1. Reading With Children Some guiding principles by Mr. Martin Kennard

2. Location • Find a safe and comfortable place, not on the MTR on the way home from a restaurant! • For younger children, the bedroom may be the best location.

3. Preparation • Read what your child is interested in, repetitive language is recommended. This can get children more involved in the story. • The difficulty should be slightly above their current reading level with about 5% of the vocabulary being new words. • Take some time to prepare by reading the book yourself.

4. Make it fun • Show yourself enjoying the book • Use different voices. Highlight punctuation. • Use puppets, if you have them. • Personalize the reading.

5. Interacting with the text • Focus on the positives. Don’t dwell on errors. • Be prepared to answer questions. (This takes priority over ‘getting the book done’). • Try to think of some open ended questions of your own. • If your child wants one part of the story to be repeated, that’s okay.

6. Develop a routine • To instill a love of reading, make it an enjoyable routine. • Keep sessions short and sharp. About 20 minutes each day is recommended. • Keep it separate from homework.

7. Go beyond the story book • Reading can take place in many different forms and contexts • talk about signs • put messages in lunch boxes • write notes • play word games

8. Be a good role model • Let your children see you reading all different kinds of texts. • Be a reading family. Keep, borrow and buy books.

9. References • The Read Aloud Handbook, Jim Trelease • Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud To Our Children Will Change Their Lives Forever, Mem Fox • http://www.youngreadersfestival.org.hk