At Britannica, we are excited to share our approach to fostering a love for books and storytelling through a powerful technique known as dialogic reading. This interactive strategy, developed from the research of Grover J. Whitehurst, PhD, is designed for young children, particularly those aged 0–8 years. By encouraging adults to engage children in meaningful discussions during reading time, we transform story sessions into enriching dialogues.

At its heart, dialogic reading promotes deeper understanding and nurtures a genuine love for literature. It marks the beginning of a child’s journey into storytelling and encourages creative expression.

In our Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) department, we use dialogic reading to actively involve children with stories, assess developing language skills, introduce new vocabulary, and build confidence. This approach not only fosters enjoyment of books but also highlights the essential components of a narrative, helping children to engage thoughtfully with the texts they explore.

Dialogic reading includes several prompting activities that enhance interaction:

  • Sentence or Line Completion: Adults pause during reading to encourage children to complete a sentence or line, promoting active participation (e.g. “The fox put on his ______.”).
  • Recall Prompts: Questions that ask children to remember details from the story, strengthening memory and comprehension.
  • Open-Ended Prompts: Invitations such as “Tell me more about that” encourage children to share ideas and develop critical thinking skills.
  • Wh-Questions: Who, what, where, when and why questions help children analyse texts at a fundamental level.
  • Distancing Prompts: Questions that encourage children to relate the story to their own experiences, deepening understanding and personal connection.

Dialogic reading is an interactive and child-centred approach that incorporates both narrative and non-fiction texts. It can be adapted to suit children at different developmental stages and language abilities, making it beneficial for all learners. For younger EYFS children or those learning English as an additional language, simple wh- questions help focus on vocabulary and understanding. For more confident learners, open-ended prompts encourage deeper discussion and idea sharing. We truly value children’s thoughts and opinions, and this method ensures their voices are heard.

Incorporating dialogic reading into our early literacy practice is about far more than reading words on a page. It creates a dynamic, shared experience that promotes curiosity, enhances vocabulary, develops critical thinking and builds confidence. By engaging children in meaningful discussion, we lay strong foundations for lifelong learning and creativity.

This week, our learning continued to reflect the principles of dialogic reading across the Early Years.

In Pre-Nursery, children explored imaginative and role play using penguin soft toys. We shared the story Penguin by Polly Dunbar, which supported discussions about emotions as the children pretended to be the penguin, Ben, or the lion. In Maths, the focus was on counting fish up to five for the penguins to eat, reinforcing early number skills. Our song of the week, Five Little Penguins, added a fun musical element to learning, while a sensory activity using oobleck encouraged investigation as children explored whether it was a solid or a liquid. It was a week filled with creativity and curiosity.

Nursery children enjoyed a particularly memorable week, with a surprise snowfall midweek providing rich sensory experiences outdoors. The children delighted in feeling the cold snowflakes on their hands and watching them fall, eagerly wondering how long the snow would last and whether there might be enough to build a snowman. Our focus story, Dot in the Snow, prompted thoughtful discussions about friendship and kindness. The children were fascinated by the tale and enjoyed imagining their own snowy adventures, reflecting on how they could show kindness to others.

Reception also experienced an exciting week of new learning. The children began the week enjoying the snowfall, dancing, running and observing the snow as it landed on their clothes — with some even attempting to catch flakes on their tongues. We shared The Dot in the Snow, which sparked interest in Inuit culture and igloos. Using sugar cubes, the children designed and constructed their own igloos, developing both creativity and fine motor skills. In literacy, we continued to build our understanding of writing by exploring captions. The children drew pictures inspired by the story and selected words to create matching captions, learning about capital letters, finger spaces and full stops. In Maths, we focused on positional language, describing where different objects were located using appropriate vocabulary.

Nellie Frimml
Pre-Nursery Teacher