What Is Country? (Kindergarten)
Free printable HASS worksheet for Kindergarten 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.
Australia is home to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. They are the First Peoples of this land. For First Nations Australians, Country means much more than land. Country includes the land, the waterways and the sea. Country is like family. People belong to their Country, and they care for it. First Nations peoples have cared for Country for a very, very long time, and they still care for it today. Every part of Australia, including the place where your school stands, is part of a Country or Place of First Nations peoples.
- 1.For First Nations Australians, Country means:
- a) Only the soil in a garden
- b) Much more than land
- c) Only a word on a map
- 2.The passage says people belong to their Country the way they belong to:
- a) A queue
- b) A shopping centre
- c) A family
- 3.Belonging to Country comes with a job. What is it?
- a) Selling Country
- b) Forgetting Country
- c) Caring for Country
- 4.Which of these does Country include?
- a) Only farms and fences
- b) The land, the waterways and the sea
- c) Only buildings and roads
- 5.Which parts of Australia belong to a Country or Place of First Nations peoples?
- a) No parts at all
- b) Every part, including where your school stands
- c) Only the desert
- 6.True or False: Country includes only dry land, never rivers or the sea.
- a) True
- b) False
- 7.True or False: First Nations peoples still care for Country today.
- a) True
- b) False
- 8.True or False: No part of Australia belongs to a Country or Place of First Nations peoples.
- 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