4th Class Science Shelter Shelter

LEARINING OBJECTIVES

This lesson will help you to:—

• study about how houses have changed over time.
• study about differences in rural and urban houses.
• study about waste accumulated in houses.
• learn about urban and rural waste.
• study about methods of reusing and reducing waste.
• study about diversity in animal habitat and shelters.
• study and learn about the nesting habits of different birds.
• learn about the concept of giving direction with respect to any landmark.

Real Life Examples

• In slum areas we still see people living in miserable conditions and in houses that are made up of mud, hay stack and tin roofs.
• On highways we usually see large sign boards with arrows and directions and distance written on them to guide the travelers on their way.

QUICK CONCEPT REVIEW

House: Then and Now

• There is a great transition in the houses in which our grandparents lived and in which we live today.
• Earlier the houses were built in bricks with slate roofs, very few were wired for electric lights and there were no wall sockets.
• The homes then were not furnished as they are now.
• Earlier houses were done in lath and plaster from inside while today mostly drywall is used.
• In rural areas, there were "kuchha" houses that were made up of mud or hay stack or tin roof which can't withstand harsh weather. Slums in India have "kuchha" houses.
• Urban areas usually have 'pucca' houses that are made up of red brick walls and roof. Sometimes roof is made up of concrete also.              
• Urban areas have houses that are multi-storied.

GARBAGE

• The waste from our houses is called domestic waste and it includes food wrappers, product packaging, paper, food waste and other materials that people want to get rid of.
• The wastes from urban and rural areas differ.
• We must all try to reduce and reuse waste.
• The improper handling and management of domestic waste from households are causing adverse effect on the public at large and this deteriorates the environment.                         
• Recycling is part of the waste disposal hierarchy- 8 Reduce. Reuse, Recycle.

Some ways to reduce waste are:

• Recycle whenever possible to reduce the amount of garbage you end up putting in your bin.
• Sell give away or donate items that you don't want.
• Instead of throwing them away, compost your garden with food waste. Examples of items you can use to make compost include tea leaves, coffee grounds, vegetable and fruit peelings, grass cutting, weeds, crushed egg shells and so on.
• Reuse shopping bags whenever possible.
• Recycle your newspaper.

Waste management should be made an utmost priority both in rural and urban areas to keep the environment clean.

Amazing Facts

• Only 1 out of every 10 dogs born ever finds a permanent home.
• An average Indian family throws away paper, which is worth 6 trees in their household garbage can a year.
• Each of us generates on average 4.4 pounds of waste per day per person.

Historical Preview

The idea of recycling isn’t something new, historical evidence shows that humans have been recycling various materials for thousands of years, The first municipal dump was formed in ancient Athens in 400 B.C.

AMIMALS AND THEIR SHELTER

• Some animals live on land while some live in water.
• Animals make their shelters for their babies- to nourish them and protect them from humans or other animals.
• Some animals and their shelter/home are given below.

• Some animals like dogs, cats, birds, rabbits are also kept as pets and thus stay with humans in their homes.
• There are certain animals that we see only in the night. During the day time, these animals don't come out and they sleep.
• Spider web serves a purpose of entangling insects and flies. Spiders thus get their food from their web.

Misconcept/Concept

BIRDS AND THEIR NESTS

• Birds make nests to lay their eggs.
• Nesting habits of different birds vary.
• Not all birds make their nests. Some like cuckoo bird lay their eggs in the nest of crow.
• Birds make their nests using small branches, twigs leaves etc.
• The shape of the nests also varies.

Misconcept/ Concept

Misconcept: The habitat and home of an animal means the same.

Concept: While a home gives the animal shelter of a place to nature and produce their young, it is the wider living place-the habitat, that supplies food (nutrition) and other conditions that the animal or plant needs to live.

Misconcept: Our choice limited for recycling or wasting.

Concept: Cutting back on your plastic is the best solution, and easy to do. Try switching over to refillable containers. Buying in bulk, buying things that don’t need much packaging and buying things in recyclable and recycled packages

MAPPING OUR NEIGHBOURHOOD

• We usually use our neighborhood as a landmark to give directions.
• The landmarks are the popular feature of a landscape or a town that enables someone to establish their locations.
• The landmarks could be a school, movie theatre, hospital, well, river, market, pond etc.
• Landmarks help to reach a destination easily.
• Directions and scales are used with respect to the landmark.

For example: The destination lies to the north of ABC Hospital or the destination is 3 kilometers away from the XYZ school.

• Arrows are also used to tell the directions.