Chapter 7: Water – A Precious Gift

Chapter at a Glance

The chapter begins with the riddle “What comes down but never goes up?” The answer is rain. Children watch the sky, guess whether it will rain from clues like dark clouds and cool wind, and observe the raindrops: whether the rain is heavy or light, and whether it falls straight or slanting. Rainwater falls on different surfaces. Some soaks into the soil and is stored underground between rocks, some flows into streams and rivers, and some collects in puddles, ponds, lakes and seas. The water in our wells comes from this underground water.

Surya and Barkha follow the pipes from their taps and find a tank on the roof. Water reaches our homes in many ways: through taps and pipes from tanks, from wells and borewells using pulleys, hand pumps or electric pumps, carried from rivers and lakes, or delivered by tankers. We use water for drinking, cooking, bathing, cleaning and washing. When the society pipeline bursts, Surya and Barkha’s family manages with water they had stored. People store water in vessels made of clay, copper, brass, steel, aluminium, glass and plastic.

Used water becomes dirty and cannot be used for drinking or cooking, but it can be reused for plants or flushing toilets. We should use less water, reuse it and avoid adding too much soap. In many places, people keep pots of drinking water outside for thirsty people and tanks for animals. Children learn to make a birdbath to help birds in the hot summer. Every drop of water counts.

Word Meanings

Important Topics

1. Where Rainwater Goes

• Soaks into the soil and is stored underground.
• Flows into streams, which join rivers.
• Collects in puddles, ponds, lakes, seas and oceans.
• Wells get their water from underground water.
• On hard surfaces, water dries up in the sun.

2. How Water Reaches Our Homes

3. Uses of Water

• Drinking and cooking.
• Bathing and brushing teeth.
• Washing clothes and utensils.
• Cleaning the house, watering plants and giving water to animals.

4. Vessels for Storing Water

5. Saving Water

• Use less water and turn off taps.
• Reuse used water for plants or flushing toilets.
• Do not add too much soap or chemicals to water.
• Offer drinking water to people, animals and birds.

6. Make a Birdbath

1. Take a shallow, wide container less than 10 cm deep.
2. Put some stones and pebbles in it for birds and insects to perch on.
3. Fill it with fresh water and keep it in a yard, balcony or terrace.
4. Change the water often and clean the container twice a week.

Question-Answers

Very Short Answer Questions

1. What comes down but never goes up? Rain.
2. Where does the water in our wells come from? Underground water.
3. What did Surya and Barkha find at the end of the pipes? A tank on the roof.
4. Name two ways to draw water from a well. A pulley and a hand pump.
5. Which vehicle delivers water? A tanker.
6. Name a clay vessel used to store water. A surahi (or matka).
7. Can we drink waste water? No.
8. What can waste water be reused for? Watering plants or flushing toilets.
9. What is a birdbath? A shallow container of water for birds.
10. How deep should a birdbath be? Less than 10 cm.

Short Answer Questions

Q1. What happens to rainwater after it falls?

Some soaks into the soil and is stored underground. Some flows into streams and rivers. Some collects in puddles, ponds and lakes, and some dries up in the sun.

Q2. Why do we store water?

We do not get water all the time. Pipes may burst or supply may stop, so we store water to use when there is none.

Q3. Why should we not waste water?

Water is precious and limited. In many places people walk long distances to get it, so every drop counts.

Q4. How can we reuse water?

Water used for washing vegetables or rice can be used to water plants. Some used water can be used for flushing toilets.

Long Answer Questions

Q1. How does water reach our homes?

Rain fills streams, rivers, lakes and underground water. From these sources, water is pumped to big tanks and sent through pipes to the taps in our homes. Some people draw water from wells with pulleys or hand pumps. Some carry it from rivers or lakes, and some get it delivered by tankers. We store this water in tanks, pots and buckets and use it every day.

Q2. How can we take care of water, our precious gift?

We should turn off taps when not in use and fix leaks. We should reuse water for plants and toilets and not add too much soap or chemicals to it. We should not throw waste into rivers and ponds. We can offer water to thirsty people, animals and birds, for example by making a birdbath.

Textbook Exercise Answers

A1. Observations of the rain (sample). The rain started with dark clouds and cool wind. The drops were big and fell slanting. Water collected in puddles on the road and soaked into the soil in the garden. Collected rainwater looked clean.

A2. A water body near my place (sample). There is a pond near my village. Its water is used for animals and for washing, not for drinking, because it is not clean enough. In the past, people used it for drinking.

B. Draw your birdbath and write the names of birds that visit it, like sparrows, crows, pigeons, mynas and bees.

C. Ways water gets wasted or polluted, and solutions.

• Wasted: leaving taps open, leaking pipes, long showers, overflowing tanks.
• Polluted: throwing garbage, soap and chemicals into rivers and ponds.
• Solutions: close taps while brushing, fix leaks, use a bucket instead of a shower, and reuse water for plants.

Other in-text questions

• Clues that it will rain: dark clouds, cool wind, birds flying low, a smell of wet soil.
• Clues it will not rain: a clear blue sky, bright sunshine, no clouds.