EYFS literacy resources and activities include story sacks, phonics games, mark-making materials, environmental print walks and role-play areas. These tools help young children pick up reading, writing and communication skills through play-based learning.
The most effective EYFS literacy resources mix practical materials like books and writing tools with hands-on activities. Children aged three to five learn best when learning feels enjoyable and meaningful. These resources support the three core parts of early literacy: language comprehension, word reading and writing.
Michelle Connolly, founder of LearningMole and a former primary teacher with over 15 years of classroom experience, says, “literacy development in early years works best when children see reading and writing as part of everyday life, not just formal lessons.” LearningMole is a UK educational platform. They offer curriculum-aligned resources that help you bring literacy learning to life through engaging video content and practical activities for nursery and reception classes.
Whether you work in a nursery or support learning at home, the right mix of resources and activities helps children build strong foundations in literacy. Creating literacy-rich environments and choosing materials that spark curiosity about words and stories can really make a difference. You’ll find practical approaches that line up with the EYFS framework and support children’s natural development.
Key Takeaways
Literacy in the early years covers language comprehension, word reading and writing skills. Children start developing these abilities from birth through age five.
These parts all connect and form the foundation for children’s communication and later academic success.
EYFS literacy covers three main areas in the 2025 framework. Language comprehension grows when you talk with children about the world and share books, stories and songs. This skill starts at birth and gets stronger through daily interaction.
Word reading means children decode new printed words and recognise familiar ones. You introduce this skill later, mainly through systematic phonics instruction.
Writing involves spelling, handwriting and composition. Children usually speak and organise their ideas before they write them down. The framework says that literacy development happens best through play-based activities and meaningful experiences.
Early literacy skills predict later academic success. Children who start school with strong language abilities tend to thrive in their education.
The EYFS framework says developing a lifelong love of reading is vital. You do this by creating rich language experiences through daily chats, shared reading and exposure to a wide range of texts.
Literacy in early years isn’t just about reading and writing. It helps children understand their world, express themselves and communicate clearly. These skills grow naturally when you give children chances to explore language through books, rhymes and real conversations.
The framework highlights skills in three areas:
Language Comprehension
Word Reading
Writing
You can support these areas by weaving English language activities into daily routines. Children benefit from regular print exposure, mark-making and adult interaction to develop all three areas at once.
Strong literacy foundations grow from good communication, positive reading experiences, and linking learning to real life. These principles work together to help young learners build skills for reading and writing success.
Children need strong speaking and listening skills before they can read and write confidently. These abilities lay the groundwork for understanding written text later.
Focus on building vocabulary through daily conversations. Ask open-ended questions during play, mealtimes and routines. This lets children share their ideas and pick up new words in context.
Communication and language comprehension grow when you model clear speech and chat with children. Encourage them to describe what they see, explain their thinking and retell events from their day.
Phonological awareness matters too. Singing nursery rhymes, clapping syllables and playing sound games help children hear and play with word sounds. These activities get children ready for phonics and early reading.
Children who enjoy books often become skilled readers. Your enthusiasm for reading really shapes how children feel about literacy.
Make interactive read alouds a daily habit. Pause to talk about pictures, ask what might happen next and explain tricky words as you read. This keeps children interested and builds comprehension in a natural way.
Set up cosy reading spaces with books that reflect different cultures, abilities and family types. Let children see you reading for pleasure during the day. When you share your favourite books or read quietly as children play, you show that reading brings joy beyond schoolwork.
Try not to make reading feel like a chore. Instead of worksheets and drills, offer playful activities like singing, storytelling and nursery rhymes that help children develop reading skills through fun.
Children remember literacy learning best when it connects to their interests and daily experiences. Practising letters in isolation doesn’t have the same impact as reading and writing for real reasons.
Scatter literacy materials around all learning areas. Put clipboards and pencils in the maths centre, notebooks in the science area, and menus or shopping lists in the dramatic play corner. Children then use reading and writing as part of their play.
Model writing for real reasons, like making shopping lists or writing thank you cards. When children watch you jot down reminders or type the daily schedule, they see why literacy matters in daily life.
