Are you ready for National Simultaneous Storytime?

It’s time to celebrate National Simultaneous Storytime. Held every year since 2001 and organised by the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA), National Simultaneous Storytime (NSS) encourages everyone in Australia to read the same picture book at the same time.

This year’s event takes place next

Wednesday 22 May at 11 am AEST.

The picture book to be read is

Alpacas with Maracas by Matt Cosgrove.

As outlined on the website, the purpose of the event is to:

• promote the value of reading and literacy,
• promote the value and fun of books,
• promote an Australian writer and publisher,
• promote storytime activities in public libraries and communities around the country,
• and provide opportunities to involve parents, grandparents, the media and others to participate in and enjoy the occasion.

Participating in such an event will help children to see themselves as part of a larger community of readers and understand that reading is not something confined to their classroom but enjoyed by others everywhere.

Everyone can participate — libraries, schools, childcare centres, bookshops families, grandparents, individuals.

Registration for NSS is free and, if you register prior to Monday 20 May, you will receive downloadable material to support your event, including a free downloadable PDF version of the book to use during your NSS event.

Free teaching ideas

In addition to all the great teaching ideas available on the NSS website, other teaching ideas and resources are available from

cleverpatch

Scholastic website (under the Resources tab)

Teaching ideas from readilearn

The words in the title rhyme – alpacas and maracas. Children love to rhyme.

The readilearn resource Animal Rhyme Time includes a list of one-syllable animal names and rhyming words – a perfect start to encourage children to write their own rhyming animal books.

They may like to experiment with creating their own words to rhyme with animals whose names have two or more syllables; for example:

• elephant (arrogant, elegant, triumphant)
• rhinoceros (prosperous, preposterous, boisterous)
• giraffe (laugh, half, photograph)
• kangaroo (overdue, barbecue, Kathmandu)
• wombat (combat, brickbat, doormat)

Research alpacas

Children may not be as familiar with alpacas as they are with other animals. National Simultaneous Storytime provides an opportunity to extend their learning by integrating it with the science curriculum. When children learn about alpacas, they are learning about living things, their needs, features and life stages. To assist, I have prepared a free resource Let’s find out about alpacas.

Let’s find out about alpacas is suitable for displaying to the class on the interactive whiteboard. A printable PDF version is available from within the resource.

Remember to put National Simultaneous Storytime into your calendar and get ready to read Alpacas with Maracas with the rest of Australia on Wednesday 22 May at 11 am EAST.

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