Age 3+
Develop ďŹ rst reading skills
About this book All the activities in My First Reading Activity Book are designed to gently develop the foundational skills needed for learning to read. The key skills covered in this book include: • enjoying listening to and using spoken and written language • exploring and experimenting with sounds • linking letter sounds to letter shapes • recognizing and saying initial sounds in words • following the left to right movement of the Reading Direction • listening for and responding to rhymes. Nearly 4 year olds may also be ready to: • retell brief stories in sequence • form some recognizable letters, mostly correctly formed • write their own name • read some common words. Useful tips Throughout this book you will find suggestions at the bottom of each page to help you and your child get the most out of each activity. It usually works best to do these activities a few at a time, then return later for more. By providing lots of praise and encouragement and making sharing the activities into a real pleasure, your child will willingly come back for more.
The Letterland Sounds Trick fff...
How to discover each letter sound The first sound you make when you START to say any Letterlander’s name is exactly the sound that letter makes in most words!
*For an accurate pronunciation of each letter sound, listen to the Letterland Alphabet Songs CD.
What is it ? Colour the pictures.
Circle the letters.
Underline the words.
apple
bunny
Let sta ’s rt!
cat
At first, young children often confuse the terms ‘letters’ and ‘words’. You can help by explaining that Letterland is a special place where all the letters live.
1
Meet the Letterlanders Join each Letterlander to his or her letter.
Annie Apple
Bouncy Ben
2
List en
Clever Cat Here is a trick for discovering the sound each Letterlander makes in words. Just START to say a Letterlander’s name, then STOP! Bouncy Ben says ‘b…’ rather than ‘bee’ or ‘buh’.
Reading Direction
Lef t righ to t
Trace the lines in the Reading Direction.
Look out for the red Reading Direction arrows in this book! They show our eyes and hands the way they need to move when we read and write. Ask your child to point out the Reading Direction when you read other books together.
3
Fred’s fish tank
4
Let sou ter nds
Circle two that are the same in each row.
Firefighter Fred loves his fish tank, because it starts with his ‘fff…’ sound! Can your child spot anything in your home that starts with Fred’s ‘fff…’ sound? (flowers, fork, food, five fingers, feet …)