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TIPS FOR AN EXCITING READING EXPERIENCE
THE READING HOUR...
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The reading lesson should not last longer than 45 to 60 minutes, whereby the pure reading time should not exceed:
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approx. 10 minutes for preschool children and
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approx. 15 minutes for primary school children and
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approx. approx. 20 minutes for secondary school children
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In addition to the central element - reading aloud - a good reading lesson also includes conversations with the children and actions around the book.
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Find yourself a quiet, pleasant place where you can spend time with the children in a cosy and comfortable atmosphere to sit in.
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A semicircle can be used as a seating arrangement, so that the listeners can sit opposite you and when showing pictures in the book all can see equally well.
THE READING GROUP...
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The reading group should preferably not consist of any more than fifteen children and the age differences within the group should not be too large. The smaller the group, the more easier it is for the children to concentrate on listening and for you to respond to the needs of individual children.
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If children whose mother tongue is not the language of the story take part in the reading lesson, it makes sense to select a book with many pictures and little text. Ask the children every now and then whether they have understood everything, and explain any difficult words.
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Talk in advance to contacts who know your target group well, for example educators or teachers. In this way you can respond to the individuality of the group.
THE READING HISTORY...
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The important thing is: to enjoy reading aloud! Choose a book that is fun for you and the children.
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You should know the book you are reading very well. Only then will you feel safe and can concentrate fully on the reading situation.
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Select books that are appropriate for the age of the group. Orient yourself on the age of the main characters in the story: their behaviour often indicates an age span. Recommendations for reading with age information can be found, for example, on our website.
WHAT'S THE BEST WAY TO READ?
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Many reading aloud books - especially for older children - are too long for a 10 to 20-minute reading. So you should select suitable passages from the text in advance; often the beginning of a story offers itself. Mark long, descriptive passages - you can simply skip them or tell it yourself in a few sentences. Text passages, on the other hand, are particularly vivid with a literal speech. Practice the selected excerpt at home and mark them for your reference.
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Do not read the text in one piece. Children would like to have questions and thoughts within the process. Be patient, consider interjections or statements as suggestions. If you ask the children questions yourself from time to time, the attention of the little listeners is guaranteed.
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Pay attention to the children's reactions when reading aloud. If it seems appropriate to you, you may shorten, embellish or vary various sections of the text.
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Stories that primarily consist of more text and fewer images should be shortened, embellished and varied for your listeners. Bring items that are part of the story or fit with it and show them in the appropriate places.
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Books with a lot of pictures are good for telling the story in your own words and children can be included in the reading lesson with intermediate questions (e.g. "What do you see here?").
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If there is any unrest among the children while reading aloud, don't be put off. Respond to the disturbance with little tricks: Keep eye contact with restless children, possibly address them specifically ("What do you mean?"). Restless children usually become a little calmer if they sit in the direct vicinity of the reader.
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Take time for conversations after reading aloud. Talk to the children about what you have read and answer their questions.
HOW DO I READ A NON-FICTION BOOK?
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It is best to pick out a certain topic from the book, e.g. a certain animal.
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At the beginning, ask the children what they already know about this animal ("Do you know how big the animal is?", or "can they become an elephant?") or let the audience guess what might be hidden under a particularly curious name or phenomenon ("What do you think a water vacuum cleaner is?").
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Answer the question by reading the relevant passage in the non-fiction book. To this you can show matching pictures from the book ("Take a look, this is what a post horn snail looks like").
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Longer text passages should always be accompanied by interposed questions or your own additions can loosen up the dialogue. Thus, the reading remains interactive and non-fiction books become an exciting reading aloud experience.
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