I'm not a teacher, on the contrary, i'm still a student!

But there is a chance that i'll have to teach a few younger people the basics of having to read music.

do any of you music teachers have any special techniques for this?

Greatly appreciated if you do!

~

I would try to include bits of theory alongside practical work to begin with. Then move on to a more formal approach with the ABRSM workbooks where lesson time allows.

Is there not a nice way to teach how to read music without using theroy books?

This is possibly easier in the context of learning an instrument where usually it can be taken in small steps.
I'd start with rhythm and introduce basic note values of crotchet, minim and semibreve, making sure that the idea of pulse in understood. I also start by saying (for example) that a crotchet counts 1 FOR NOW.
For pitch reading if it's while learning an instrument then this is likely to dictate the pace of adding new notes.
I do like to explain how the stave works like a ladder where the notes go up in steps from line to space to line and with adults and older children might also explain what the clefs mean but I wouldn't expect this all to be taken in and remembered at once and I make it clear that I don't.

Oh no! I haven't explained myself properly.

I mean teaching how to read notes properly. A few people still try to read going from the E at the bottom of the treble clef and counting up for each note, but i don't understand how you can get anywhere if you do this for every single note!

no, I agree. Some of us prefer to teach by reading interval. Use your pet method (starting from E or whatever - I personally don't like mnemonics) to find the start note, or if you get stuck partway, otherwise starting with steps and skips and building up from there can work ok.

A lot depends on what method you use. I recommend a good browse round a music shop and look at the various ideas set out in some of the tutor books. Piano Time sight reading has a few good ideas too. Depends of course what instrument you are thinking of teaching !

That's a matter of familiarity.
Frequent note drills might help, as may flash cards.
Knowing what the clef is telling you can help or having one or two 'guide 'notes (you could start with maybe marking treble clef G line in red and the C space above in blue).
Sometimes it can speed things up a bit if you use a mnemonic for the spaces (you don't need lines as well, it's just an extra thing to remember). If you can identify a 'space' note the lines either side are easy.
It might also depend on the instrument how people read notes.
On piano it's efficient to find a note by seeing how far from the one you are playing it is (interval reading).
With some other instruments it might be getting used to seeing the note and linking it to a fingering.

Notespeller! You can photocopy fun worksheets that help kiddies learn the notes...it is for younger children though. But the 4/5 year olds I teach love it! (Although perhaps its the scented pens we use to colour the pictures that they really like!)

With notes on and just above or below the stave, the best way to learn them is obviously by reading them in practice - actually for real while playing an instrument, but also lots of drill is important. Kind of like learning your times tables. There's no magic way, you've just got to keep repeating until you know it.

Doing it JUST as theory on it's own will never work though. You've got to have a practical application to it.

I still sometimes have to count up ledger lines to work out some really high notes (same going off the bottom of the stave as well)!