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NCERT Solutions for Class 5th The World Around Us Chapter 4 Green School — In-text Questions

Book page 55–56 Updated on2026-09-19

Q1.
“What is a green school?” Mohit asked.
Answer

A green school is a school that takes care of the earth while it teaches. Aasha's brother told her that it does four things.

  1. It manages its waste. Waste is separated into wet and dry. Nothing useful is thrown away.
  2. It saves water. Taps are closed tight, leaks are repaired, and rainwater is collected instead of being let into the drain.
  3. It uses electricity carefully. Lights and fans are switched off in an empty room. Classrooms use daylight from the windows.
  4. It keeps the campus green. More trees and plants are planted — and, just as important, they are looked after until they grow.
Why the last part matters: Planting a sapling takes ten minutes. Keeping it alive takes two years of watering. A green school is not the school that plants the most saplings. It is the school where the saplings that were planted are still growing.
Notice one thing: not one of these four needs money. They need students who notice a dripping tap, a light left on, or a bin that nobody is using — and who then do something about it.
Q2.
What about our school? Can we make it a green school too?
Answer

Yes. Any school can become a green school, and the students can start it themselves. You do not have to wait for new buildings or new machines.

Here is how a class can begin, step by step.

  1. Look first. Walk around the school with your eyes open. Write down what you see — a leaking tap, a fan running in an empty room, litter behind the classroom.
  2. Pick one thing. Do not try to fix everything at once. Choose the problem your class can actually solve.
  3. Make a small team. Give it a name and a job — Water Watchers, Waste Warriors, Green Guardians.
  4. Take the smallest useful action. Two extra dustbins. A list of leaking taps given to the office. One tree per class, with a watering roster.
  5. Tell everyone. A chart on the notice board, or two minutes in the morning assembly.
  6. Check again after a month. Is the tap still dripping? Is the bin being used? If not, ask why and try a different way.
Why students can do this well: Children are in every corner of the school all day. Teachers and the principal are in a few rooms. So the students are the ones who actually see the leaking tap behind the toilet block and the litter under the staircase.
Q3.
Their teacher Anupam, who is teaching them ʻThe World Around Usʼ asked, “I enjoyed your discussion, I want to know how will you begin this?”
Answer

We would begin by looking carefully at our own school and writing down exactly what we find. You cannot fix a problem until you know where it is.

Sample answer: “Sir, we will begin like this. First, we will walk around the whole school and draw a map of it — the building, the playground, the garden, the water tanks, the gate and the paths. Then we will make five School Explorer Teams. Each team will take one job: water, electricity, waste, greenery and traffic. Each team will decide beforehand what it is going to observe, so that we do not just wander about. We will take one week, and each team will write down what it finds — how many taps leak, how many bins there are, which room is hottest, how many trees we have. Then we will sit together in class and share our findings. After that we will choose the two or three problems we can solve ourselves this term, and make a plan for each one.”

Why 'look first' is the right first step: Guessing wastes effort. A class might spend a whole month planting saplings when the school's biggest problem was three taps running all night. Observing tells you where your effort will do the most good. Scientists work this way too — observe, record, then act.
Tip for your team: Decide what you will observe before you go out, and carry a notebook. Write numbers, not feelings — “4 taps dripping”, not “some taps dripping”. Numbers convince people.
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