WORKSHEET
1A
What are Cities?
There have been cities for more than 9 000 years.
The earliest cities began when people learned how to farm, and started to live close to each other in settlements.
Some cities started because of a special need — such as holy places where people came to worship or as
strong military places to protect people or as a place where farmers could bring their crops and animals to
market to sell to other people.
1 Here are eight different city descriptions. On the next page are icons for eight different types of cities.
Your task is to decide which description matches which city and write the letter in the box above that
city’s icon.
A
This type of city developed when a nation
needed to have lots of soldiers in one place.
They might train or be gathered here and
then sent to other places as needed.
E
This type of city developed as a place to
send goods to other areas a long way away.
This city needed to be on a large river, or on
the coast.
B
This type of city developed because people
started building big factories there. It was
cheaper and more efficient to have one large
factory in a place instead of lots of small ones
in different places. So lots of people moved
to the area to get jobs in those factories.
F
This type of city developed as a place where
money was banked and loaned out to people
for building, trading and investing. There
might be small banks in lots of different
towns and cities, but the main and largest
banks were in this type of city.
C
This type of city developed because it was in
a good position between other main places.
People or goods would be sent to this place,
and then moved out to other places. There
would be lots of main roads and railways in
this type of city.
G
D
This type of city developed as a centre for
nearby farming areas. The farmers would
bring their crops or animals to the town and
sell them there. This meant buyers had a big
choice of crops and animals to choose from,
and farmers had a lot of buyers to sell to.
This type of city developed as the central
place of the national government. Sometimes
this happened because it was the main city,
and sometimes the city was created specially
to be the main city for the nation. It was
better to have all the laws made in one place.
This city was the place where representatives
of other governments could meet the national
government and decision makers. This place
usually has a national parliament to make
laws for all the nation, and a national court to
interpret the laws.
H
This type of city developed because a
particular place was very special or holy.
People came to visit this special place, and
usually a big church, temple or mosque
would be built there for people to go to
and pray.
WORKSHEET
1B
What are Cities?
Market city
Port city
Manufacturing city
Religious city
Capital city
Finance city
Military city
Transport city
2 Here are some cities. Some are old, some are new.
Brasilia (Brazil)
Rotterdam (Netherlands)
Dallas (USA)
Sana’a (Yemen)
Jervis Bay (Australia)
Vatican City (Vatican City)
Manchester (England)
Zurich (Switzerland)
Each one is an example of one of the eight types of cities. Write the name of the correct city beside the
type of city. You may need to do some simple research to find out something about these cities so that
you can correctly match them.
An example of a Market city/town in this list of places is:
An example of a Port city/town in this list of places is:
An example of a Manufacturing city/town in this list of places is:
An example of a Religious city/town in this list of places is:
An example of a Capital city/town in this list of places is:
An example of a Finance city/town in this list of places is:
An example of a Military city/town in this list of places is:
An example of a Transport city/town in this list of places is:
WORKSHEET
2
What is a Capital City?
A capital city is a place that is special for a nation.
It has things or does things that no other city in the nation has or does.
Here are some examples of what you would expect to find in a national capital.
A national capital is a place where:
A
B
C
D
E
There is a parliament that makes laws for the whole nation
There is a court that makes legal decisions for the whole nation
There are representatives from other countries
There are government buildings
There are places that tell the nation’s story
Decide which of these photographs of buildings in our national capital, Canberra, best illustrate the ideas above.
WORKSHEET
3
Symbols of Australia in our National Capital —
How do I see symbols of Australia?
Here are some symbols of Australia which you can see in Canberra.
A symbol is something you look at and you immediately identify that it stands for something else. For example
the symbol $ stands for money; the symbol
on a road sign stands for airport.
Decide what each of these national symbols for Australia is, how it represents or is a symbol of Australia, and
where you might find it in Canberra.
This stands for or represents Australia
because
This stands for or represents Australia
because
You can see this symbol of Australia in:
You can see this symbol of Australia in:
This stands for or represents Australia
because
This stands for or represents Australia
because
You can see this symbol of Australia in:
You can see this symbol of Australia in:
This stands for or represents Australia
because
This stands for or represents Australia
because
You can see this symbol of Australia in:
You can see this symbol of Australia in:
WORKSHEET
4
Democracy in our National Capital —
How do I see Democracy?