Creating a literacy-rich preschool environment means adding books, labels, and writing tools to spaces where children already spend time. This helps them practise literacy skills while exploring things they care about.
Print-filled spaces, comfy book corners and useful labels turn early years settings into places where children naturally pick up reading and writing.
Environmental print shows children that words have meaning in everyday life. Label objects around your setting, like doors, windows, toy boxes and water stations, using clear lowercase letters and matching pictures.
Creating literacy-rich environments works best when you weave text into children’s play areas. Add shopping lists and recipe cards to the home corner, create signs for the block area, and put notepads in the outdoor mud kitchen. Children start to spot familiar words like their names, ‘exit’ or ‘milk’ through regular exposure.
Change environmental print now and then to match current topics or interests. If your class is learning about farms, label toy animals and make farm shop signs. This keeps things fresh and linked to what children are exploring.
Cosy reading areas help children pick up books on their own and enjoy reading. Your reading corner should have comfy seating like cushions, bean bags or a small sofa.
Display books with covers facing out so children can see pictures and titles. Swap out books weekly to keep things interesting, and offer a mix of fiction, non-fiction and books that show different families and experiences. You might add a basket of books related to your current topic alongside old favourites.
Make the area appealing with soft lighting, maybe a lamp or fairy lights, and keep it tidy. Some settings include puppets or soft toys linked to popular stories, which helps children retell stories and get more involved with books.
Literacy learning environments use displays and labels to support growing literacy skills. Put labels at children’s eye level so they can see and touch the words.
Displays should show children’s own mark-making and early writing next to printed text. When you display their work with captions, children feel valued and learn that writing communicates meaning. You can make alphabet friezes using familiar objects or photos of the children.
Interactive displays work well in early years settings. You could create a ‘word wall’ for new vocabulary, or show story maps children can touch and move around. Try using LearningMole for phonics videos that match your displayed letters and sounds, helping children link what they see on walls with letter sounds.
Quality resources support children’s literacy through hands-on activities and real interactions. The right materials encourage children to explore letters, sounds and storytelling while building confidence in early reading and writing.
Story sacks make books come alive with props, puppets and sensory objects linked to specific stories. Each bag usually has a book and related items for children to explore during storytelling.
You can put together story sacks with everyday things. For “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”, you might add toy food, a caterpillar puppet and butterfly pictures. These storytelling resources help children understand stories and build language comprehension.
Character puppets are great for retelling favourite tales. Children use them to act out stories in their own words, which builds vocabulary and confidence. Small world figures and felt boards work well too, letting children create and share their own stories during play.
Letter recognition really begins when children get to touch and see the alphabet in different ways. Magnetic letters, alphabet puzzles, and letter cards let them play with letter shapes and sounds.
Organise phonics resources so children can build on what they know. Sound mats, picture cards, and decodable books help children move from single sounds to blending. Sandpaper letters or foam letters give them a chance to learn through touch while practising letter formation.
Environmental print cards with familiar logos or signs show children that letters actually mean something in their world. You might want to try educational resources that include videos showing phonics activities. Word building sets and rhyming games boost phonological awareness, and that really matters for learning to read later on.
Children need lots of different tools to develop their writing skills in their own time. Chunky crayons, chalk, paintbrushes, and pencils of all shapes and sizes help strengthen their hands and improve grip.
Offer plenty of surfaces for mark-making. Whiteboards, chalkboards, clipboards, and big sheets of paper taped to walls encourage children to try out marks. Sand trays and paint feel less formal than pencil and paper, and they make writing more fun.
Keep writing materials everywhere, not just at tables. Put notepads in the home corner, clipboards outside, and recipe cards in the mud kitchen. This shows children that writing has a real place in daily life.
Children build reading and writing foundations best through play that mixes movement, creativity, and a bit of repetition. Active games help them spot letters, practise phonics, and get comfortable with language in a way that feels lively and natural.
