How to build your child's literacy skills from birth to Grade 2

This page includes tips on how to help build your child's skills in speaking, listening, reading and writing (Department of Education).

General tips

Families play a key role in developing a child’s language and literacy skills from birth.

A child’s understanding of the world and their capacity to learn is greatly influenced by how much their family values their literacy skills.

Some important information for parents and carers to consider:

Children who start school with greater literacy skills perform better in school, and not just in language-based subjects like English.
Literacy in the early years is a range of different activities and forms of communication, including music, movement, dance, storytelling, visual arts and drama, as well as talking, viewing, reading, drawing and writing. It is never too early to read to your child.
Oral language skills are an important predictor of reading and writing skills, so the better your child can speak, the better their overall literacy skills will develop. Talk as much as you can with your child and engage them in conversation often.
Literacy in children’s early years can always be fun. Excursions and playtime are great activities in which to engage and talk with your child. Fun activities are also the best opportunities to teach children new vocabulary and new ways of saying things.

Helping your child to speak and listen

Talking with your child

Regularly talking and interacting with your child extends their language and listening skills and helps grow their confidence with language. You may be their only source of language so the more you speak and engage with them, the faster they will learn new vocabulary and speak with greater fluency.

Include your child when discussing everyday activities such as grocery shopping, gardening, cooking dinner, collecting mail from the mailbox, doing housework, and travelling in the car or bus.

Outings can also provide a world of new vocabulary. Discussion during outings can enrich your child’s understanding of the world. Outings might include going to the local farmers market, park, zoo, shopping centre, museums, libraries and art galleries.

Other fun activities can include:

Sharing rhymes, poems and songs. Encourage your child to join in.
Sharing and talking about family histories and family photos.
Looking at a range of picture books, for example, craft books, DIY books, decorative coffee table books and advertising catalogues. Ask your child to describe what is happening in the pictures and make up stories together.
Collecting cardboard and other household items for your child to build with. Ask your child to describe what they are building.
Listening to simple radio programs or podcasts developed for children together and discussing the content.
Taking virtual tours of various zoos, aquariums, castles, galleries and museums both locally and around the world.
Playing vocabulary games with your child such as, 'what’s the opposite of ….?' (for example, 'what’s the opposite of big?'), 'what’s another word for….?' (for example, 'what’s another word for angry?') and 'which word sounds different to the others: bat, hat, or door?'.

Oral storytelling

Storytelling extends your child’s speaking and listening skills, as well as expanding their memory and imagination. Either you can tell the story, or you can encourage your child to tell the story.

Storytelling might be about:

your child’s favourite toy
another family member
a pet
a favourite fictional character from a book or television program
a famous person
different work professions, such as astronauts, firefighters, nurses and teachers
an imaginary world with imaginary characters
an imaginary animal that can speak.

Here are some tips to start your storytelling:

Make it exciting, with different voices, puppets, or a finger play.
Have a dress-up box for your child to use for storytelling and imaginative play.
Start with what interests your child.
Start by creating a character and a setting.

Helping your child to read

Reading together

Reading should start in the first few months after birth. Even if as an adult you don’t read often, or don’t particularly like reading, it is important that you spend this valuable time with your child to stimulate their language development, and to encourage their love of reading. Reading together is a valuable thing to do. Reading increases your child’s vocabulary, expands your child’s understanding of the world, and gives them confidence when using language. Reading is also an important way to make the link between spoken words and written words.

Here are some general tips:

Visit your local library to select and read books together, and to attend story time sessions. Library story time sessions are a great way to share the joy of reading with your child in a group setting.
Encourage your child to select books, magazines, catalogues, or multimedia stories according to their interests.
Set aside time for reading every day. Reading before bedtime is a good habit to get into.
Position yourself so your child can see the words and the pictures.
Run your finger across the page with each word to help your child identify and remember words and sounds.
Share wordless picture books to develop imagination, ideas and vocabulary by naming and describing things in pictures.
Look for rhyme, rhythm or repetition in books. This will help develop your child’s love of language.
When reading to your child, read stories with expression, or try putting on the voices of characters. This will help make reading fun.
Point out important features about a book – for example, the words and pictures, the front cover, the spine, the contents page, or the title.
Discuss the meaning of unknown words that children hear and read. Explore words using a dictionary. Have a discussion and ask questions about interesting words you find, for example, 'It says here she "tumbled" down the hill. How do you think she went down the hill?' It says here 'He read a "good" book. What is another word we could use besides good?'
Encourage your child to take over some or all of the reading if they feel confident.
If your child is confident with their reading, allow them to read without interruption. Fluency is gained with confidence. Mistakes can be discussed after a block of reading, or in subsequent readings.
Allow your child to read at their own pace. Model good pace when you read to them.
Give your child the opportunity to re-read books.
Read and talk to your child in family languages and encourage others who speak different languages to use these with your child.
Let your child see you and other family members read for pleasure. It is especially important for boys to see the men they care about reading.

