What Is Country? (Grade 2)
Free printable HASS worksheet for Grade 2 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, and their cultures are the oldest continuing cultures in the world. For First Nations Australians, Country means much more than land. Country includes the land, the waterways and the sea, and it carries law, language, family and identity. People belong to their Country the way they belong to a family, and belonging comes with a responsibility: caring for Country. First Nations peoples have cared for Country for tens of thousands of years, and Traditional Custodians still care for Country today, in the city and in the bush. Every part of Australia, including the place where your school stands, is part of a Country or Place of First Nations peoples. That is why meetings and assemblies often begin with an Acknowledgement of Country: it shows respect for the Traditional Owners of the land and their continuing connection to it.
- 1.Which of these does Country include?
- a) Only buildings and roads
- b) The land, the waterways and the sea
- c) Only farms and fences
- 2.Who are the First Peoples of Australia?
- a) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
- b) The first British colonists
- c) The first tourists to visit Australia
- 3.Belonging to Country comes with a job. What is it?
- a) Forgetting Country
- b) Selling Country
- c) Caring for Country
- 4.How long have First Nations peoples cared for Country?
- a) For a very long time, and they still do today
- b) Only for the last few years
- c) They have never cared for Country
- 5.Which parts of Australia belong to a Country or Place of First Nations peoples?
- a) No parts at all
- b) Only the desert
- c) Every part, including where your school stands
- 6.The passage says people belong to their Country the way they belong to:
- a) A queue
- b) A shopping centre
- c) A family
- 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