Literacy

Listening to stories

Reading

Writing

Mark Making

Making sense of print

Becoming story tellers

Phonic awareness

We aim for all children to participate in activities which help them develop and grow in the love and enjoyment of literacy.  We use the following base for our curriculum and plan activities according to your child’s developmental stage and interests.

Literacy

Writing

8-20 months + 16-26 months Early mark-making is not the same as writing. It is a sensory and physical experience for babies and toddlers, which they do not yet connect to forming symbols which can communicate meaning.(See roots of mark-making and handwriting in Playing and exploring and Physical Development).
22-36 months Distinguishes between the different marks they make
30-50 months Sometimes gives meaning to marks as they draw and paint
Ascribes meaning to marks that they see in different places
40-60+ months Gives meaning to marks they make as they draw, write and paint
Begins to break the flow of speech into words
Continues a rhyming string
Hears and says the initial sound in words
Can segment the sounds in simple words and blend them together
Links sounds to letters, naming and sounding the letters of the alphabet
Uses some clearly identifiable letters to communicate meaning, representing some sounds correctly and in sequence
Writes own name and other things such as labels, captions
Attempts to write short sentences in meaningful contexts

 

Literacy

Reading

8-20 months Handles books and printed material with interest.
16-26 months Interested in books and rhymes and may have favourites.
22-36 months Has some favourite stories, rhymes, songs, poems or jingles
Repeat words or phrases from familiar stories
Fills in the missing word or phrase in a known rhyme, story or game, e.g. ‘Humpty Dumpty sat on a …….’
30-50 months

 

 Enjoys rhyming and rhythmic activities
Shows awareness of rhyme and alliteration
Recognises rhythm and spoken words
Listens to and joins in with stories and poems, one-to-one and also in small groups
Joins in with repeated refrains and anticipates key events and phrases in rhymes and stories
Beginning to be aware of the way stories are structured
Suggests how he story might end
Listens to stories with increasing attention and recall
Describes main story settings, event and principal characters
Shows interest in illustrations and print in books and print in the environment
Recognises familiar words and signs such as own name and advertising logos
Looks at books independently
Handles books carefully
Knows information can be relayed in the form of print
Holds book the correct way up and turns pages
Knows that print carries meaning and, in English, is read from left to right and top to bottom
40-60+ months Continues a rhyming string
Hears and says the initial sound in words
Can segment the sounds in simple words and blend them together and knows which letters represent some of them
Links sounds to letters, naming and sounding the letters of the alphabet
Begins to read words and simple sentences
Uses vocabulary and forms of speech that are increasingly influenced by their experiences of books
Enjoys an increasing range of books
Knows that information can be retrieved from books and computers