Environmental Studies PYQs

Concept:

• Every region has a different house.
• The type of house depends on the climatic conditions in the region.
• Houses are built specially to suit the needs of the people.

​

Explanation:

Description of houses of different places:

Mud House:

• Rainfall is very scarce in Rajasthan.
• Houses are made up of mud.
• The walls of the houses are very thick.
• These walls are plastered with mud.
• The roofs are made of thorny bushes.

Additional Information

Concept: 

• Different regions have different food.
• Depending on what grows easily at which place, different things are eaten at places.

Explanation:

Jammu and Kashmir:

• Jammu and Kashmir is a state located in North India.
• Jammu and Kashmir's climate is cold.
• Mustard oil has the healing property and keeps the body warm.
• Fish cooked in mustard oil is popular in Jammu and Kashmir.

Additional Information

Kerela:

• They like to eat especially two things, tapioca and coconut.
• Both of these foods grow in their courtyard.
• Boiled tapioca with any curry made using coconut is popular in Kerala.

Goa:

• Goa is situated on the west coast of India.
• Goa has a high yield of coconut oil and sea fish.
• Sea fish cooked in coconut oil is popular in Goa.

Gujarat:

• People of Gujarat mostly like to eat food made of pulses (dal).
• In Gujarat people eat chapati with dal and in dal they put sugar.
• Other famous dishes of Gujarat are - Gujarati Kadhi, Dhokla, Bardoli ki Khichdi, Methi ka Thepla, and Dal Dhokli.

Bihar:

• Bihar is situated in the eastern part of India.
• It lies on the banks of river Ganga.
• The staple food of Bihar generally consists of roti, dal, chawal, sabzi and achar.
• 'Litti chokha' is the most favourite dish of Bihar.

Mizoram:

• It is located in the northeastern part of India.
• It is generally cool in summer and not very cold in winter.
• Mizoram food is well known for its usage of different types of meat.
• 'Bai' of Mizoram is famous as an easy vegetable stew of seasonal greens and vegetables.
• The Mizo people also like to add bamboo shoots to their food.

Hong Kong:

• It is inspired primarily by Cantonese cuisine.
• Most of the dishes in Cantonese cuisine is based on Snake.
• Cooked snake and snake soup are popular in Hong Kong

The Correct Answer is: Even a three-month-old baby elephant generally weights about 200 kg.

 Key PointsAbout Elephant and its herd:

• The elephant is the largest existing mammal on the Earth
• The herd follows matriarchy, i.e. the oldest female elephant becomes the head of the herd.
• There are 10 to 12 female elephants and young ones in a herd.
• It mainly consists of females and baby elephants.
• There is no male elephant in the herd, they leave when they turn 14 or 15.
• The herd sometimes is joined by the (bull) elephants depending on the climate and terrain.
• An adult elephant can eat up to 100kgs (1 quintal) of leaves and twigs in one day.
• A three-month-old elephant weighs about 200 kgs (2 quintals).
• Elephants do not rest much and sleep for only 2-3 hours per day.
• Elephants are usually found in tropical habitats.
• Elephants love to play with mud and water. The mud keeps their skin cool.
• Their big ears also work like fans. The elephants flap these to keep themselves cool.
• Family is what forms the basis of the formation of elephants but it can consist of more than one family.

Thus, 

• An adult elephant can eat more than 2 quintals (220kg) of green leaves and twigs in one day. - False
• Because of their heavy weights most elephants like to take too much rest after eating. - False
• Even a three-month-old baby elephant generally weights about 200 kg - True
• On average most elephants sleep for 9-10 hours in a day. - False

The correct option is Iron nails, Glass Bottle, Steel Mug, Cardboard Box

Concept:

Biodegradable:

• Substances that are broken down by biological processes (with the help of some bacteria) are said to be biodegradable
• Ex- paper, food products, cotton, cow dung, organic waste etc.
• It can be suitably disposed of as we need not worry about its decomposition which will take place naturally.
• In the use of waste such as food waste, vegetable peels etc. it gets decomposed through bacterial action. Biodegradable waste is not harmful.

Non- Biodegradable:

• Substances that are not broken down into simpler organic or inorganic compounds in this manner are said to be non-biodegradable
• Ex- Pesticides like DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane), toxic chemicals, metals, polythene, few fertilizers, dyes, rubber goods, pharmaceuticals waste etc.
• If these substances simply persist in the environment for a long time or may harm the various members of the ecosystem.
• These will have to be recycled or suitably treated and reused if possible so that environmental degradation is not there.

Explanation:

Reuse:

• As much as possible try to use a substance for as long as and in as many ways as possible.
• Example: Reuse wrapping paper, plastic bags, boxes.

Recycle:  

• Recycling is the most environmentally friendly waste disposal method, which means collecting waste and produce a new product from it.
• Example: recycling of glass can be made to produce new glass jars and bottles or tiles.