Helping your child work out difficult words

When your child begins to read to you, they will often have difficulty with long or tricky words. The following strategies will help them develop self-correcting skills and assist with their understanding of the text.

It is important to give your child time to work out difficult words themselves because children can often self-correct if given the time. They read more slowly than we do and need the time to work it out.

Let the child persist a little, prompt by giving a hint such as 'what is the first sound in that word?'

Questions to help prompt may include:

Let’s look at the word. What letter (or letters) does the word start with? What sound does that letter (or letters) make?
What letters are in the middle of the word? What sound do these letters make?
What letter (or letters) does the word end with? What sound does that letter (or letters) make?
Can we put those sounds together to work out a word?
Look at the picture. What object can you see in the picture that might start with that letter?
What do you think this word might mean? What is another way of saying that?

If the above prompts are not working, you simply say: 'The word is…'.

An important aspect of learning to read is praising children’s repeated attempts. Praise can be specific, for example, 'Well done on re-reading that sentence, you worked out that word by yourself' or general praise such as 'You are trying really hard, well done.'

Another good strategy is to ask your child how they worked out the word. This helps reinforce reading strategies they learn from you and from school.

Book chat

Discussing the content and meaning of books is an important part of reading. Chat about the book before, during and after reading, and encourage your child to share their ideas and to ask questions about the book. Making links across the text by asking guiding questions encourages children to think about what they are reading.

Here are some questions you can ask before, during and after reading the book:

Look at the cover. What do you think this book might be about?
How does the place the book is set in make you feel?
How would you describe the character at the beginning of the story?
What is happening in the pictures?
What do you think is going to happen next?
Why might a character have done this? What would you do in the same situation?
Who was your favourite character in the story? Why did you like that character?
What was your favourite part of the book?
Can you try to retell the story to me in your own words?

Making the most of screen time

You can use the same questions you might ask your child during Book Chat (see above) to discuss TV and other screen programs and games that you watch or play together. Understanding visual media is a key element of your child’s literacy.

There are also a number of great games on the internet to help engage your child in reading. These games include:

Phonics games that improve reading and letter sound awareness. Phonics involves sounding out individual sounds in a word, and then putting these sounds together to make the word.
Grammar, punctuation and spelling games.
Vocabulary games.

Here is a short list of good websites to help begin your online search for games and other resources:

FUSE (select Early Childhood or Primary Students tabs)
ABC Education
Play School Story Time
Australian Children's Television Foundation

Taking Small Bytes is also an excellent resource. It contains 100 digital technology activities for you to do and discuss with your child. It also contains tips about using digital technologies wisely and safely.

Reading the world together

The world is full of letters and words you and your child can read together.

Activities could include the following:

Name your child’s belongings and talk about the letter and sounds in their name.
It is important to show children the value of reading for everyday purposes. Include your child when you read recipes, greeting cards, calendars, shopping lists, food labels, instructions, maps, newspapers, emails, signs, weather forecasts and websites. For example, you could read a recipe together and follow the steps to make your child’s favourite meal. Or you could ask your child to read and tick off each grocery item on a shopping list as you buy, order online, or unpack them.
Cook alphabet soup and say letters together as you eat them.
Play a word hunt. Write random words on bits of paper and place them around a room. Say one of the words and ask your child to find the right word.
Put post-it notes on objects around the house so your child can read and learn new words every day.

Helping your child to write

General writing advice

Learning to write begins with scribbling and drawing. This is an important first step and should be encouraged. The next step is to encourage your child to write letter-like shapes, before moving on to practise writing the alphabet – both capitals and lower-case letters. After this, encourage your child to write sentences containing short words.

If your child cannot write yet, you could write for them. Here is a strategy:

Ask your child to talk about an experience or something that interests them.
Ask your child what part of the conversation they would like you to write down.
As your child is talking, write down their ideas. Use their language.
Ask your child to describe back to you what you wrote down, or ask them to read back the writing.
Your child may want to draw a picture or create something to match the writing.

