Set out on an island adventure where you’ll meet wild children, uncover scientific secrets, and join a battle to protect the future of the planet!
Book of the Month: The Island That Didn’t Exist
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Blog posts for: Age 11
Using music for social and emotional development: Family activities from Amani Project
We’re working with Amani Project to help you make music and make change this summer! Get involved and complete the weekly activities to earn badges and find out more about Amani Project’s important work combining the power of music for children’s social and emotional development all around the world.
500 Words: Black Lives Matter – how are British children responding to the emerging themes and issues in their writing?
Almost 6,000 children entered the writing competition in July 2020 and Oxford University Press’ analysis shines a light on children’s insight, empathy, and imagination when writing about race. Find out more.
Establishing a reading habit for the summer holidays and beyond
There are so many reasons to read with your children, this summer holiday and beyond. Read Mary Hamley’s tips on how to encourage a daily reading habit.
Summer reading for kids: recommended books
From island adventures to stories about twin detectives, here’s our list of favourite children’s books to read this summer.
Oxford Levels: How to support your 7–11-year-old’s reading development
Find out how Oxford Levels and levelled readers can support and develop your child’s reading skills even after they’ve learned how to read.
Moving on up (to secondary school)!
This year, the uncertainty around schools reopening could make moving up to big school even more daunting than usual. Here are our top tips on how to prepare.
Inspire the author in your child with the new 500 Words: Black Lives Matter Competition!
Oxford University Press is proud to be partnering with the 500Words: Black Lives Matter story-writing competition. Our language experts collect and analyze every story received to better understand children’s language and inform learning, so get your pens at the ready!
How reading programmes can help junior readers
Once your child has mastered decoding, it can be liberating to choose whatever books they like – but there are still benefits to structured reading schemes.
Developing reading skills as your child gets older
Once your child has mastered phonics and word-reading, where do they go next? Here are our ideas to keep your 7–11-year-old’s reading skills developing.
Learning at home: Reading to learn
Education expert James Clements talks about how children who are already confident readers can get the most out of their reading.
Learning at home: The tricky business of screen time
Keeping your child’s screen time manageable can be tricky, especially at the moment. Education expert James Clements gives us his top tips.
Writing a thank you letter
Practise handwriting by writing a thank you letter to someone who has helped you during lockdown – like a teacher, a family member, or a healthcare worker.
Five ways to improve maths home-learning
Maths expert Andrew Jeffrey shares five easy-to-implement strategies that can make a positive difference to our children’s maths learning at home.
Not your typical books for boys
An alternative list of recommended books for boys. Perfect for boys who are looking to read about something other than football or jokes about bottoms!
Teaching maths at home
Mathemagician Andrew Jeffrey suggests ways you can support your child’s maths development at home without needing to be an expert.
Money, money, money
Money isn’t everything, but being ‘good with money’ is undoubtedly a useful life skill. Read Fiona Lazenby’s top tips for practising using money with your child.
Maths is everywhere!
Maths expert Louise Pennington shares her advice for developing your child’s maths skills during school closures by exploring maths in the real world.
Learning at home: What can we learn from teachers?
Education expert James Clements talks about the lessons we can learn from teachers about helping your child to learn at home.
Learning at home: Learning to read
Education expert James Clements runs through everything you need to keep your child’s reading skills developing during the school lockdown.
Learning at home: Buying yourself some time
Education expert James Clements shares his ideas for keeping the children busy – in a constructive way – when you need to be getting on with something.
Learning at home: How to prioritise sharing a book
Education expert and writer James Clements talks about the importance of reading to your child to boost their educational success in all sorts of ways.
Learning at home: What would they be learning at school?
Education expert and writer James Clements explains what your child would be learning at school, and how we can use (or not use) the curriculum at home.
Learning at home: Things to get ready for next week
Education expert and writer James Clements suggests 6 practical things you get get ready over the weekend for next week’s learning at home.
Learning at home: Organising the day
Education expert and writer James Clements offers up 4 different approaches to structuring your child’s day learning at home.
Learning at home: Making a start
Educational expert and writer James Clements gives his 3 top tips of how to get started with teaching your child at home.
Inspire the author in your child with the BBC 500 Words Competition 2020!
Oxford Dictionaries for Children has teamed up with BBC Radio 2’s 500 Words – the nationwide competition to find the most talented young writers in the UK!
How to help your child with mental arithmetic
Building confidence in maths early on will pay back many times over. Get tips for developing your child’s mental arithmetic skills.
11+ and entrance exams explained
11+ tutor and writer Michellejoy Hughes explains what the exam involves, how marking works, and what you can do to help your child prepare.
What do the KS2 SATs scores mean?
Education expert James Clements explains what the KS2 SATs are, how scaled scores work, and what you can expect to hear from your child’s school.
How to edit your 500 Words story
Finished a first draft of your short story and not sure what to do next? Read Christopher Edge’s top tips for polishing your story to perfection.
Story sparks: find inspiration for your short story
When you look down at a blank piece of paper, inspiration can seem a long way away. Here are Christopher Edge’s top tips for coming up with story ideas.
Stories from the road less travelled – children’s books that celebrate diversity
Every child deserves to see lives like their own represented in powerful stories. Cerrie Burnell shares her favourite children’s books that celebrate diversity.
How to choose a book for ages 7–11
Literacy adviser and ex-librarian Beverley Humphrey offers her expert advice on how you can help choose the right book for your 7–11 year old.
Spooky reads for 9+ year olds
Embrace Halloween with our recommended spooky reads for 9–11 year olds, including Flood and Fang, The Dark is Rising and Uncle Montague’s Tales of Terror.
2018 Oxford Children’s Word of the Year: Plastic
Plastic has been revealed as the Children’s Word of the Year by Oxford University Press for the BBC 500 Words Competition. British children have once again shown themselves to be fabulously inventive, funny and socially astute.
Countdown to the KS2 SATs: week one
Advice from James Clements about how you can help your child to do their very best in the KS2 national tests, and how the assessments can be approached so that they’re a positive experience for everyone involved.
How to write your best story ever!
Christopher Edge, author of ‘How to Write your Best Story Ever!’, shares his top 10 tips to help your child write amazing stories.
4 fun ways to develop characters for a short story
Every story needs a star! These four fun activities will help any aspiring author dream up some page-turning protagonists.
Children’s dictionaries – how to find the right dictionary for your child
Find the right dictionary for your child with these four useful tips.
Copyright Oxford University Press 2020
