activities online for many different subjects, including grammar.

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KS2 English learning resources for adults, children, parents and teachers.

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Songs to help you learn tricky concepts in grammar - these will definitely stick!

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Your #1 stop for teaching resources and inspiration for teaching quality spelling, punctuation and grammar. Visit www.grammarsaurus.co.uk to download teaching resources! :)

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Letter-join whole school handwriting scheme

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Allows teachers to choose print or cursive fonts to use for on-line activities and worksheets. * Lesson planners * Free pupil log-in * Downloadable fonts

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Big Cat Phonics for Letters and Sounds - eBooks

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Big Cat Phonics for Letters and Sounds - eBooks

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Information with how to access the LetterJoin website, so that your child can practise at home.

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Resources to celebrate some of your favourite books and characters!

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Our website uses cookies to distinguish you from other users and enhance your user experience. They also help us improve our site. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. World Book Day® is a charity sponsored by National Book Tokens.

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A website aiding children with phonics through fun stories and games.

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Play along with the fun and friendly letters of the alphabet.

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An app designed by the Department for Education to help support children with their reading.

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Teach Your Monster: Free Phonics, Reading and Mathematics Games

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Help children learn with our free, award-winning reading, mathematics and phonics games.

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An interactive website by David Walliams, delving into the world of his books.

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Join the The World of David Walliams to be the first to hear about new David Walliams books, special offers, free activities, live shows, events and more!

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Bringing Hogwarts to life for any Harry Potter fans out there!

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Harry Potter At Home brings you magical treats to keep you entertained, including quizzes, puzzles, crafts.

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For KS2 some great re-tellings of Shakespeare through these BBC radio stories.

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Shakespeare Retold is a series of ten stories written by well-known children's authors. Each story is inspired by or based on a play by William Shakespeare. These are not straight retellings but stories with a spin, told only the way each individual author could tell them.

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An app that makes reading fun through games and songs!

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Learning to Read for Kids | Learn to Read with Phonics | Free Trial

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Reading Eggs is the online reading program that helps children learn to read. Hundreds of online reading lessons, phonics games and books for ages 2–13. Start your free trial!

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Listen to a range of poems being read aloud by the poets who wrote them!

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Copyright © 2023 All rights reserved. Charity No. 1093858. Registered No. 4336052

The Poetry Archive is a not-for-profit organisation with charitable status.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. We use cookies. Accept More info

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Listen to the world's best poetry read out loud. Explore 100s of poems read by the poets themselves. Read along or listen distraction free.

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Links to the best free online phonics games which can help your child to develop their phonics skills and knowledge of letter sounds.

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Top Marks - interactive games for teaching phonics

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Top Marks - interactive games for teaching phonics

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Practise blending for reading

This tool is intended to support whole-class or small group phonics teaching or to support parents/carers when supporting their child at home.

Why use it?

You can watch the lips form the sounds.
You can share grapheme-phoneme correspondence, (ideal for sharing sounds with busy parents/carers).
You don't have to prepare your own decodable words, this game does it for you.

Instructions:

1. Choose a phase (Letters & Sounds) from the top of the sound chart/poster.

2. Choose a sound to teach/practise.

3. Wait for the pencil to write the grapheme.

4. When the flash card stops moving you can press the sound button to hear the phoneme.

5. The press on the '...' at the bottom of the card to see the grapheme in some words, (words taken from Letters & Sounds).

6. Press on the dots and dashes to blend the sounds.

7. 'Kiss goodbye' to the sounds/words when you want to remove them.

8. NB: You can't change sounds or phases until all words/sounds have been closed/kissed goodbye.

Have fun!
HAVING TROUBLE LOADING? Please try this version.

This game is © copyright 2020, J.Barrett, ictgames.com All Rights Reserved.

Made using the and libraries.

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A tool to model phoneme-grapheme correspondence.

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This collection contains curriculum relevant videos, quizzes and games to help Year 1 and P2 English students with:

These educational resources are hand-picked from BBC Bitesize and the wider BBC.

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This collection contains curriculum relevant videos, quizzes and games to help Year 1 and P2 English students with: These educational resources are hand-picked from BBC Bitesize and the wider BBC.

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SUMMARY of the DfE's reading framework (1)

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Quality resources made by practising teachers and writing moderators.