NCERT Solutions for Class 5 The World Around Us Chapter 10 Earth Our Shared Home (PDF) – 2027

Fill the lines from the smallest place to the biggest. The last line is the same for everyone: Planet — Earth.

Sample answer (your first seven lines will be your own):

Yes. All the oceans on Earth are connected. On a globe you can move your finger from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic, then the Pacific and back again without crossing land. They are really one huge body of salt water with five names: Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Southern and Arctic.

India is in the southern part of Asia, north of the equator (in the northern half of the globe). It looks like a wide triangle pointing south into the Indian Ocean, with the Himalaya on its northern side, the Arabian Sea on the west and the Bay of Bengal on the east.

Yes, in winter I saw a huge flock of small birds twisting and turning over the fields like a cloud of smoke. These were rosy starlings. A grown-up rosy starling has a pink body with a black head, black wings and a black tail.

Yes, it is amazing. A rosy starling is only about the size of a myna, yet every winter it flies thousands of kilometres from southern Russia and Mongolia to India on its own wings. Here it eats locusts and grasshoppers, the pests that damage crops, so it helps farmers without even trying.

Yes, the rosy starling comes to our area every winter and is seen in big flocks over the fields. Here it is called tiliyar; some people call it gulabi maina.

If it does not come to your area, write that honestly and name another winter bird that does come.

The story tells us that nature has no boundaries. Birds cross many countries freely, without any passport. It also shows that living things depend on each other: the rosy starling gets warm weather and food in India, and the farmers’ crops are saved from pests. Nature is connected all across the globe.

Choose five birds that really come to your area in winter. Draw or paste each one and write its name and where it comes from. Most of our winter birds come from colder lands to the north.

Sample poster — “Our Winter Guests”

Fix one end of a string on southern Russia and Mongolia. Lay it flat on the globe towards the south-west, across Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan) and over the mountains, and fix the other end on north-west India. The string shows a journey of several thousand kilometres across many countries.

Sample answer (postcard):

Dear friends, I am a rosy starling flying from Mongolia to India. On the way I have crossed a dry desert, a wide lake and snowy mountains. A strong wind behind me helps me glide, the air grows warmer as I fly south, and fields and lakes give me food and water. See you in India this winter! — Gulabi

It means that the borders between countries are lines drawn by people on maps; nature does not stop at them. Air, clouds, rain, rivers, seeds, birds and animals move freely across the world. So what happens to nature in one country affects other countries too, and we must all care for it together.

Yes. Yoga has been practised in India for more than 3,000 years. People did it to keep the body healthy and the mind peaceful, and to live in harmony with themselves and nature. Later, travellers, scholars and teachers from India shared it with other countries, and today it is practised almost everywhere.

Yes, it is amazing. Yoga began in India more than 3,000 years ago, and today people in almost every country practise it. Since 2014, when the United Nations declared 21 June as the International Day of Yoga, millions of people around the world do yoga together on that day.

Yoga became popular because it is simple, cheap and helpful. It needs no machine or special ground — just a mat and a little space. People of any age can do it. It keeps the body healthy and calms the mind. Indian teachers and travellers spread it, and the International Day of Yoga (21 June, since 2014) made it known everywhere.

I have tried Vrikshasana (the tree pose). I stand on one leg, place the sole of the other foot against the inside of my thigh and join my hands above my head. At first I wobbled, but with practice I could hold it. I think it helps with balance and concentration.

Our food would still be cooked and filling, but it would taste less hot and many dishes would lose their red colour. Chilli pickles and chutneys would be missing. We would use black pepper, ginger, garlic and mustard instead, as Indians did before chillies came about 400–500 years ago. Chilli farmers and sellers would also lose a week’s earnings.

My mother makes pepper rasam (milagu rasam) with black pepper, cumin, garlic and tamarind, and no red chilli. Other such dishes are kali mirch paneer, kadha and haldi doodh with a pinch of black pepper.

Fix one end of a red string on South America (Brazil). Take it across the Atlantic Ocean, round the southern tip of Africa, and across the Indian Ocean to India’s west coast (Goa). About 400–500 years ago Portuguese sailing ships carried chillies along sea routes like this; many of their ships stopped in Portugal on the way.