Letter hunt games get children moving and reinforce letter recognition at the same time. Hide plastic letters around your classroom or outside, then ask children to find certain ones or collect them in order. Reception children working towards their Early Learning Goals usually love this.
Try freezing letters in ice blocks and let children use warm water, salt, or just their hands to melt the ice and reveal the letters. The sensory side of this keeps them interested for ages.
Inspector Phonics turns letter spotting into a detective game. Hand children magnifying glasses and have them search for letters in books, on labels, or around the room. Focus on initial sounds that match their names or the common phonemes they’re practising.
Water table alphabet soup is a favourite for mixing literacy with fine motor skills. Fill a tray with water and floating letters, then give children ladles or tongs to fish out specific ones. Ask them to spell out simple CVC words or sort vowels from consonants as they get more confident.
Song sticks help language development through rhythm and repetition. Make them by sticking pictures or words onto lolly sticks or tongue depressors. Each stick stands for a nursery rhyme or song that children already know.
Children pick a stick and the group sings that rhyme together. This builds memory, phonological awareness, and turn-taking. The pictures on the sticks help children join in, even if they’re still learning the words.
Rhyming activities help children recognise sound patterns that are key for reading. Extend song sticks by making rhyming soup, letting children match objects or pictures that rhyme, like a toy cat with a picture of a hat.
When children repeat rhymes and songs, they pick up new words naturally. You’ll probably notice them using these words in their own speech and play before long.
Sensory writing gives children a chance to practise letter formation through touch and movement before they even pick up a pencil. Sand trays, shaving foam, and textured surfaces all work well for tracing letters. This suits children at different fine motor stages.
Fill shallow trays with sand, rice, or cornflour, then let children trace letters with their fingers or little sticks. Adding glitter or food colouring makes it more exciting. Some teachers use shaving foam on tables because the resistance helps children really feel the letter shapes.
Lightbox activities add a visual twist to tracing. Put translucent letters on a lightbox or window, and children can trace over them with fingers or dry-wipe markers. The light helps draw attention to the letter shapes.
LearningMole has free phonics videos that show proper letter formation, perfect for using alongside sensory writing. The videos demonstrate the correct starting points and directions for each letter.
Desert sand writing trays let children practise without worrying about mistakes. They can try the same letter again and again, just smoothing the sand to start fresh. This approach builds confidence and takes the pressure off.
Early reading really grows with systematic phonics instruction, regular shared reading with adults, and playful word exploration in everyday situations.
Phonics teaches children how letters and sounds go together. This helps them sound out unfamiliar words.
Introduce phonics step by step, starting with single letter sounds before moving to digraphs and blends. Children need regular chances to hear, spot, and say individual sounds. When you teach phonics, help children break words into separate sounds and then blend those sounds to read the whole word.
Tricky Words Jolly Phonics helps children learn high-frequency words that don’t really follow normal phonics rules. These words need memorising. Give children plenty of chances to use their phonics knowledge during play and daily routines.
Keep phonics sessions short and lively. Use activities like forming letters in sand, jumping on letter sounds, or building words with magnetic letters.
Shared reading means adults and children reading books together. This builds word recognition and understanding at the same time.
Point to words as you read. This shows children that text moves left to right and that words actually mean something. Pause to talk about new words and encourage children to guess what could happen next.
Read favourite books over and over. Children start to recognise familiar words without having to sound them out every time. They quickly memorise words like ‘the’, ‘and’, and ‘said’ just by seeing them often.
Pick books with predictable patterns and repeated phrases. These help children join in, which boosts their confidence and fluency. Make shared reading interactive by asking questions and letting children turn the pages.
Play-based learning gives children real reasons to practise word reading. Environmental print in your setting offers loads of chances to read for a purpose.
Label areas and objects so children see words being used. Set up word hunts where they look for certain letters or words around the room. Create role-play areas like shops or cafes with menus, price tags, and signs for children to read.
Use story sacks with props from favourite books. Children can retell stories using the props, which helps them remember words and story structure. Make sure writing materials are available everywhere so children can make their own labels, lists, and signs.