Encourage your child to take over some or all of the writing when they feel confident. When your child starts writing, try the following:

Discuss the topic to give your child some ideas to explore. This gives them confidence to begin writing.
Teach your child any vocabulary they might need.
You can encourage your child by writing on a similar topic alongside them. Then you can share your writing with each other and discuss the differences.

Here are some general tips to help your child when writing:

Offer your child useful resources, such as pens, pencils, chalk, whiteboards, paper or notebook, and a place to write such as a table, tray, bench or floor space. Creating a special ‘writing box’ to store your child’s pens and pencils helps them see writing as an important activity.
Experiment with different ways to write such as using a mini whiteboard, chalk on concrete, glass-writing pens, sticks in sand or fingers in paint or shaving cream.
Support your child to read their writing aloud.
Encourage your child to create a picture, drawing or collage that visually represents their ideas.
Always proudly display your child’s work in a prominent position in your house. This will give them confidence and demonstrates the importance of writing.
Create an ‘ideas bag’ or ‘ideas folder’ to use as a writing prompt. To inspire writing ideas, collect objects such as photographs, pictures cut from magazines, brochures, movie tickets, or any other found item.

Writing about experiences and interests

You can use your child’s experiences and interests as a springboard into writing.

Topics might include:

A piece of writing about a recent experience, such as a wedding or birthday party, or an excursion. For example, a trip to the museum could result in recounting the day’s activities, a report about dinosaurs, a report about 'The Best Thing I Learnt Today,' a short story about a family of dinosaurs, or a written list of exhibitions.
Time on a trampoline or walking could result in recounting the activity, a report on types of jumps/steps, a report on ‘my best trampoline/walking skill’, a story about a trampoline/walking disaster, or list of trampoline/walking terms and language.
Something that interests them. Your child could create a poster or a short article on a hobby or other interest.
A dream or memory they have discussed recently.

Writing creatively

Because creative writing is fun, it is an excellent way to foster a love of writing. It also helps develop your child’s imagination, which has been proven to be important in critical thinking and problem-solving. You can use a book you have recently read together as a source of inspiration or create something new.

Some ideas for writing creatively include:

Create a short story in cartoon form.
Cut out pictures of people from magazines and create speech bubbles and dialogue.
Create your own superhero and have them go on a short adventure.
Use artworks found on the web, such as paintings and photographs, as inspiration for a story.
Write a story or create a cartoon together by taking turns at writing sentences or cartoon cells.
A simple story structure involves a character who has a goal (for example: to win the football match; to find a lost dog; to save the world), faces problems in achieving that goal but finds a solution. This structure can be the basis for a short story you write together.
Select stock images from a search engine, or use photos you have taken, and paste them in a slide show or Word document then add labels or sentence text.

Opportunities to write every day at home

Like reading, writing with your child should become an everyday activity at home.

Try some of these writing ideas:

Write a shopping list or add items to a list.
Keep a board to write and read family messages.
Give your child a pad of sticky notes to write reminders for themselves.
Plan and write your weekly menu together.
Write captions for photographs in your family photo album.
Write labels for your child’s artworks and creations.
Make words using magnetic letters and stick them on the fridge or magnetic display board
Make and write greeting cards, birthday cards, and thank you notes.
Write messages and greetings on the footpath in chalk for the neighbours to enjoy.
Keep a family calendar on display and write down family events.

How to build your child's literacy skills from Grades 3 to 6

This page includes tips on how to help build your child's skills in speaking, listening, reading and writing. (Department of Education)

General tips

The first few years of reading is a wonderful time for your child. Books expose them to new ideas and new worlds, and their imagination grows.Talk positively about reading so your child also values it. Continue to read as much as you can with your child. When they feel confident, encourage them to take over some or all of the reading. Always be patient when they are reading and try not to emphasise speed. Also, try to read as much as possible yourself to model reading to your child.

These years are a time when your child will learn more about the world. Engaging them in discussions improves their speaking skills, and helps them understand the world and their place in it.

In these years your child will also begin to write with greater confidence. The ability to write well enables your child to communicate effectively and will improve their chances of success at school and in their future careers. Encourage your child to write as often as possible, on a range of topics and interests.

Literacy can always be fun and engaging. Let your child choose books and activities matched to their interests, and always encourage a healthy dose of fun and play in all activities. This will help foster in your child a love of reading, talking and writing.

Helping your child to speak and listen

Talking to your child

As your child moves through primary school, they will speak with greater fluency and with a greater knowledge of the world.

