AUSTRALIA GEOGRAPHY:
Australia is surrounded by the Indian and Pacific oceans. It is separated from Asia by the Arafura and Timor Sea. The Coral Sea is off the Queensland coast, and the Tasman Sea lies between Australia and New Zealand. It is not only a country but is a continent (the smallest) and is often called the world's largest island. The capital city of Australia is Canberra.
Print out a copy of my Basic Geography of Australia Worksheet and colour it. Then together as a family search an atlas or online to match the names of the various states and territories of Australia. You can find the answers here: Basic Geography Australia Key.
Please excuse any anomalies in the shape of this maps, it was hand drawn and therefore not completely accurate.
AUSTRALIA'S FIRST PEOPLES:
According to Microsoft Copilot The politically correct terms to refer to the Indigenous peoples of Australia are "Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples." This terminology acknowledges the distinct cultural groups within the Indigenous population. "Aboriginal" refers to the original inhabitants of mainland Australia and Tasmania, while "Torres Strait Islander" refers to the Indigenous peoples of the Torres Strait Islands, located between the northern tip of Queensland and Papua New Guinea.
AUSTRALIA's BIO-DIVERSITY:
Most of Australia is semi-arid or desert. However, there are snowy mountains, tropical rainforests, and many beaches and rocky coastal regions. It truly is a beautiful and diverse country.
LEARNING ACTIVITIES
AUSTRALIA'S ABORIGINAL FLAG:
Another important Australian Flag is the Australian Aboriginal Flag which represents the Aboriginal Australians. It was designed in 1971 by an Aboriginal artist named Harold Thomas and weas designed originally for the land rights movement. The black represents the Aboriginal people of Australia, the Yellow circle symbolizes the sun (protector and giver of life) and the red signifies the red earth and the Aboriginal people’s spiritual relation to the land.
Take our your crayons, markers or coloured pencils and draw this important flag in your Family Theme Day Scrapbook.
You can check online together with your family to look at the many symbols in aboriginal art...
Symbols and Meanings in Australian Aboriginal Art
and
First Nations Symbols | Common Ground
and
Australian Aboriginal Art Symbols & Meanings - Japingka Gallery
...and then you family can sketch the ones you like and want to use as a guide for this craft.
THe Harbour BRidge and Birds of Paradise FLowers in Sydney
Australia
INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIAN ART:
Indigenous Australian art includes art made by Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders. There are many visual symbols used among the differing peoples' traditions. The art includes works in a variety of forms like bark painting, painting on leaves, sandpainting, wood and rock carving, ceremonial clothing, and even modern meidums like watercolour painting and sculpting.
Websites:
For more information explore some of these websites...
This great tourism site has a lot of information and pictures of various parts of Australia: Travel to Australia - Australian Tourism Information - Tourism Australia
This site has information and great photos of Uluru or Ayers Rock as it was previously known:
http://www.sacred-destinations.com
This site has a lot of information about Australia: All Down Under - All About Australia Life, Facts, Statistics, Laws & Templates - All Down Under
This site has loads of information and pictures on different Australian animals: Animal factsheets - The Australian Museum
Copyright 2016. Family Theme Days. All rights reserved.
ABORIGINAL INSPIRED PAINTINGS:
I created a worksheet with some symbols commonly seen in some Aboriganal art. By no means am I an expert in the history of the Indigenous peoples of Australia or their art so this worksheet is meant only as an inspirational spring board to spark your family's own creativity. The original websites I used to make the worksheet are no longer running so I apologise for any mistakes.
You can learn more about Australian Indigenous Art here: Indigenous Australian art - Wikipedia
or here: The Amazing Story of Aboriginal Art
AUSTRALIA's WILD LIFE:
Australia is home to many unique animals. They have monotremes (mammals that lay eggs) like the platypus and echidna. Australia is well known for its marsupial population (animals whose young are born in a relatively undeveloped state and then nurtured within a pouch on their mother's abdomen) like kangaroos, wallabies, koalas, wombats, bandicoots, opossums and possums, and Tasmanian Devils. There are so many birds in Australia. They have unique birds that are flightless like the emu, cassowaries, and fairy penguins etc.. It’s common to hear the laugh of the kookaburra as well. But there are shrub birds, and sea birds, and tropical birds like parrots, cockatoos and rosellas, and even a lyrebird who mimics sounds. Australia is also home to many dangerous animals, including some of the most venomous snakes in the world, and some huge spiders and small deadly spiders, too. Plus, there is the dingo! And I didn’t even mention the crocodile or the various fish. Have fun exploring Australian animals with this Theme Day!
Print out my Australian Animals Worksheet and fill out the chart together as you read books about Australian Animals or search for them online.
AUSTRALIA'S FLAG:
Print out a copy of my Flag of Australia Colouring Page and use crayons or coloured pencils to colour it the appropriate colours.
Based on the British maritime Blue Ensign, this flag has a Union Jack (UK flag) in the left corner and includes a large white seven-pointed star (called the Commonwealth Star) and a cluster of other stars to form the Southern Cross constellation seen in the Australian night sky. It was chosen in 1901 in a competition and September 3rd is Australian National Flag Day on the anniversary of when it was first flown in Melbourne in 1901.
Print out a copy of my Australian Flag Worksheet. If you want, cut it out and glue it in your Family Theme Day Scrapbook. For more information on the flag check here:
Photo: CW
Materials: A copy of my Symbols in Aboriginal Art Worksheet, white paper, paints, paintbrushes, water in a jar, paper towels, newspaper or plastic to cover the table or work area, old clothes or an art smock.
Step 1: Using the worksheet (or sketches of simple symbols you made from looking online) and dots and lines let your child create his/her own aboriginal inspired paintings.
Step 2: Let it dry and then display it or glue in your Family Theme Day Scrapbook.
OPTIONAL ADDITIONAL IDEA: Have each artist in the family make up a story that goes with the painting and the symbols used.