WORKSHEET

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 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.

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.

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.

1A

WORKSHEET

What are Cities?

2 Here are some cities. Some are old, some are new.

Brasilia (Brazil) Dallas (USA) Jervis Bay (Australia) Manchester (England) Rotterdam (Netherlands) Sana’a (Yemen) Vatican City (Vatican City) 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.

Market city Port city Manufacturing city Religious city

Capital city Finance city Military city Transport city

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:

1B

WORKSHEET

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 There is a parliament that makes laws for the whole nation

B There is a court that makes legal decisions for the whole nation

C There are representatives from other countries

D There are government buildings

E 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.

2

3WORKSHEET

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

You can see this symbol of Australia in:

This stands for or represents Australia because

You can see this symbol of Australia in:

This stands for or represents Australia because

You can see this symbol of Australia in:

This stands for or represents Australia because

You can see this symbol of Australia in:

This stands for or represents Australia because

You can see this symbol of Australia in:

This stands for or represents Australia because

You can see this symbol of Australia in:

WORKSHEET

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 People vote for their representatives in Parliament

B Our representatives meet in Parliament to pass laws for the nation

C Sometimes the High Court needs to make decisions about our laws

D Some very old rights developed in Britain are part of our democracy today

E Australia has a Constitution that sets out the powers of the Commonwealth parliament

F We have the right to protest if we don’t agree with decisions

4

WORKSHEET

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 We are a democracy

B We have an indigenous heritage

C We follow the rule of law

D 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.

5

WORKSHEET

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.

6A

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.

A

B

C

E

D

WORKSHEET 6BWhat are the Messages of our National Capital?

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.

F

G

H

J

I

WORKSHEET

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.

7

WORKSHEET

My Place and the National Capital

Aspect of a city/town — it has: In Canberra In my place

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

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.

8