Some tips to foster more fluent speaking include:

Continue to involve your child when discussing everyday activities, such as grocery shopping, gardening, cooking dinner, collecting mail from the mailbox, doing housework, and travelling in the car or bus.
Try to ask your child specific questions about their day. A general question like 'how was your day?' will likely get a single-word response of 'good.' Ask specific questions like 'what is the book you are reading in class about?' or 'what did you do at lunchtime today?'
Involve your child in your discussions about the day’s events or current events. Ask their opinion. This helps them understand different perspectives and increases their vocabulary.
Use simple prompts to encourage the child to expand upon responses, such as, 'What makes you say that? What happened after that? What did you think about that?'
Show a genuine interest in your child’s reading, writing and viewing of all types of texts. Talking about texts can create meaningful discussions and help your child see them as important.
Show interest in topics your child is studying at school. These can be a great springboard into discussions.
Encourage your child to discuss their everyday problems and feelings.
Use questions and discussion to explore other people’s feelings. This will help your child to develop empathy for others.
Use questions and discussion to broaden your child’s experience and knowledge of the world, particularly during new experiences or on outings.

Discussing news and current events

As your child gets older, they become more aware of news and current events. Discussing news and current events can enrich your child’s understanding of the world.

Questions are an effective way to encourage your child to think critically about an event and can help foster empathy. Questions also help your child to develop oral fluency when discussing social issues.

Questions you might ask when discussing a news story or current event include:

What do you think caused the event?
How do you think people will be affected?
Is it fair?
Why do you think people think that/do that?
Could there be another side to this news report?
What do you think will happen next?
How could the problem be fixed?

Some other activities to develop your discussion:

Encourage children to find the good in bad or unhappy news stories by looking out for the people or organisations who are offering aid, e.g. 'Who are the helpers in this event?'
Read several articles together on the same issue to get different opinions. Then discuss the different opinions.
Have a debate on a topic, with you and your child taking different sides of the issue.
Download and listen to podcasts on an issue and discuss.
Discuss different 'What if?' scenarios. This will help develop your child’s problem-solving and imagination.

Many news items can be distressing or confusing for children. Ensure you select items that are appropriate for your child. There are some excellent podcasts and online programs that provide the news in an age-appropriate manner:

Helping your child to read

Here are some tips to encourage reading:

It is recommended that you continue to read together in the later primary years, even if your child is reading independently.
Take your child to the local library often so they can choose, borrow and renew books. Taking children to the library at the beginning of school holidays encourages weeks of independent reading.
Look for non-fiction books on craft or activity topics that your child enjoys. Most libraries have well-stocked sections (e.g. under the Dewey decimal number 745).
Encourage your child to borrow from their school library as well.
If your child likes an author, find another book or a series of books by the same author.
Encourage your child to read about their favourite author or illustrator on their website.
Introduce your child to reading different genres such as fantasy, science-fiction, action and adventure.
Introduce your child to reading different types of texts, such as poems, music lyrics, and short plays.
Encourage your child to read non-fiction. The newspaper or an online encyclopaedia might be a good start, but your child might also be interested in history books or autobiographies of their favourite sportsperson or celebrity.
Encourage your child to use a dictionary to look up words they might not understand.
Allow your child to play age-appropriate video games that require reading.
See also 'Creating a literacy-rich home' below.

Book chat

Book chat is an important strategy to help your child to reflect more deeply on the content and meaning of their favourite books. In the previous section, Before School to Grade 2, Literacy, book chat questions related mainly to recalling information on plot and character (see p.15). These questions are still very important to ask when your child is in primary school. As your child moves through primary school, add more questions when discussing the book you are reading together, or when discussing the book your child is reading independently.

Some further questions might include:

Does the main character change in the story? How does the character change?
If you could change the ending of this book, what would it be?
What do you think is the story’s main message?
What is your opinion about the story’s main message?
Can you relate the story or message to another event or issue?
How could other people see it differently?

Helping your child to write

As your child moves through primary school, they will begin writing longer creative pieces, writing in different genres, and exploring non-fiction and persuasive writing.

