A pig is a GRIS and a horse is a HEST — six Norwegian animals to circle

Six familiar creatures — a pig, a horse, a sheep, a fish, an antelope and a tiger — are named in Norwegian somewhere in this grid. A child reads across and down until the letters line up into one of the words from the picture list, then circles it. There is no spelling out and no writing at all; the whole exercise is recognition, which is the skill a new reader needs before any other.

SAU, the word for sheep, is three letters and generally goes first. GRIS, HEST and FISK are four apiece, and FISK sits so close to fish that most children guess it before they have found it. TIGER is written exactly as in English but said with a long ee at the front. ANTILOPE is the long one, and probably the only word here a child will meet on a page before meeting the animal.

Animals are where nearly everyone starts in a new language, so this sheet works very early on. Print it, sit beside your child for the first two words, then leave them to it. Once all six are ringed, go back through the pictures and ask for the Norwegian name of each: the ones that come back instantly are learned, and the rest simply want another sheet next week.