One of the most important skills your child will learn in their early school years is how to read. Your child's school is teaching this essential skill with the help of Literacy Land, a new literacy programme specially written to meet the requirements of the government's National Literacy Strategy. For parents in Scotland and Northern Ireland, Literacy Land also fulfils the requirements of the National Guidelines for English Language 5-14 and the Northern Ireland Programmes of Study. This leaflet has been prepared to give you advice and helpful hints on how you can help your child with their reading at home and reinforce what they have learnt in the classroom.


Reading to your child

  • Your child will enjoy listening to you read to them and will want to read the stories for themselves. They will get to know if you change any words or miss things out.

  • They will become more familiar with the characters and situations in the stories which will make reading on their own easier.

  • Your child will enjoy talking about the stories and finding connections between the story and their own lives.
Reading with your child

  • Reading with your child will boost his/her confidence and help them to establish a rhythm in their reading.

  • As you read the stories, point to the words as you read them and say them together.

  • Ask questions about the words, for example, 'Where does it say that?' or, 'Which word is his name?'

  • Ask your child to name some of the letters, such as a letter in his/her own name.

  • Ask your child for the sound which starts a word and see if he/she can find any words which have the same spelling pattern, for example, 'jump' or 'bump'.

  • The illustrations often tell the story. Look at the pictures in the book such as the expression on a characters face and ask your child to describe how that character may be feeling, e.g. happy, angry, or scared. If there is something else happening in the picture, such as in the background detail, draw your child's attention to it and talk about what is going on.

Reading with your child

  • Reading with your child will boost his/her confidence and help them to establish a rhythm in their reading.

  • As you read the stories, point to the words as you read them and say them together.

  • Ask questions about the words, for example, 'Where does it say that?' or, 'Which word is his name?'

  • Ask your child to name some of the letters, such as a letter in his/her own name.

  • Ask your child for the sound which starts a word and see if he/she can find any words which have the same spelling pattern, for example, 'jump' or 'bump'.

  • The illustrations often tell the story. Look at the pictures in the book such as the expression on a characters face and ask your child to describe how that character may be feeling, e.g. happy, angry, or scared. If there is something else happening in the picture, such as in the background detail, draw your child's attention to it and talk about what is going on.

Encourage your child to read independently

  • If your child prefers to read books silently on their own, allow them to read somewhere privately and praise them for the time they spend reading.

  • Encourage them to turn to their books, but do not insist on a particular amount of reading time each day.

  • Make sure that you praise even the smallest progress and don't compare them to other children.

  • Let your child see you reading on your own.




Comprises 3 strands:

Story Street is a collection of engaging stories about families and friendships set in a welcoming, fictional community. Parents should find it easy to discuss these stories with their child.

  • Each story is based around four main characters who grow up with your child as the books progress. Many children will be able to identify with these characters and relate to the experiences and situations they encounter through their own everyday lives.

  • Story Street addresses a variety of childhood concerns although there is a strong emphasis on humour which adults will appreciate too. All of the stories are written at a language level which is appropriate to your child's age. The stories have been designed to capture your child's imagination by combining strong storylines with delightful illustrations.

Genre Range offers your child more variety of different types of writing in the form of:

  • Plays featuring characters from Story Street. These are scripted simply so that your child can perform them in their class during groupwork.
  • Traditional Tales which include fairytales and fables.
  • Comics which feature the animals from Story Street. They are bright, lively and funny, capitalising on children's enthusiasm for reading comics out of school.
  • Letters and Diaries written by the Story Street characters provide examples of writing which is very close to children's immediate experiences.
  • Poetry, including nursery rhymes, action rhymes, songs, riddles, alphabet rhymes, tongue twisters, limericks and humorous verse among others.

Info Trail contains a range of non-fiction books which teach your child how to read from different types of text. These include:

  • Persuasion, argument and discussion texts.

  • Procedural texts which offer instructions. · Explanation texts which offer descriptions and often say how or why something works or happens.

  • Recounts which retell an event or series of events.