Have you got a child who adores superheroes, but is a reluctant reader? Here's a way to combine superheroes with reading and writing: do-it-yourself comic books!

What you need:

• A few pieces of A4 paper
• A black marker
• Ruler
• Colourful felt tip pens
• Sticky tape or stapler

What to do:

• Using the ruler and black marker, draw a vertical line and a horizontal line (forming a cross) on each piece of A4 paper for your child to use to create their comic book.
• Help your child to think up a simple story starring their favourite superhero. TIP: a basic story has 4 scenes, an introduction (the hero is doing something), a problem or complication (something happens to the hero), a response to the problem (the hero reacts) and the resolution (how the problem is resolved).
• Encourage your child to draw pictures of each scene of their superhero story in the segments on the paper.
• Encourage them to draw word bubbles and put the dialogue in.
• Encourage your child to incorporate their superhero’s actions, with words written in stars and bubbles, such as: ‘Bang!’ and ‘Whack!’.
• Once your child has finished writing their comic book, encourage them to colour in their pictures.
• Your child’s comic book is ready to be bound! You can do this either with sticky tape, or a stapler.
• Sit with your child and read through their comic book and encourage them to read it to others when the opportunity arises.
• Remember to praise them for the effort and let them know you are proud of their reading!