Important Points

Concept:

• Different regions have different food.
• Depending on what grows easily at which place, different things are eaten at places.

Explanation:

• Chholay Bhature is popular in North Indian states like Delhi, Haryana, Punjab etc.
• Goa is situated on the west coast of India. Due to the high yield of coconut oil and fish, fish cooked in coconut oil is popular in Goa.
• Jammu and Kashmir is a state located in North India. Jammu and Kashmir's climate is cold. Mustard oil has healing properties, Fish cooked in mustard oil is popular in Jammu and Kashmir.
• Boiled tapioca with any curry is very popular in Kerala.

So the correct match is (i) - E, (ii) - B, (iii) - D, (iv) - A

Additional Information

Food in different places: 

Assessment is used to figure out what students have learned, the process, and their approach to learning before during, and after the course. It is an important part of the teaching-learning process.

Key Points

• Characteristics of assessment task
• Student engagement and motivation- Assessment tasks should engage students and help them participate in performing activities that are meaningful and engaging. It will help them acquire and apply knowledge, practice skills, and develop independent and collaborative work habits.
• Reliability- Students should perform the same when they are exposed to different questions at different times and places.
• Flexibility- The teacher must evaluate the entire performance of the student in the context in which it is accomplished.
• Validity- It should measure what it is supposed to measure at an appropriate level, and in the appropriate domains.

Hence, we conclude that performing the activity to observe sinking and floating is a suitable task for class 4^th student of EVS.

HintWriting question answers, explaining definitions, and learning the list of objects will not help the teacher in assessing the children learning.

Art and craft is a broad term that encompasses a wide range of activities involved in the creation of items with one's own hands. Art and craft are typically regarded as a hobby.

Key PointsAccording to John dewey, "the aim of education should be to teach children how to think rather than what to think and to improve their mind so as to enable them to think for themselves than to load the memory with the thoughts of other people."

• Importance of integrating arts and crafts in EVS
• Art and crafts are natural, joyful, and fulfilling for children and it helps in the establishment of a creative, inclusive classroom (that seeks the acceptance of all learners) where imagination and innovation are valued.
• Art provides natural opportunities for children to learn through play without feeling anxious over failure. The art is child friendly and engaging because they are natural as play.
• Art encourages children to develop their creativity, which is essential throughout their lives. Art helps children to express themselves and their feelings.
• Art and crafts in EVS involve children working in groups, which promotes peer learning and improves social interaction.

Hence, we conclude that art and craft should be integrated into EVS teaching because it promotes inclusion, creativity, and peer learning.

Every class contains children with a diverse range of abilities and personalities. As each student has varied skills, some students learn more quickly than others. Due to this disparity, it is difficult for teachers to execute strategies that benefit the entire class.

• As a result, a teacher must devise effective learning methods to address the unique needs of each student in the class.

Key PointsTeaching strategy- The methods adopted by a teacher for delivering course material in a way that keeps students engaged and allows them to practice different skill sets.

• Learning through sharing experiences- Students are more successful when they are asked to participate in the learning process rather than simply absorb knowledge from the teacher.
• By narrating experiences in the classroom, the children will be able to develop feelings of self-esteem and it decreases feelings of depression, anxiety, and isolation.
• It helps the student to become more confident and they will be better able to connect classroom theories and knowledge to real-world situations.

Hence, we conclude that asking students to narrate their experiences of visiting different houses and construction sites will promote inquiry while teaching the theme "Shelter" to class IV students.

HintCollecting pictures, sharing pictures of different shelters, and showing PowerPoint presentations will not promote inquiry among students as children will not be able to connect the knowledge to real-life situations.

Environmental studies include the study of the environment and its attributes. It provides an approach to understanding the environment and the impact of human life on it.

 Key Points

• EVS at the primary level
• According to NCF 2005, EVS is an integrated subject area at the primary level that incorporates concepts from science (physical, chemical, and biological), social studies (history, geography, political science, sociology, etc), and environmental education (protection and conservation).
• Its goal is to help children acquire a holistic or integrated perspective of the environment in which they live.
• EVS focuses on exposing children to the actual world they live in and exploring and connecting with their insights into the functioning of several things in their environment.

Hence, we conclude that EVS, in primary classes is a subject area that integrates the concepts and issues of science, social studies, and environmental education.

Environmental studies aid children in comprehending how things work and interact in their environment. At the primary level, it is an integrated subject area that incorporates knowledge from science, social science studies, and environmental education.

• Its aim is to help children acquire a holistic or integrated view of the environment in which they live.

