What Is Country? (Grade 1)
Free printable HASS worksheet for Grade 1 on why Country/Place is important to First Nations Australians: a short sourced reading passage with comprehension questions whose answers are stated in the passage.
What Is Country?
Read the passage together, then circle the best answer for each question. Find out (not marked): with your teacher, find out the name of the Country or Place your school is on.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are the First Peoples of Australia. For First Nations Australians, Country means much more than land. Country includes the land, the waterways and the sea, and it carries language, family and identity. People belong to their Country the way they belong to a family, and belonging comes with a job: caring for Country. First Nations peoples have cared for Country for tens of thousands of years, and Traditional Custodians still care for Country today. Every part of Australia, including the place where your school stands, is part of a Country or Place of First Nations peoples. At school events you may hear an Acknowledgement of Country. It is a way of showing respect for the Traditional Owners of the land.
- 1.Which parts of Australia belong to a Country or Place of First Nations peoples?
- a) Every part, including where your school stands
- b) Only the desert
- c) No parts at all
- 2.The passage says people belong to their Country the way they belong to:
- a) A family
- b) A queue
- c) A shopping centre
- 3.Who are the First Peoples of Australia?
- a) The first British colonists
- b) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
- c) The first tourists to visit Australia
- 4.For First Nations Australians, Country means:
- a) Only a word on a map
- b) Much more than land
- c) Only the soil in a garden
- 5.Belonging to Country comes with a job. What is it?
- a) Selling Country
- b) Forgetting Country
- c) Caring for Country
- 6.How long have First Nations peoples cared for Country?
- a) They have never cared for Country
- b) Only for the last few years
- c) For a very long time, and they still do today
- 7.True or False: The First Peoples of Australia arrived on the First Fleet.
- a) True
- b) False
- 8.True or False: Every part of Australia is part of a Country or Place of First Nations peoples.
- a) True
- b) False
- 9.True or False: First Nations peoples stopped caring for Country long ago.
- a) True
- b) False
- 10.True or False: Country includes the land, the waterways and the sea.
- a) True
- b) False
Accuracy and sources
These references support the historical wording and answer key on this worksheet.
- AIATSIS - Welcome to Country — defines Country as the lands, waterways and seas peoples are connected to, carrying law, language, family and identity, and states that only Traditional Owners can welcome visitors to Country or authorise others to do so, while anyone can acknowledge Country
- Reconciliation Australia - Acknowledgement of Country and Welcome to Country — documents that a Welcome to Country is delivered by Traditional Owners (or people they have given permission) and can include a speech, singing, dancing or a smoking ceremony, while an Acknowledgement of Country can be offered by any person
- ACARA - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures cross-curriculum priority — the curriculum priority these worksheets serve; the paired term Country/Place and the phrase First Nations Australians follow ACARA's own usage