Australian Animal Templates – National Simultaneous Storytime Activity

These Australian Animal Templates and Shields of Courage are a fun, creative resource inspired by this year’s National Simultaneous Storytime (NSS) book, Luna Roo the Kangaroo Baller. Children can choose one of the wonderfully iconic Australian animals featured in the story or even choose themselves… and design a personalised “shield” that captures their strengths, feelings, and unique superpowers.

Each shield becomes a symbol of bravery, imagination, and self‑expression. Whether students are exploring character traits, reflecting on their own courage, or simply celebrating their favourite Aussie creature, these Australian Animal Templates – Shields of Courage offers endless possibilities for meaningful classroom engagement.

National Simultaneous Storytime 2026 Activity Ideas for Early Years

This National Simultaneous Storytime 2026 activity is the perfect opportunity to explore rich themes with your students, and this year’s book, Luna Roo the Kangaroo Baller, shines a spotlight on courage, identity and the unique strengths within us all. The Shields of Courage resource gives you a simple, meaningful way to extend these themes before, during or after the big event, without adding extra prep to your workload.

Here’s how you can use the Shields of Courage activity to deepen student engagement around NSS 2026:

• Encourage Real‑Life Reflections on Courage – Both Luna and the Shields of Courage prompt students to think about bravery in their own lives, times when they felt nervous but tried anyway, moments when they stood up for someone, or when they saw a classmate show quiet strength. This makes the resource ideal for SEL conversations, circle time, journalling or reflective writing leading up to National Simultaneous Storytime.

• Support Differentiated Learning with Flexible Entry Points – The shield template, animal choices and open‑ended writing prompts cater to a wide range of learners. Whether you have confident writers ready to explore abstract ideas or students who benefit from visual and scaffolded supports, every child can express what courage means to them in a way that feels accessible and empowering.

• Extend the NSS Experience Beyond One Day – Using Shields of Courage alongside Luna allows teachers to build a mini‑unit focused on bravery, personal strengths and the symbolism of Australian animals. Spread the activities across the week to keep the excitement of National Simultaneous Storytime alive while reinforcing its key themes in authentic, student‑friendly ways.

Add this to Your Courage Activities Today

Are you ready to explore what it means to be courageous with your students and add this resource to your courage activities? Use the dropdown menu to choose between the easy to print pdf or the editable Google Slide version of this resource. 

More SEL Resources for the Classroom

Looking for more SEL resources to explore teamwork, courage and more? We have you covered…

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