Showing titles in Reading & Writing

Adapted from Mother Tongue this book by Bill Bryson tells the story of English, from the first words ever spoken to the very first dictionaries. In this epic journey through words, rhymes - and even a few jokes - Bill Bryson will teach you how the English language came to be (clue: lots of invasions) and what makes it a rich and beautiful thing (lots of Shakespeare).

Like many people, you’ve probably used idioms or phrases like these without giving them a second thought. But if you were to take a moment to step back and learn about them, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to discover the mesmerizing and sometimes outright bizarre origins to these fun sayings! In Why Do We Say That?, we have curated 202 of the most regularly used idioms, proverbs, turns of phrases, and colloquial terms that have the most fascinating backstories. For each phrase, we explain how it was coined, how its use evolved, and how it gained its contemporary use.

How we learn to read is not a secret formula, it’s a science. More than five decades of research conducted across the world informs the Science of Reading. This one-stop guide examines the crucial aspects of literacy development. Uncover the workings of the brain in processing language stimuli...

Do you want to help your child improve their spelling skills and win the Spelling Bee? Above all, you feel a deep responsibility to provide the language skills your child deserves. The English language can be tricky to understand. There are so many rules and exceptions to rules that are not common sense to those learning the language. This includes our children who are learning how to spell. We want our children to feel confident in their spelling abilities and understand their own language, and that is why we created this audiobook.

Kids will have a blast saying and singing tongue twisters and learning about letters and sounds. From “Blends Are Consonant Friends,” to the silly “It’s All About Sally” song, children will learn important phonics rules that will help them with spelling and reading. Music is a wonderful way to make learning basic skills easy and fun! So jump on board and learn about consonant blends, digraphs, and vowel sounds with this exciting audiobook.

This self-teaching instruction audiobook (in American English) helps with: spelling vowels (long, short, and vowel groups); spelling consonants (including blends); words with multiple syllables; distinguishing between homophones; examples of tricky proper nouns; and much more. This book avoids technical jargon (like diphthongs and phonemes) so that people of all ages and backgrounds can understand the ideas. This makes it handy for English as a second language (ESL) students, or anyone who isn’t fluent with the technical vocabulary conventionally used to teach spelling and phonics.

The activities in this audiobook help children build their vocabulary, and better understand simple words - mostly featuring short vowel sounds. The exercises within this audiobook contain letter matching, learning alphabet sounds, practicing handwriting, pronouncing short sentences and paragraphs, identifying missing letters, short vowel digraphs, consonant digraphs, and word scrambles! These phonics audiobooks are extremely helpful to children who are learning English as a second language, and many of these activities are specifically ESL exercises.

Poetry is more than rhyming words on a page. A poem is crafted by carefully selecting each word and rhythm. But how does a poet get started? Finding inspiration is as easy as looking at a picture.

Do you wish to help your child improve their grammar, vocabulary, as well as spelling skills, to help them in an upcoming spelling bee or simply help them improve their performance in language? If you’ve answered YES, You’ve Just Discovered The Perfect Spelling Bee Guide, With over 400+ Words (level 2) to Help Your Kid Master Comprehension, Writing, Spelling And Usage Of Each Word! Learning spelling can greatly give your school-going child an edge, not just in a spelling bee but in other aspects of their school life.

Brought to you by Penguin. Susie Dent, bestselling author, broadcaster and word expert, is on a mission to find light in the deepest, darkest corners of our language. It takes just a short browse through the dictionary to spot how it is filled with negative words. But Susie has searched far and...

Have you ever found yourself "in over your head" wondering why we "call shotgun" for the front passenger seat? Or pondered what "letting the cat out of the bag" truly signifies when it comes to revealing secrets? If these questions pique your curiosity, and you desire some "food for thought," then brace yourself for an enthralling expedition through the captivating world of language with Why Do We Say That? But that's not all, because in the forthcoming sequel, get prepared to confront the "elephant in the room" and learn how to "walk on eggshells" with finesse.

Brought to you by Penguin. Susie Dent, bestselling author, broadcaster and word expert, is on a mission to find 100 words and phrases that bring people together. There are times when the world feels more divided than ever. But it is important to remember the things that unite rather than divide...

Come along with me and learn all about reading! Brian P. Cleary's wacky sentences make phonics fun!

This book will increase your child's word power, and you may learn something, too. A love of language is such an important skill, and this book explains the important of picking the right words and broadening your vocabulary with lots of examples. Learn the origins of the words gobbledygook and bop. Learn about compound words, metaphors, riddles, and even creating your own words. You'll also pick up some obscure words along the way from absquatulate to tintinnabulation and learn how lots of different words can describe similar activities.

Spelling One is the first in the Spelling for Kids interactive spelling workbooks series, which features spelling words that will quickly improve vocabulary, reading comprehension, and spelling skills. It makes a great addition to any home-school curriculum! Our fun and enabling spelling system can be used by your whole family at home, and it can also be used by schoolteachers for all children. They can start their practice one year earlier and at their own pace.

This thoughtfully crafted anthology is perfect for children new to verse and for young poetry fans seeking out new favourites. Explore poetry from a diverse selection of contemporary and historical poets, covering a broad range of topics - from personal subjects like emotions and family, to the wonders of the natural environment. Carefully selected works encourage children to see the poetry in everything and to embrace the beauty of their everyday lives.

Want to boost your child’s learning even when they’re not in school? Want to help them build foundational skills? They are in the first or second grade, and this is a prime period for children to absorb new knowledge. And one of the best ways that kids can learn at this age is through listening. The more they’re exposed to talk and interaction, the more their vocabulary expands, and the better they’ll be able to communicate. If you want to encourage this habit while developing other important skills, this learning activity can help you do just that.

Are you ready to accelerate your kids’ learning? With Spell, Pronounce & Speak! we aim to be the building blocks of early successful learning and prepare kids for a elementary-grade curriculum while helping children develop spoken language through listening and enhanced spelling and comprehension practices.

If you know a child who has a speech coming up or is simply interested in improving their ability to speak in public, this is a useful resource filled with tips and tricks as well as numerous excerpts from presidential speeches for inspiration. This audiobook explains the key elements of speech-making to a younger audience from picking the right topic, to how to structure a speech, to offering a great delivery. The audiobook contains numerous tips and tricks to write a good speech and then perform it well.

Do you wish to help your child improve their grammar, vocabulary, as well as spelling skills, to help them in an upcoming spelling bee or simply help them improve their performance in language? you’ve just discovered the perfect spelling bee guide, with over 400+ words to help your kid master comprehension, writing, spelling, and usage of each word! Learning spelling can greatly give your school going child an edge, not just in a spelling bee but in other aspects of their school life.