National Simultaneous Storytime 2026: Free Lesson for Primary Classrooms

Run our NSS-inspired writing lesson with your class – free

We brought Luna Roo the Kangaroo Baller to life in a fun, collaborative live lesson on Wednesday 27 May — and hundreds of classrooms joined us.

Missed it, or want to run it with your own class? Get the full lesson pack below.

This lively, collaborative lesson is designed to spark students’ imagination and challenge them to think creatively, take risks and share their ideas.

What is National Simultaneous Storytime?

National Simultaneous Storytime (NSS) is an annual event run by Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA), where schools across Australia read the same picture book at the same time to promote literacy and a love of reading and writing.

This year’s story, Luna Roo the Kangaroo Baller by Adam Jackson and Adrian Lloyd, illustrated by Jake Minton, is full of energy, resilience and heart – the perfect starting point for great writing.

Get the free NSS lesson pack

The pack includes everything you need to run a fun, collaborative lesson:

📚 Lesson slides: read-aloud, brainstorming activities and a planning walkthrough
🦘 Luna Roo plotted on the Narrative Story Graph – ready to use
📝 Narrative planning templates – print one per student
✨ A real Year 3 student’s writing journey, from plan to finished narrative to feedback from our AI assessment tool

How to run the lesson
It’s all about helping students to think first, write second.

Part 1: Think first (Brainstorming and Planning)
This is the lesson we ran for NSS. It’s built to run as a one-hour lesson, but it’s flexible – spread it across the week if that works better. Use the lesson slides and planning templates from the lesson pack.

Part 2: Write second (Bring your stories to life)
Using their completed Story Graph, get students to write their own short story (50–500 words) about a character who rises to a challenge and proves themselves against all odds.

See a real student’s writing journey

Niamh, a Year 3 student, had a go at the writing lesson. Here’s her whole journey – it’s a lovely example to show your class.

Members Narrative Writing Competition 2026

We brainstormed and planned together in the live lesson – now it’s over to you to bring your students’ ideas to life in our Narrative Writing Competition – exclusively for Seven Steps members*.

Using inspiration from Luna Roo the Kangaroo Baller, students will craft their own short story (50–500 words) about a character who rises to a challenge and proves themselves against all odds.

Entering is simple. Just upload your students’ writing through our AI-powered assessment tool, where it will be:

• Assessed against the Seven Steps and NAPLAN rubrics
• Supported with clear, personalised glow and grow feedback
• Entered into the competition

One upload to assess and enter.

Everything you need – lesson resources, student example, the entry form and instructions are all on the competition page in Teacher Hub.

📅 Entries close: Wed 17 June 2026
🏆 Winners and runners-up announced: End of Term 2
Prizes: $50 gift voucher and Classroom Pack for the winners in each year level, $25 gift voucher and Classroom Pack for the runners up.
Plus, we’re giving away a Classroom Pack for the school with the most entries.

👉 Go to the Narrative Writing Competition Page

*only for annual subscribers with access to the AI-powered assessment tool.

We can’t wait to read your students’ stories and share their success!

If you haven’t checked out the AI assessment tool yet, you can access it through Teacher Hub, here. And if you’re not set up, you’ll find instructions on how to get started.

Not a member yet?

For National Simultaneous Storytime, we’re offering a limited number of one-on-one diagnostic sessions using your students’ writing 👇

Diagnostic Sessions

Once your students have written their stories, we’ll help you turn their work into powerful insights about your class.

Book a session, send through your students’ writing samples and we’ll do the work for you. Using our AI-powered assessment tool, we’ll analyse your students’ writing and walk you through the results together.

In your session, you’ll see:

• How your class is performing against the Seven Steps rubric and NAPLAN criteria
• Strengths, areas of weakness and what to focus on next
• Real examples of marking and personalised feedback
• The exact lessons and resources to support improvement

You’ll also receive a class report to inform your Term 3 planning.

It’s a simple way to get insights for your whole class – in one session.

Sessions run 1–26 June.

👉 Book your diagnostic session here
(and don’t forget to send us your stories!)

Ongoing access to the assessment tool and Teacher Hub is available to Seven Steps members. You can find out what’s included in a membership here.