When B-Boy comes to stay overnight, Little J becomes envious of the attention he is getting from everyone. Out walking on Country, Nanna, Little J, Big Cuz and B-Boy find an injured joey. Uncle Mick, a Search and Rescue officer, tells them how to care for the joey that they name ‘Hopalong’. The children feed and look after Hopalong until Mick finds him a place in a wildlife shelter.

Explain - Identify and describe emotional responses people may experience in different situations

Theme - RESILIENCE

As a class, revisit Little J’s story within the episode 7, ‘Hopalong’, and ask students to recall what type of animal Hopalong was and how and why he got lost from his ‘mob’.

As a class, read stories about being scared and feeling left alone, such as:

• Wild, M. & James, A. (2013). Lucy goosey. Richmond, Victoria: Hardie Grant Egmont. (Ann James talks about 'Lucy Goosey')

Talk with students about being ‘scared’ and being ‘brave’. Discuss their emotional responses to personal experiences when they felt scared and brave. Have students tell their own personal stories.

 **Teacher note: Teachers should assess whether or not this activity is suitable for all students, particularly students in care or who have suffered personal trauma.

Direct the class to suggest things that happened to them or to others that made them feel better. Can they remember someone who helped them to feel better? If so, what did that person do?

Re-watch Episode 7 ‘Hopalong’, and stop the animation just before Uncle Mick takes Hopalong to the wildlife shelter. Have students predict what is going to happen, and suggest reasons why Hopalong needs to be taken to a wildlife rescue home.

Have students consider if Hopalong is scared or brave? Ask students to conceptualise how they would feel if they were lost in a foreign country. Have students explain ways they can be brave when they are uncertain about what is going to happen next. Possible ways to help themselves be brave include: taking a deep breath or two, standing taller, and thinking through what they will do next.

Look at various shield designs from different Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and examine the symbols of animals believed to make a warrior brave in battle. Access examples at,

• Aboriginal Shields, Power, Protection and History
• Wooden shield from Cape York c1893
• Aboriginal Shields
• Awakening: stories from the Torres Strait: 

Use a shield template that students can decorate with images of animals, symbols and text that are their affirmations for being brave. Students can hold their shields as they practise any of the skills they identified for being braver, such as standing tall, taking a deep breath before speaking clearly and calmly, making eye contact with others and smiling.

Display the shields in the classroom to remind each student to be brave every day.