Some general tips to help with your child’s writing in these years include:

Continue to encourage them to write for everyday skills. This includes writing recipes, family messages, shopping lists and greeting cards.
Try to find a quiet time or place for your child to write. A flat surface such as a table, bench top or tray is helpful.
Provide stationery, such as coloured pens and pencils, and different coloured paper.
It is always helpful to discuss the writing topic with your child before they start to write. This will give your child ideas and confidence to start writing.
After discussing the topic your child is writing about, you may want to write down a few arguments or story plot points to help them. They can then expand on these points.
Encourage your child to write creatively in different genres, such as fantasy, realism, and adventure.
Encourage your child to write different types of literary texts such as poems, short plays or film scripts.
Use a book your child has read as a springboard into creative writing.
Persuasive writing will become a focus at school, particularly in high school. Encourage your child to write down their opinions and ideas about specific issues.
Encourage your child to edit their work for mistakes before they show you. They should also make sure the writing makes sense. Getting your child to read their work out loud is a good technique to find mistakes in writing.
Using a dictionary helps with spelling mistakes.
Using a thesaurus helps to expand your child’s vocabulary.

Some fun activities might include:

Use scrap paper to make your own books. Staple pages together and write stories, riddles, jokes or instructions to create a home-made mini book library
Encourage your child to keep a diary where they record their feelings and experiences.
Write a review of a book or film. Encourage your child to have an opinion about the relative good and bad points, and how the film could be improved.
Create ‘found poetry.’ Pick 20 random lines and phrases from books or poems and arrange these lines into a new poem. It can be fun to discuss the different possibilities of joining different lines and the changes in meaning these create.
Give your child a topic that has two clear sides, such as 'Homework should be banned.' Ask your child to write a few paragraphs outlining their arguments for and against.
If your child has recently finished a novel or film, ask them to write creatively in response to it. They might write an alternative ending, a short sequel, or write a series of diary entries from a character’s perspective.

Digital writing and creating

We now live in a world full of digital technology. To give your child the best chance of success in literacy, it is important that your child becomes comfortable with technology and can use various technologies to share their ideas and show their creativity.

Some activities your child might do include:

Create a website with a specific interest in mind, such as a hobby, a sports team, or a historical event that interests them.
Write a blog on a hobby or interest.
Write a short film script and then shoot the film using a mobile phone, tablet or video recorder. Use editing software to edit the film and create titles.
Write a radio script and then record the script using a mobile phone, tablet, or digital voice recorder.
Write a short story and record it using a mobile phone, tablet, or voice recorder. Find digital film score music or sound effects to create mood and suspense.
Write emails or instant messages to family members.
Use presentation or slide software to create presentations for the family about a recent family holiday, or about something of personal interest.
Create a short film, using an app such as The Little Lunch App by the Australian Children’s Television Foundation: https://actf.com.au/education/resources/id/10429/

Family projects

Take the opportunity to involve the whole family in reading and writing.

Some family projects could include:

Email friends or family members.
Write messages together on your social networking sites to communicate with family and friends.
Read a book series together.
Read together the instructions for a new household item to find out how it works.
Record family events or travel experiences in a journal or on an online blog.
Write plays and perform them for family and friends.
Write a film script together and make the film.
Read, select and collect news articles, and create an album about, for example, a sporting team, favourite animal, or leisure activity.
Solve crosswords, word puzzles, brain-teasers, and quizzes.
Combine family brains to try and solve a daily Wordle. There are child-friendly versions available online such as Wordle for Kids.
Browse libraries and bookshops together. Search for cheap books in charity stores and at garage sales.
Prepare for an outing together, including reading public transport timetables, maps, and information brochures.

Creating a literacy-rich home

Creating a literacy-rich home gives your child every opportunity to engage in reading, writing, speaking and listening. This kind of environment encourages your child to see these skills as an important and normal part of every day.

Here are some tips to create a literate home:

Lots of books. With lots of books, your child will see reading as a normal activity and will always have something new to read.
Create a language-rich bedroom and home for your child, with alphabet and word posters, and labels.
Organise a bookshelf to display your child’s books.
Create a comfortable space for your child to read, perhaps with cushions and blankets, to encourage your child to see reading as a relaxing and fun activity.
Provide writing materials and a writing desk. Having different pens and pencils, and a place to write, encourages your child to write more often. Creating a special ‘writing box’ to store your child’s pens and pencils helps your child see writing as an important activity.
Collect props for imaginative play, and materials for craft projects. These can form the basis for practising speaking and writing.
Set aside a time each week for ‘family reading time’ when every family member is reading, either individually or together.
Regularly discuss what your child is reading or writing.
Very importantly, read yourself. One of the most important ways to get your child reading is to model reading for your child. Children are encouraged to read – and to see reading as a normal part of the day – if they see their parents reading often. Siblings, grandparents, and other relevant persons in a child’s life can also be reading role models.

Hands On Learning