Key Points

• Objectives of EVS at the primary level:
• ​To train children to locate and comprehend relationships between the natural, social, and cultural environment.
• To create cognitive capacity and resourcefulness to make the child curious about social phenomena starting with family and moving on to wider spaces.
• To engage children in exploratory and hands-on activities to acquire basic cognitive and psychomotor skills through observation, classification, inference, etc.
• To be able to critically address gender concerns and issues of marginalization and operation with values of equality and justice and respect for human dignity and rights.

Hence, we conclude that sensitizing learners to issues related to gender discrimination is an objective of EVS at the primary level.

Activities are the tasks designed or deployed by a teacher to bring about the conditions for learning.

Key Points

• Experiential learning- It is the process of learning by doing. Students are better able to apply ideas in knowledge taught in the classroom to real-world situations when they are engaged in hands-on experience and reflection.
• Helps children to memorize information- When kids are physically and mentally involved in the learning process it will help them to retain information.
• Encourages children to be independent and inquisitive as it focuses on investigation and analysis and also develops critical thinking.
• It encourages children to be creative in the way they express their knowledge. It provides an opportunity to express themselves through the activity as well as through the act of verbal presentation.

Hence, we conclude that the above activity is designed to promote experiential learning as the children are actively involved in the learning process.

Visually impaired students are born with visual impairment or become visually impaired later on due to illness, malnutrition, or an accident. They can be partially blind or fully blind. Suitable teaching strategies should be used to cater needs of these children.

Key Points

• Strategies for teaching visually impaired students-
• Oral instructions- Students who are visually challenged may have difficulties seeing the words and understanding the information provided in handouts. Instead, for every assignment and activity, the teacher should give oral instructions.
• Provide tactile learning experiences- Tactile learning activities should be incorporated whenever possible. Instead of discussing objects in the class and showing their pictures, the teacher should actually show the real object in the class for children to touch and experience. This will help children to explore and learn without relying solely on sight.
• Recording lessons- It is the simplest and cheapest technique to improve the learning environment for visually impaired or blind students. This allows children to listen to the instructions or lecture several times to ensure that they fully understand the lesson.

Hence, we conclude that the most appropriate strategy for teaching EVS to visually impaired students is using more tactile teaching-learning materials.

 Hint

Other given strategies are also used for teaching visually impaired students but tactile learning is the best strategy because in this technique, the children learn by touching and doing and they will understand and remember things through hands-on experiences.

Assessment is the process of collecting relevant information on students learning. It is one of the important components of the teaching-learning process. Assessment does more than just measure learning.

Key Points

• Assessment in EVS classroom
• Assessment is a continuous process since it is how teachers learn about the needs, skills, and capacities of children. It allows teachers to be more efficient in their planning and delivery. It is how they determine where children are in their learning and how to plan for the next step.
• A good teacher will also use the results of their assessment to make rapid changes to the class to ensure that their students fully comprehend the goal. Everything is covered in the lesson plan. The number of assessments that can be included in a lesson is unlimited, teachers should employ as many as are necessary to ensure that students are learning and can access their students during the teaching-learning process.

Hence, we conclude that the most appropriate stage of the Lesson plan where students should be assessed while teaching EVs is over the course of teaching-learning.

Assessment tools are the techniques for determining a student's academic capabilities, fluency, and skills in a particular subject area, as well as their progress towards academic proficiency in that subject area.

Key Points

• The checklist is used to evaluate the record opinions or judgments and indicates the degree or amount.
• It consists of a list of items prepared by the teacher to study the relevant problems.
• It is organized to give quick feedback and gather data or information.
• The students just have to answer them in yes/no or tick mark the items to show the absence or presence of that specific item.

Hence, we conclude that the checklist assessment tool will be used by the teacher to give children quick feedback.

Additional Information

• Rating scale: It is used to measure the attitude of students in any situation, idea, or object. It is always prepared in odd number points like 3 point rating scale or 5-point rating scale to get a middle measuring point.
• Observation- It means seeing or noticing for a purpose.
• Peer assessment- In this process students provide feedback to each other on their work.

Assessment is a process of collecting relevant information on student learning. It is one of the important components of the teaching-learning process. Assessment does more than just measure learning.

Key Points

• Assessment of learning is generally summative in nature occurring at the end of a class, course, semester, or academic year, and intended to measure learning outcomes and report these outcomes to students, parents, and administrators.
• Assessment of learning or performance in EVS, thus, refers to the collection of all possible data and evidence with respect to learning of EVS concepts.
• These data may be numerical or quantitative like marks or scores and qualitative data like interest in learning of the concepts, interaction capability on the concepts learnt, involvement in subject-related activities, and several other characteristics of the student which are the possible outcomes of learning of the concepts. ​

Hence, we conclude that in EVS, the objective of the assessment of learning is that teacher gathers information about the student's achievement.

National Education Policy is the first education policy of the 21^st century and aims to address the many growing developmental imperatives of this country. This Policy proposes the revision and revamping of all aspects of the education structure, including its regulation and governance, to create a new system that is aligned with the aspirational goals of 21^st-century education.

