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Literacy4 min read
The language behind books + movies
Books and movies are powerful tools for building language, narrative skills and a love of storytelling.
Books and movies are powerful tools for building language, narrative skills and a love of storytelling. The stories we share become a shared vocabulary your child can draw on again and again.
Talk about the story
- Predict what might happen next before you turn the page or press play.
- Pause to ask 'why' and 'how' questions about the characters' choices.
- Discuss how characters feel and why — building emotional vocabulary.
- Retell the story afterwards, in order, with a beginning, middle and end.
- Connect the story to your child's own experiences.
💡 Tip
Re-reading favourite books is brilliant for language. Familiarity lets children focus on new words and join in with the parts they know.
Whether it's a picture book at bedtime or a film on the weekend, the conversations around the story are where the real language learning happens.
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