Sample answer — The story of the potato: The potato first grew in the cold mountains of South America (Peru and Bolivia). About 500 years ago Spanish sailors took it to Europe, and later the Portuguese brought it to India. Slowly it spread everywhere. Today we cannot imagine samosa, aloo paratha or chips without it.

I would share khichdi. It is rice and dal cooked together in one pot with a little salt and turmeric. It is cheap, quick to make, filling and gentle on the stomach, so a baby, an old person and a sick person can all eat it. Anyone can add local vegetables to it.

I think millets such as bajra, ragi and jowar will travel more in the future, because they grow with very little water and are very healthy. Makhana, moringa leaves, jaggery and ready-made Indian spice mixes may also travel, because they are healthy and easy to carry.

Yes, it is amazing. The marigold came all the way from Mexico, yet today it is seen everywhere in India — in temples, homes, weddings and festivals like Diwali. Its bright orange and yellow colours suited our festivals so well that most people now think of it as an Indian flower.

Because the marigold’s bright orange and yellow colours stand for warmth, celebration and joy in both cultures. It also grows easily, flowers in large numbers around festival time, stays fresh after picking and is cheap, so everyone can use it for garlands and decorations. It came from Mexico, and India made it its own.

Because flowers are beautiful, smell good and grow in every country, so almost everyone can have them. They stand for joy, new life and good wishes, and they make any place look festive. So people everywhere use them in garlands, decorations and offerings to show that the day is special.

It tells us that animals can move to new lands with people and settle there if the weather suits them. Portuguese traders took Indian cows to Brazil; they grew in number, and today more than three-fourths of Brazil’s milk comes from three Indian breeds — Gir, Kankrej and Ongole. Like plants and ideas, animals also link countries together.

Five breeds of Indian cows: Gir, Sahiwal, Red Sindhi, Tharparkar and Kankrej. Some others are Ongole, Hallikar, Vechur, Rathi and Deoni. Ask an elder which breeds are kept in your own district.

Sample answer (the book’s table, filled in): write things you really have at home or in school.

I interviewed my grandmother, Kamla Devi (72). She said that noodles, momos and birthday cakes were not there in her childhood. The birthday cake and the ‘Happy Birthday’ song came from Europe and America through films and television. Earlier, birthdays meant kheer and blessings from elders.

Came to India: chilli, potato and tomato (South America), marigold (Mexico), paper (China), dates and lemons (Arab traders), rosy starlings (Russia and Mongolia).
Went from India: yoga, sugar and jaggery, rice, mangoes, bananas, pepper and cardamom, indigo, zero, chess, and Gir, Kankrej and Ongole cows (to Brazil).

Use one colour of string for things coming in and another colour for things going out.

‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ teaches us that the whole world is one family. All people, animals, trees, rivers, and even the air and the sky belong to this family. So we should live with respect, care and love for one another and for the Earth, because caring for the Earth means caring for each other.

‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ means that the whole Earth is one big family. Every person, animal, tree and river is a member of my family, so no one is a stranger. We should share, help each other and keep our common home clean.

We can live like one big family by respecting our differences and caring for each other. We should never make fun of anyone’s food, clothes, language or name; share our things; include everyone in games; listen before we argue; join in each other’s festivals; and look after shared places, plants and animals.

Sample answer — The Little Red Fire (the chilli): Long ago, a Portuguese sailor brought dried red chillies from South America to India’s west coast. A cook put one in her curry, and everyone loved the taste. She planted the seeds, and her neighbours asked for some. Chilli grew easily, so food could now be made hot cheaply. Slowly it reached every Indian kitchen.

One way I can care for the Earth is to carry a cloth bag and a steel water bottle every day, so that I do not use plastic bags and plastic bottles.

Sample answer — Millets: Millets such as bajra, jowar and ragi grow well in the dry parts of India with very little water, and they are rich in fibre and minerals. Many countries are short of water, so millets can travel from India to the world as a healthy food that is easy to grow.