14. A Lesson for All
Complete textbook exercise solutions — Maharashtra State Board (Balbharati), Grade Five English.
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(1) What difficulties do the people in the play face in the morning?
In the morning, the newspaper boy and the milkman are late. The entire street is littered with dangerous garbage, causing Madhu to fall and cut her foot on broken glass. The newspaper boy trips over an old tyre and sprains his foot, and the milkman's bicycle tyre gets punctured.
(2) What more difficulties would they have to face, if the roads are not cleared?
If the roads are not cleared, the school bus driver cannot drive safely, hindering daily work and routines. More people and children could get seriously injured by sharp objects, and the unsafe, unhygienic conditions could spread diseases.
(3) What are the complaints of the animals?
The animals complain that humans dump rubbish, chemicals, and poison into the forests and rivers. As a result, the trees are dying, leaving birds with nowhere to roost or build nests. The polluted water and sharp broken glass injure and kill the young animals, fish, and other creatures in their natural habitat.
Human characters
- Newspaper boy
- Milkman
- Hawker
- School-bus driver
- Dr Sawant
- Mrs Patel (a housewife)
- Mr Desai (a businessman)
- Mayor of the town
- Mrs Joshi (a housewife)
- Nidhi and Madhu (school-going girls)
Birds and animals
- Rabbit
- Deer
- Peacock
- Squirrel
- Bear
- Birds
- Tortoise
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(1) Enact the play.
This is a classroom acting activity. Students can assign roles among themselves and perform the skit in the classroom.
(2) Write slogans for the cleanliness drive in your area.
- Clean City, Green City!
- Don't be mean, keep your surroundings clean!
- Throw it in the bin, let cleanliness win!
- Be part of the solution, not the pollution!
(3) Write a short note/story based on the ill effects of pollution.
The Sad River
Once there was a beautiful village beside a clear blue river. The villagers used the water for drinking and farming. Slowly, a few factories were built nearby. They started dumping chemical waste and plastic bags directly into the river. Soon, the water turned dark and foul-smelling. The fish began to die, and the animals that drank from the river fell very ill. Even the village children got skin diseases from playing in the polluted water. Finally, the villagers realized their mistake. They forced the factories to stop dumping waste and worked together to clean the river. It took years, but they learned the hard way that polluting nature eventually harms humans the most.
A statement
- It’s nine o’clock.
- I’ll get some ice at once.
A question
- Why hasn’t the newspaper been delivered on time today?
- Where did all this litter and garbage come from?
A command
- Request her to come quickly.
- Look around.
An exclamation
- Very strange!
- Unbelievable!
(1) Discuss: How is waste generated? How is it removed or cleared? How can we help in the task of clearing or removing garbage?
- How is waste generated? Waste is generated from our daily activities at home (kitchen waste, plastic wrappers), in schools (paper), and in factories and markets. It increases when we use single-use items.
- How is it removed or cleared? It is usually collected by garbage collectors (municipality workers), taken in garbage trucks, and disposed of in designated dumping grounds or processing plants.
- How can we help? We can help by separating dry and wet waste at home, throwing garbage only in dustbins, and volunteering in neighbourhood clean-up drives.
(2) In what way can we help to reduce or minimize waste generation?
We can minimize waste by following the golden rules given in the textbook:
- Don't waste food. Take only as much as you can finish.
- Don't throw away broken or half-used things immediately; try to repair and reuse them.
- Avoid single-use plastics like thermocol cups and polythene bags. Use cloth bags instead.
- Always practise the mantra: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle!