2.5y–4.2y10 minReadingFamily timeFree play
My Photo Book, My Story: ‘I Can Read It!’
A re-reading routine using a child-photo book so your child can ‘read’ by telling the story from photos, while you model simple captions and point to meaningful words (like names) to build early word-reading confidence.
What you'll need
Essentials
- a simple photo book/album with photos of your child (printed or in a small album)
- paper
- a marker or pen
Nice to have
- tape or sticky notes (to add captions)
- a small toy related to a photo (e.g., toy car, teddy)
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 books containing photographs of the children that can be read by adults and that children can begin to ‘read’ by themselves.”
- License
- Open Government Licence v3.0
- Attribution
- © Crown Copyright 2012 (Development Matters in the EYFS, DfE)