Take phonics outdoors by letting children write with chalks or form letters with sticks and leaves. This helps them use what they’ve learned in different places and keeps activities interesting.
Mark making activities help children build the muscles they need for writing and give them confidence to try out shapes and lines. These early marks grow into letter formation and writing skills for Key Stage 1.
Children develop fine motor skills by practising with different tools and materials. Drawing with chunky chalks, painting with brushes, or making patterns in sand trays all help strengthen hand and arm muscles.
Start with big movements before expecting neat letters. Children might use paint rollers on big paper, draw with water outside, or make marks in trays of flour. These activities build the control needed for holding pencils properly.
When children are ready, show them the right way to form letters. Model correct letter formation from the start, as it’s tricky to fix habits later. Early literacy approaches say children need to see proper letter formation plenty of times before trying it themselves.
Offer tools that match different grip strengths and motor stages. Short, fat crayons suit younger children, while triangular pencils support older ones learning the correct grip.
Set up areas where children can make marks freely. Place clipboards and paper in the role play area, add notebooks to the construction zone, or keep chalkboards handy outside.
Creating inviting spaces for mark making encourages children to see writing as part of play. Stock writing areas with coloured pens, sticky notes, envelopes, and cards. Children usually write more when there’s a real reason, like making shopping lists, writing tickets, or creating signs.
Talk with children about their marks without correcting them. Ask things like “What does this say?” or “Tell me about your writing.” This helps them realise that marks carry meaning, which is key for literacy.
You can link writing to other areas of learning. Children might label block constructions, write menus in the home corner, or create price tags for a shop.
Sensory mark making lets children try things out without worrying about mistakes. Some ideas:
LearningMole has free videos with creative writing activities that match EYFS requirements. You’ll see demonstrations of phonics-based mark making and letter formation for children aged 4-5.
Let children take ownership of their creative writing by displaying their work. Hang up their pictures, make books from their stories, or photograph outdoor chalk drawings. This shows you value their efforts and builds their confidence.
Try collaborative mark making too. Children can work together on large sheets of paper or outside, and these group activities build communication as well as writing skills.
Children build communication skills by practising conversation, telling stories, and joining in sound-based activities. These activities boost confidence in sharing ideas and strengthen listening and language recall.
You can encourage reluctant speakers by using conversation cubes with ready-made prompts that spark natural discussions.
These cubes usually have 36 different questions about things like favourite foods, family, or daily routines.
Rolling a cube takes the focus off children who find it hard to start talking. They just answer whatever question shows up, so it feels like a game instead of a formal task.
Ways to extend the activity:
Confident speakers can treat cube prompts as starting points, not full questions. This gives them space to use more complex language and supports speaking and listening goals in the EYFS framework.
Story puppets give children something to hold while they retell stories or invent their own. You can use story sacks that match books or just make sock puppets for any tale.
When children act out stories, they remember plot sequences and character details. This helps their memory for story structure and builds vocabulary through hearing new words again and again.
LearningMole has free storytelling videos that show narrative techniques. You can watch these together before children create their own tales.
These videos help introduce story elements like beginning, middle and end.
Role play benefits include:
Teachers often notice that shy children speak up more when using a puppet instead of speaking as themselves.
Sound-based games build listening skills and help children remember words through repetition and patterns. Alliteration activities stand out because memorable sound patterns stick in young minds.
Try “I Spy” games where children look for objects that rhyme with a word, not just ones starting with a letter. This makes them hold sounds in their memory and look for matches around them.
Effective alliteration activities:
| Activity | How It Works |
|---|---|
| Tongue twisters | Say phrases like “Peter Piper picked” to practise sounds |
| Name games | Make alliterative phrases with children’s names: “Bouncing Ben” |
| Story chains | Each child adds an alliterative word to build a sentence |
| Sound sorting | Sort objects by their starting sounds |
You can make these games harder by adding more words or tricky sound patterns. Reception children usually manage two to three words, while those nearly in Year 1 can handle longer chains.
Children build stronger literacy skills when they learn both at home and in nursery. Parents and practitioners working together give children more chances to read, write, and use language throughout the day.
