“We have an obligation to read aloud to our children. To read them things they enjoy. To read to them stories we are already tired of. To do the voices, to make it interesting, and not to stop reading to them just because they learn to read to themselves”Author, Neil Gaiman So often, once children have learned to read independently,…

Hart and Risley’s landmark study found that each year, early years providers work with 3 year old children who may have heard 30 million fewer words spoken to them than their most word-rich peers. The children with this vocabulary advantage will be better prepared to access those words when they start school and ultimately they are able to pick up…

Reading aloud with fluency and expression, or prosody, is not a new concept in Primary education. But a closer examination of the reasons why we teach it, its features and relationship to other reading skills is needed to make sure we’re teaching prosody effectively. Fluency, prosody and comprehension Fluent and expressive reading (prosody!) is inextricably linked to comprehension. Why? Because…

People have been telling stories since the beginning of time. They challenge us, connect us, help us make sense of the world, and activate both our imagination and creativity. As a species, story may very well be our greatest invention. This is what makes story time so important to a child’s development. Reading stories aloud helps children fall in love…