Home/Curriculum resources/What is Country/Activity 3: Exploring Country in our school environment
Learning Areas:
Humanities and Social Sciences, English, Mathematics
Year level:
Foundation
Activity 3: Exploring Country in our school environment
This activity is a part of the What is Country resource.
Edge of a Dry Lake. Western Australia. Photographer: Abstract Aerial Art. Source: Getty Images. Used under Licence.
Activity 3: Exploring Country in our school environment
Focus: Observing, experiencing, recording and naming parts of Country in our school.
Possible overarching question: What parts of Land, Water, and Sky Country can we find around our school?
Step by Step Guide
Step 1: Connecting to students' prior learning
Step 2: Guided sensory walk
Step 3: Recording observations
Step 4: Reflection and sharing
Required Resources
Teacher Support Material
Land, Water, Sky Country Posters
Observation recording sheet
Clipboards and digital devices (if available)
Camera
Land, Water, Sky Country heading cards
Step 1: Connecting to students' prior learning
Ask students about the different types of Country and the examples they have learned about referring to the learning from Activity 1 and 2.
Read “We all sleep” by Ezekiel Kwaymullina & Sally Morgan. Stop at each double spread and unpack the illustrations with students focusing on the different parts of Country that are represented.
We All Sleep. Ezekiel Kwaymullina and Sally Morgan. Fremantle Press. © Ezekiel Kwaymullina and Sally Morgan. Used with permission.
Step 2: Guided sensory walk
Explain to students they will now go outside to explore and notice the Country that their school is on. Let them know they are going to be detectives and that they need to use all their senses to help them.
Encourage students to:
Look for land features (e.g., grass, gardens, rocks)
Notice water features (e.g., puddles, drains, taps, rainwater tanks)
Observe sky features (e.g., clouds, birds, sun, changing weather)
You could use the Land, Sky and Water Country Mats to facilitate this discussion.
Prompt students to use their senses:
What can you see?
What can you hear?
What can you smell?
What can you feel?
Encourage quiet noticing and respect for the places visited.
Step 3: Recording observations
Students can use the observation recording sheet to draw or write words under the headings Land, Water, and Sky. They may also choose to document their observations using technology, for example, by taking videos, photos, or making sound recordings. The sorting cards from Activity 2 are available to support students who may benefit from additional scaffolding.
During the walk, feel free to pause and allow time for students to record their observations. You can also model how to use the recording sheet by working through an example with the group.
As students explore their school environment, take photos of different aspects of Country. These images will be useful during the reflection and sharing step, as well as in Activity 4.
Step 4: Reflection and sharing
Back in the classroom, invite students to share their findings in small groups.
Bring the class together and display the photos you took during the walk. Work collaboratively with students to sort and classify these images under the headings Land, Water, and Sky.
As you sort, guide a discussion that highlights how these different parts of Country are connected. Encourage students to notice and describe the relationships between elements, for example, how water supports plant life, or how animals move between land and sky.
Related activities within this resources:
Activity 1: Introduction to Country
This activity introduces students to the idea of Country as a living, interconnected system that includes land, water, sky, people, plants, animals, and stories. It supports the development of shared language about types of Country and encourages personal connections to place, laying the foundation for deeper understanding of its significance to many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.
Activity 2: Learning about different types of Country
Building on Activity 1, students will deepen their understanding of Country by further exploring Land Country, Water Country, and Sky Country through visual examples, collaborative sorting, and creative “Countryscape” constructions. This will prepare students to recognise and describe these parts of Country in their own school environment.
Activity 4 (Part one of two): Mapping our school
Building on observations from the school sensory walk in Activity 3, students collaborate to create a large wall map or floor display representing Land, Water, and Sky Country in their school environment.
Activity 4 (Part two of two): Using positional language
Using students’ collaborative map of their school environment from Activity 4 (Part one), students describe the position of features using positional language.
Activity 5: Creating a whole class Acknowledgement of Country
In this culminating activity, students bring together their learning about Land, Water, and Sky Country to collaboratively create a whole-class Acknowledgement of Country that reflects their observations and developing understanding of the Country they learn and play on. As part of this process, students are guided in learning the name of the local Country and the Traditional Custodians of the land on which their school is located, so this can be respectfully included in the Acknowledgement.