Australia is a democracy.
What does this mean?
Below are some aspects of our democracy.
1 Match each to the place in the national capital where you would expect to find this aspect of our
democracy. Write the letter in the box beside the sketch in each case.
A part of our democracy is:
A
B
C
D
E
F
People vote for their representatives in Parliament
Our representatives meet in Parliament to pass laws for the nation
Sometimes the High Court needs to make decisions about our laws
Some very old rights developed in Britain are part of our democracy today
Australia has a Constitution that sets out the powers of the Commonwealth parliament
We have the right to protest if we don’t agree with decisions
WORKSHEET
5
Australian Identity in our National Capital —
How do I see who we are?
Australians have a national identity — that means that some things we say about Australia apply to all of us.
Some of these are:
A
B
C
D
We are a democracy
We have an indigenous heritage
We follow the rule of law
We remember the sacrifice of those who have defended our country
E We are a multicultural nation
1 Match each of them to the place in the national capital that shows this aspect of our national identity.
Write the letter in the box beside the photograph in each case.
2 Decide which one of these
aspects of national identity
is the most important to you,
and explain why.
WORKSHEET
6A
What are the Messages of our National Capital?
Match the photographs on this page to the messages
in the boxes. Write the number of the photograph in
the correct message box. Each message helps us
understand a different meaning of our national capital.
C
A
D
B
E
The national Parliament is in our national
capital. We elect representatives to
Parliament to make laws for all Australians.
This is part of our system of democracy.
The National Museum of Australia is in our
national capital. It is a keeper of Australia’s
memory and tells us about our national
identity – who we are today.
The Australian-American Memorial is in our
national capital. It reminds us that Australia
has a special friendship with other countries
and that we help and are helped by other
countries in times of danger.
Other nations’ embassies are in our
national capital. They help Australia keep
contact with other countries and show
that we are a nation of the world.
The High Court of Australia is in our
national capital. It makes sure that the laws
made by Parliament are properly made.
This is part of our system of law.
WORKSHEET
6B
What are the Messages of our National Capital?
F
H
I
G
J
There are statues of British monarchs
(kings and queens) in our national capital.
These remind us of our strong British
heritage – part of our national identity.
The Australian War Memorial is in our
national capital. It reminds us that many
Australians have died in wars fighting for
the nation. This is part of our national
identity and heritage.
There are Indigenous artworks in our
national capital. These remind us of
our Indigenous heritage – part of our
national identity.
The National Library of Australia is in our
national capital. It is a keeper of Australia’s
memory and tells us about our national
identity.
There are government buildings such as
the Department of Foreign Affairs and
Trade in our national capital. These remind
us that Australia is a nation of the world.
WORKSHEET
7
My National Capital
You now know a lot about Canberra, Australia’s national capital.
What are your favourite places in your national capital? What is so special about them? Why are they special
to you?
Here is your chance to create your own page about Canberra and what it means to you.
You can include photos, drawings, symbols and words to create this page — which you can call A Portrait of
My Canberra.
You can do it on paper, or you can do it online at www.glogster.com.au.
Or
You might like to create a 3-D object to celebrate your ideas about Canberra — such as a model of the
Parliament House flagpole.
Or
Since Canberra will celebrate its 100th birthday in 2013, you might like to create a birthday card for Canberra.
WORKSHEET
8
My Place and the National Capital
Canberra is a national capital, but it is also a city — like the city or town you live in or live close to.
Look at this list of aspects of a city or town. Brainstorm to explain where each one is in Canberra (you may need
to do some extra research as well as using the knowledge you now have). Then do your own research to find as
many of these places as possible in the place where you live.
Aspect of a city/town — it has:
Memorials
Parks
Place/s where you exercise
democratic rights
Places where laws are made
Transport
Government building/s
Community centre/s
Museum/s
Symbols
Citizenship activities
An old place
A new place
A place for ceremonies
A place that expresses national
identity
A place that expresses local identity
In Canberra
In my place