You can turn daily moments into literacy activities at home without needing fancy materials or training.
Self-registration works at home too. Let your child tick off their name on a chart or calendar each day.
Reading together at bedtime is just the beginning. You can ask your child to help with shopping lists, read recipes while cooking, or spot letters on road signs during walks.
These activities help children see reading and writing as useful in real life.
Simple daily activities include:
LearningMole has free phonics videos you can watch together. These make learning letter sounds fun for children aged four to seven.
Nursery practitioners can boost home learning by sharing what happens in the setting. Send story sacks home with familiar books, props and ideas so families can retell stories together.
Regular updates help parents know how to support their child’s literacy. Share photos of early years literacy activities at nursery with simple notes explaining the skills being developed.
Effective family involvement strategies:
| Activity | How It Helps |
|---|---|
| Lending library books | Children revisit favourite stories |
| Weekly rhyme sheets | Families learn songs together |
| Mark-making photos | Parents see progress |
| Vocabulary lists | New words used at home |
Talk with your child all the time about what you see, do, and think. These chats build language skills needed for reading and writing later on.
Ask open questions like “what do you think will happen next?” instead of ones that need just a yes or no.
Keep writing tools handy around your home. Pens, pencils, chalk, and paper in different rooms encourage spontaneous literacy activities.
Your child might draw a menu in the play kitchen or make a sign for their bedroom door.
Make trips to your local library a regular treat. Let your child pick out books they like, whether that’s dinosaurs, princesses, or tractors.
The excitement of choosing books helps build a lifelong love of reading.
Literacy connects with expressive arts, understanding the world, and maths through stories, creative play, and daily activities.
These links show children that reading and writing are tools for all their learning.
Children build literacy skills through painting, drawing, music, and role play. When a child makes a picture and talks about it, they’re practising storytelling and sequencing ideas before they write.
Mark-making in sand, paint, or clay helps build the hand strength for writing. Children who draw detailed pictures often have strong comprehension skills because they learn to show ideas visually first.
Music and rhymes help with phonological awareness. Singing songs with actions lets children break words into syllables and hear sounds clearly.
Drama activities let children act out stories they’ve heard, deepening their understanding of characters and plots.
Creative activities that build literacy:
Reading non-fiction books about nature, animals, or cultures gives children new words for what they see. If you read about minibeasts before a garden hunt, children can name and describe what they find.
Environmental print walks help children spot writing in their community. They notice shop signs, road markings, and labels, seeing how literacy fits into real life.
Cooking links literacy with science and food. Children read recipe cards, follow instructions, and learn words like ‘melt’, ‘mix’, and ‘pour’.
Measuring ingredients connects written numbers with hands-on tasks.
Seasonal changes offer lots of new words. Autumn walks lead to writing about crunchy leaves and changing colours.
Children come across numbers and shapes in books every day. Counting books teach one-to-one correspondence, and shape books introduce names and properties through stories.
Writing numbers needs the same fine motor control as writing letters. Pattern work in maths helps children spot patterns in words and sentences.
Literacy and maths connections:
Sorting activities use words like ‘more’, ‘fewer’, ‘same’, and ‘different’. When children explain their sorting, they practise comparative language used in both subjects.
Problem-solving stories help children grasp maths ideas through narratives. Stories about sharing or grouping objects make tricky ideas easier by using characters.
Parents and teachers often ask similar things about helping young children with literacy. Here are some practical ideas, resources, and ways to fit literacy into daily life at home and in early years settings.
Story sacks work brilliantly for 3-4 year olds. They combine reading with hands-on play.
You fill a bag with a book and matching objects like puppets or toys. Children retell the story using these items, which helps them understand story structure and learn new words.
Environmental print walks around your setting or neighbourhood help children spot familiar letters and words. Point out shop signs, food packaging, and street names as you walk.
This shows children that writing matters in everyday life.
Rhyme time activities support phonological awareness, a key skill before reading. Play games where you say words and children clap when they hear rhymes.
