The advent of the modern smart-phone and tablets has generated a new debate around the world: Are print books better, or are technologies better for children to cultivate reading as a habit?

Dr Loh answers this burning question that is ever present in the minds of parents and early childhood educators, by highlighting the value that print books offer, especially for children under the age of six.

But with greater access to these technologies, it is increasingly difficult to avoid using such technologies completely.  Dr Loh will guide you to optimise your smartphones and tablets for shared reading so that your child can find more reading possibilities than ever before.

With many distractions all around us, it’s crucial to create a space filled with books within the home or school to encourage children to turn to reading as a place of rest. So how can we accentuate our environments to become a reading oasis that our children would actively seek out?

In this chapter, Dr Loh breaks down the elements of creating the ideal reading environment. From the space, to the lighting, to even the types of chairs to use, Dr Loh dissects the minute details of a reading corner that you might not think about.

Whether such a space is peppered with books from the bookstore, hand-me-downs or borrowed books from the library, your home can be transformed into the perfect reading space to reinforce the value of reading for your child.

There is a myriad of books available in both bookstores, and in libraries. How then should you discern which books are best suited for your child to have the most meaningful reading experience?

In this chapter, Dr Loh presents seven categories of books that aid in the reading development of your child. Each category is unique in providing a specific function related to interactiveness, repetition, rhyme and story understanding. Together, such books will enable you to make more deliberate choices in discerning the right books that can aid in your child’s reading journey.

Beyond the books themselves, Dr Loh also highlights three types of questions you can ask when you are embarking on shared reading experiences with your children, in order to facilitate your child’s thinking, comprehension, and story analysing skills. Accompanied with the right books, your reading session with your child will become a new, and more fruitful experience for both of you.

‍

How a child looks at reading is vastly different to how an adult approaches reading. The elements of reading such as letters, phonics, and decoding words and sentences, are a new experience for children and it’s important for adults to empathise with the child in order for a more productive reading experience.

In this chapter, Dr Loh unpacks the four stages of reading that young children go through as they learn to become readers. Understanding these stages will guide you to understand the reading experience of children, see the role of pleasure in reading and provide a stronger context to their actions.

Armed with this knowledge, you will be well poised to provide a stronger reading foundation for your child, and your child will be able to truly enjoy reading as an activity.

‍

Reading begins for children when they are able to associate letters together to form a word and associate multiple words together as a sentence. Or does it?

Dr Loh Chin Ee’s Education Launchpad will take you through a journey, unpacking the misconceptions surrounding reading for children, and how you can play a part to make a reading experience with your child much more meaningful.

‍