Key Points 

• The curricular and pedagogical structure and the curricular framework for school education will therefore be guided by a 5 + 3 + 3 + 4 design, consisting of the stages:
• Foundational (3 years of preschool + Grades 1-2):- The Foundational Stage will consist of play/activity-based learning. It will also include a focus on good behavior, courtesy, ethics, personal and public hygiene/cleanliness, teamwork, cooperation, etc.
• Preparatory (Grades 3- 5):-  The Preparatory Stage will transition gradually from play-based learning to more formal but interactive classroom learning, with the introduction of some (light) textbooks, in order to lay a solid groundwork across subjects, including reading, writing, speaking, physical education, art, languages, science, and mathematics.
• Middle (Grades 6-8):- The Middle Stage will see the introduction of subject teachers for learning/discussion of the more abstract concepts in each subject that students will be ready for at this stage, across the sciences, mathematics, arts, social sciences, and humanities.
• High school (Grades 9-12 in two phases, i.e. 9 and 10 in the first and 11 and 12 in the second) stages respectively, with an option of exiting at Class 10 and re-entering in the next phase:- The High School (or Secondary) Stage will comprise of four years of multidisciplinary study, building on the subject-oriented pedagogical and curricular style of the Middle Stage, but with greater depth, greater critical thinking, greater attention to life aspirations, and greater flexibility and student choice.

Thus, it is concluded that Primary classes (Classes I to V) will consist of  Preparatory and  Foundational Stages according to NEP, 2020.

Process skills are the procedures that scientists employ when carrying out research. Observing, classifying, communicating, measuring, predicting, and inferring are some common process skills.

Key Points

• Learners must master basic science process skills in order to comprehend the scientific method and techniques employed by scientists. Apart from the 6 basic process skills listed above, science has also integrated skills, which are acquired after learners have learned to use the 6 basic process skills. The integrated skills are-
• Identifying and controlling variables
• Defining variables operationally
• Hypothesizing
• Experimenting
• Data interpretation
• Creating models etc.

Hence, we conclude that recalling facts is not a process skill, because memorization or recall is a traditional method of assisting students in getting marks and grades, however, it is ineffective in the long run because it is not long-lasting. 

Confusion Points The official answer to this question is Testing Hypothesis but recalling facts is the correct answer. Testing Hypothesis is a process skill.

Each hypothesis is to be tested to solve the problem.

The syllabus of EVS has been developed within a child-centered perspective of themes that provide a common interface of issues in social studies, sciences, and environmental education.

Key Points

• Themes in EVS syllabus classes The syllabus for classes III to V is organized around 6 main as listed below the main theme of "Family and Friends" is divided into 4 sub-themes:

1. Family and friends

• Relationships
• Work and play
• Animals
• Plants

2. Food
3. Shelter
4. Water
5. Travel
6. Things we make and do.

• "Work and play" is included under the theme of family and friends to allow children to look at their own bodies as a part of themself in a more contextual and connected manner.

Hence, we conclude that *"*Work and Play" is a sub-theme under the theme of Family and Friends.

A divergent question is one that does not have a definite answer and instead tests one's capacity to think extensively about a topic.

Key Points

• Characteristics of divergent questions
• It requires children to analyze, synthesize, evaluate a knowledge base and then predict different outcomes.

It encourages children to stretch their thinking beyond what they know to be true. These are also known as open-ended questions. For example- What are the ways to save trees? What step will you take to reduce air pollution in metro cities like Delhi?

• These questions encourage children to think independently. They are encouraged to use their higher-order cognitive abilities to create new ideas or explanations by combining original and known ideas.

Hence, we conclude that "what steps will you take to reduce air pollution in metro cities like Delhi" is a divergent question.

All the other three options are not divergent questions because they all have a definite answer.

Assessment is the process of collecting relevant information on students learning. It is one of the most important components of the teaching-learning process. Assessment does more than just measure learning.

Key PointsAssessment in EVS acts as a useful tool in the teaching-learning process as it helps in student learning and improving instructions.

• Authentic assessment strategies- It enables students to apply what they've learned in the classroom to real-life situations while also allowing teachers to track the progress of children over time.
• The authentic assessment focuses on contextualized tasks, allowing children to demonstrate skills in a more authentic situation.
• It includes observing a child, his classroom activities and routines, and identifying child behavior that is used in the activities.
• Authentic assessment includes observation, essays, performance tasks, portfolios, journals, exhibitions, demonstrations, etc.

Hence, we conclude that the dynamic, holistic, and experiential nature of EVs learning by students is best assessed by authentic assessment strategies.

Whereas rating scales, pen-paper tests, and oral tests, will not give provide the teacher full insight into students' behavior and needs.