Sing nursery rhymes together and let children fill in the rhyming words.
Collaborative storytelling lets children create stories as a group. You start a tale, and children take turns adding the next part.
Write down their ideas or draw pictures together to show that spoken words can become written text.
Letter hunt games make learning letters active. Hide plastic or foam letters and ask children to find specific ones.
You can also hide letters in sand trays or rice bins for sensory play while learning.
Sound matching games help children link letters to their sounds. Make pairs of cards with pictures and letters, then children match images to starting sounds.
Keep it simple with clear phonics sounds, not tricky letter combos.
Twinkl offers printable EYFS literacy resources like phonics games and reading activities.
Many settings use story props and puppet theatres to bring books to life.
LearningMole has free phonics videos that work well on interactive whiteboards for group sessions.
Writing trays with different materials encourage mark-making in fun ways. Fill shallow trays with sand, salt, shaving foam, or cornflour.
Children use their fingers or sticks to practise letter shapes without pencil pressure.
Language comprehension is the foundation for all literacy. Chat with children about what you see, do, and read together.
The revised EYFS literacy framework says comprehension grows through rich conversations with adults.
Phonological awareness needs to develop before formal phonics. Focus on rhyme, rhythm, and breaking words into syllables through songs and games.
Children need to hear that words are made of separate sounds.
Word reading comes later once children have strong language skills. Bring in systematic phonics when children recognise some letters and sounds.
Display environmental print so children see familiar words often.
Early writing is about mark-making and giving marks meaning, not perfect letters. Offer chunky crayons, paintbrushes, chalks, and felt tips.
Value all attempts at writing, from scribbles to letter-like shapes to recognisable letters.
Nappy changing is a great time for songs and rhymes. Sing the same songs each time so your child learns familiar words.
Point to and name body parts while dressing to build vocabulary.
Mealtime chats help language even with young children. Talk about what you are doing as you prepare food and eat together.
Name foods, colours, and actions like stirring or pouring.
Bath time can be a literacy activity with foam letters in the water. Talk about the letters floating by, but don’t expect children to learn them yet.
The exposure helps them get used to letter shapes.
Bedtime stories work from birth onwards. Choose board books with simple pictures for 1-2 year olds.
Point to images and name them, letting your child turn the pages.
Sing throughout the day during transitions like tidying up or getting ready to go out. Repetitive songs with actions help children learn language patterns and remember words.
Teachers and parents often ask where to find quality free materials for early years literacy. Quite a few websites now offer resources at no cost to help with language development.
LearningMole gives you free curriculum-aligned phonics and early reading videos. These suit Reception children well.
They use animated content to grab young children’s attention. The videos teach letter sounds and blending in a simple way.
The government’s Help for Early Years Providers website shares planning guidance and activity ideas that fit the statutory framework. You can download materials to review your literacy curriculum.
Twinkl has some free printable resources if you set up an account. Most things need a subscription, but you can still find alphabet flashcards, story sequencing cards and phonics games without paying.
Many local libraries run free Bookstart programmes. They give board books to families with young children.
Check your library’s website for rhyme time sessions and story groups. These sessions are usually free and can be a good way to support early literacy.
Board books with simple, repetitive text work really well for 2-3 year olds. Choose books with sturdy pages so kids can turn them on their own.
Pick books that show familiar objects from daily life. Books with flaps to lift or textures to touch add a bit of fun and keep toddlers interested.
Chunky crayons and large sheets of paper make early mark-making easier and less frustrating. Thin pencils just don’t suit small hands at this age.
Washable markers can be a good choice too. Kids love the bright colours and you won’t worry too much about mess.
Magnetic letters on the fridge give children a chance to play with letter shapes while you’re in the kitchen. They don’t need to know the letter names yet, but just handling the shapes helps them get used to letters.
Stay relaxed and follow your child’s interests. If they’re not into it, that’s perfectly fine.
Picture cards with everyday objects can help build vocabulary quickly. Point to the images and say the names clearly.
Let your child have a go at pointing to the objects you name. You can even make your own cards with photos if you want.
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