2.5y–4.2y10 minFree playReadingDevelopmental play
Books in the Build Zone: Fact & Fiction Everywhere
Place fact and fiction books right inside play areas (like blocks), so your child experiences books as part of everyday play while you connect pictures, words, and sounds.
What you'll need
Essentials
- blocks, stacking cups, or small boxes (anything you already build with)
- 1 non-fiction picture book related to building/vehicles/nature (any topic is fine)
- 1 fiction picture book that includes building or making (any story is fine)
Nice to have
- toy cars or small figures
- paper and a marker for a simple label/sign
Movement level: low
What you'll do
The 4-step guide, with what to look for at each step, is for signed-in parents.
What this develops
What it practices
- Enjoys rhyming and rhythmic activities.Observable behaviour from Development Matters
- Shows awareness of rhyme and alliteration.Observable behaviour from Development Matters
- Continues a rhyming string.Observable behaviour from Development Matters
- Hears and says the initial sound in words.Observable behaviour from Development Matters
- Can segment the sounds in simple words and blend them together and knows which letters represent some of them.Observable behaviour from Development Matters
Where it comes from
- Source
- Development Matters in the EYFS (DfE, 2012)
- Original guidance
- “Provide fact and fiction books in all areas, e.g. construction area as well as the book area.”
- License
- Open Government Licence v3.0
- Attribution
- © Crown Copyright 2012 (Development Matters in the EYFS, DfE)