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.

Engage - Pose and respond to questions about familiar objects and events

Theme - FAUNA

As a class, revisit Little J’s story within episode 7, ‘Hopalong’, and ask students to recall what type of animal Hopalong was and how the family rescued and cared for it.

As a class, read/view a story about an Australian animal, particularly a kangaroo. For example:

• How the kangaroo got its pouch 
• Lippo, A. & Lofts, P. (2004). The kangaroo and the porpoise. Sydney : Scholastic (video)
• Mung Mung, G. L. & Lofts, P. (2004). How the kangaroos got their tails. Sydney : Scholastic Press:

Pose questions for students to identify which animals they know. Ask students to think about why some animals are only found in Australia. Have students make and compare two lists of animals they know of: Australian native animals, and non-Australian native animals.

Explore and share students’ knowledge, stories and observations about Australian animals such as the emu, wombat, kangaroo, turtle, koala, goanna, wallaby, dolphin/porpoise, snake, possum, quoll and/or Tasmanian devil. These stories can be about sighting an animal, where they saw the animal, or describing what it looked like, and how it behaved.

• Create a display of images of Australian animals, and have students label the animals with their correct names. Many photos of Australian animals can be found here:
• Animals

Show students examples of drawings of artwork by European botanists/naturalists who came to Australia in early settlement years. This resource will assist:

• Early European Images of Australian Animals

Have students compare these early images with the photographic images of the same animals. Invite students to draw an image of a kangaroo from memory. Discuss the physical characteristics that they wanted to portray.

Show students images of how Aboriginal peoples and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples have represented animals and identify the various physical characteristics of the kangaroos portrayed in the following x-ray paintings, for example,

• Yirawala, ‘Kundaagi - Red Plains Kangaroo’
• Birrikitji Gumana, Hunting story: 
• Yuwun Yuwun Marruwarr (c1928-79) Australia (Aboriginal)

Invite students to select an Australian animal, bird, reptile, or fish that they would like to represent, inspired by the photographic, drawn and painted images they have seen. Have students describe the features of their selected animal, e.g. their colour, skin, feathers, scales, size as large or small, etc.

Using a paper plate as a mask template, ask students to reconstruct the plate (cutting a shape) and decorate/embellish the template to represent the animal of their choice.