Language and Literacy

Reading starts long before reading.

Before children read independently, they need conversation, songs, stories, listening, retelling, sound play, drawing, pretend play and confidence with words.

Ask NAS Parent hub

Talk Read Sing Retell Draw

A stack of picture books and a wooden animal on a low ledge

Illustrative image

What the research says only matters if you can see it in the room.

Language and Literacy

Plain Answer

What you will want to know.

Conversation is the foundation.

Children need many turns of talk: noticing, naming, answering, wondering and explaining. Passive word exposure is not enough.

Shared reading should be interactive.

A strong read-aloud lets children predict, point, name, ask, retell and connect the story to life.

Writing begins with meaning.

Drawing, marks, labels, name play and storytelling help children understand that print carries ideas.

Make It Visible

What you would see in the classroom.

Less theory, more of what you can actually notice on a visit or at home.

At NAS

Story circles, picture talk, songs, rhymes, sound play, pretend play and retelling props make language visible every day.

At home

Read the same book more than once. Let your child finish a line, name a picture or tell you what changed.

Watch for

More vocabulary, longer sentences, clearer requests, story memory, pretend dialogue and interest in print.

Pause while reading.

Give the child time to think and answer. The pause is where language grows.

Expand, do not correct harshly.

If the child says "big dog run," you can answer, "Yes, the big dog is running fast."

Use home language proudly.

Strong home-language talk supports thinking and can strengthen later English learning.

Parent FAQ

Answers you can come back to.

The questions parents ask us most, answered the way we would at the gate.

Talk during real routines, read together, name feelings and actions, repeat favourite books and expand your child's sentence gently.

Letter play can be joyful, but it should sit beside stories, sound games, drawing, conversation and meaningful print, not replace them.

No. Children can grow with more than one language. Home language is an asset when adults use it often and consistently.