Nursery World - Communication, language and literacy: Read the signs

Even very young children can recognise signs and labels and nurseries can build on this 'real life' reading. Jane Drake suggests ideas for developing early literacy skills

We may settle down to read a novel after a long day at work but throughout our day we will have read numerous sources of information: road signs, street names, train timetables, recipes, a child's report. We read for information, as well as for pure enjoyment, and this purposeful reading should be an integral part of children's play in all areas of provision in the nursery setting.

In the QCA's Curriculum guidance for the foundation stage there is clear recognition that the nursery environment should mirror the 'real' world of reading and provide children with opportunities to develop their skills in a purposeful context.

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