Songs, rhymes and stories: building talk in the early years

Singing, rhyming and sharing stories are not a break from learning. For children aged 3 to 6 they are well-evidenced ways to grow vocabulary, listening and the sound awareness that phonics needs. Here is a daily routine, games that work, and a free planner for your class's core rhymes.

Why songs, rhymes and stories work

• They are in the curriculum for a reason. In England, the EYFS statutory framework names communication and language as a prime area and says that reading frequently to children, and engaging them in stories, non-fiction, rhymes and poems, gives them the chance to thrive.
• Talk-rich approaches have strong results. The EEF's Early Years Toolkit estimates that communication and language approaches add about seven months' progress over a year on average. It reports consistent evidence that reading to children and encouraging them to answer questions and talk about the story is effective.
• Rhyme draws attention to sounds. The DfE's reading framework explains that rhymes share an end sound, which helps children notice the different sounds at the start of words, like dock and clock. It calls a daily poetry, rhyme and singing session a priority.
• Repetition makes words stick. The same framework notes that the predictable pattern of rhymes and songs helps children remember and reuse new words, and that call and response lets children join in gradually.

The 10-minute daily routine

Build up a core set across the year rather than a new song every day. The reading framework suggests each year group chooses a core set of poems and rhymes that can stand a lot of repetition. Our rhyme planner below helps you pick yours.

How to teach a new song in five steps

1. Listen and move. Sing it (or play it) once while children copy your actions. No words needed from them yet.
2. Call and response. Sing a line, children sing it back. Short lines first.
3. Leave gaps. Stop before a word they know, especially the rhyming word, and let them shout it.
4. Play with it. Sing it fast, slow, loud, whispered, or as a robot. Swap in a child's name or a new animal.
5. Own it. Children sing it to another class, a puppet or their family. Come back to it every week.

Six rhyme and sound games

1. Finish the line. Pause before the rhyme in a known song. Children supply it.
2. Silly swaps. Change a word but keep the rhyme: "Twinkle, twinkle, little car". Children spot the change, then invent their own.
3. Odd one out. Say three words, two rhyme: cat, hat, sun. Which one does not belong?
4. Clap the beats. Clap the syllables in children's names, then in animal names: el-e-phant, dog.
5. Sound I spy. "I spy something that starts with mmm." Use real objects on a tray so new English learners can point.
6. Robot talk. Say a word in separate sounds, "s-u-n", and children blend it back into "sun". This is oral blending, the step before reading.

Story time that builds talk

The same book read three or four times does more than four different books read once. Children hear the words again, join in with repeated lines and start to predict.

Echo and add

When a child says something, say it back with a little more. Child: "Bear big." Adult: "Yes, the bear is very big, and brown!" The EYFS framework describes exactly this: commenting on what children are doing and echoing back what they say with new vocabulary added.

Make stories physical

• Story sacks. A bag with the book and a few objects from it. Children pull out an object and say what happens.
• Story maps. Draw the story as a path with pictures. Children "walk" it with a finger as they retell.
• Role-play. Turn the home corner into the story's setting for a week.

For children new to English

• Choose actions and repetition. Songs with a gesture for every key word let children take part before they can say anything.
• Expect a quiet phase. DfE guidance notes that children learning English typically go through a quiet phase and may mix languages in one sentence. Joining in with actions is joining in.
• Use home languages. Invite families to share a song or rhyme from home. The same guidance encourages families to keep using their home language and settings to celebrate multilingualism.
• Show, then say. Before a story, show three objects from it and name them. Old-fashioned words in nursery rhymes (a tuffet, a pail) just need a picture or a quick act.
• Phonics later, songs always. In EFL classes abroad, songs and stories are often children's main English input. Keep them going after phonics starts. Our phonics for EFL learners guide explains when to bring letters in.

Rhyme planner: choose your class's core set

Tick the rhymes and songs you will teach this year. Aim for a few each term and revisit them often. Where the British Council has a free animated version, there is a link. Your choices are saved in this browser; print to get a list of only the ones you ticked.

Frequently asked questions

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