Grade 5 Chapter 10: Getting to Know India

Topics covered: India's physical set-up, Rivers, Mountains, Plateaus, Plains, Islands, Diversity in nature and lifestyle, States and Union Territories, Crops and transport routes.

Make Friends with Maps!

Look at the map of India given below. It shows the different rivers in India. You must be familiar with some of the names. They are often mentioned in patriotic songs. Our country is rich with many rivers, mountains, and plateaus. Some of them have been shown on the map. Which of the names given on the map seem familiar? Where have you read about them? On the map, encircle the names you know.

[Note: The actual map from the textbook cannot be displayed here, but students should refer to page 44 of their textbook.]

Study the physical map of India carefully and answer the questions.

1. Find the mountains and name them.
2. Name the hills shown on the map.
3. Find and name the plateaus in the map.
4. Which rivers originate in the Himalayas and join the Indus? Consider the height and write the direction of their flow.
5. Write the names of the major rivers which flow into the Coromandel Coast.
6. Study the course of the Ganga, Narmada, Vainganga, Godavari and Kaveri rivers. Note the slope of the land in each basin and write the direction of the slope.
7. Find the lakes on the map and name them.
8. Find and name the gulfs and the direction in which they are located with respect to India.
9. Study the water bodies on the three sides of India. Find their names and write the direction in which they are located.
10. Find the Lakshadweep, Andaman and Nicobar Island groups and write the names of some of the islands.
11. Which river basin is located in the northern plain of India?

Our Country: A Land of Diversity

We learnt about the physical set-up of India with the help of the map and the questions given with it.

Our country comprises various rivers, mountains, plateaus, plains, islands, etc. The Indian subcontinent is surrounded by water on three sides and tapers towards the south. This part is called the Indian peninsula. Our northern border is defined by the lofty Himalaya ranges. Our country has forests, plains and deserts.

The expanse of our country is large. The height above sea-level varies and goes up even beyond 8000 metres. Therefore, the weather conditions change from region to region. This gives rise to a wide variety of plants, animals and birds. Similarly, there is also a difference in the crops cultivated.

• Wheat is a primary crop in the north.
• Rice is a primary crop in the south and along the coast.
• Jowar is produced on a large scale in central India.

This diversity has a significant effect on our lifestyle, customs, traditions and culture.

People of many different castes, tribes and religions live in our country. Many different languages are spoken. We also see differences in food, clothing and festivals and celebrations in the different regions.

• Forest region
• Desert region
• Plains
• Mountainous region
• Marshy region

Make Friends with Maps! (Political Map)

Study the political map of India given above and answer the questions.

[Note: The actual map from the textbook cannot be displayed here, but students should refer to page 47 of their textbook.]

1. Find our State. Colour it with your favourite colour and write the name of its capital.
2. Which is the northernmost State?
3. Which is the southernmost State?
4. Colour the States to the north-east in different colours. Write their names and the names of their capitals.
5. Colour the largest State in yellow and circle its capital.
6. What do the names in red letters show?

States and Union Territories of India

Let each person in the class choose one State. Use the following points to collect information about the State.

1. Social and cultural features: language, festivals, clothing, dance forms, etc.
2. Geographical features: landforms, water bodies, forests, etc.

You can take the help of the school library, newspapers, magazines, the internet, television and your teacher to find this information.

India is a democratic republic. The capital of India is New Delhi. Considering the area, Rajasthan is the largest State in India. It is followed by Madhya Pradesh. Maharashtra is in the third place. Goa is the State with the smallest area.

Apart from the Indian mainland, several groups of islands are also included in the Indian territory.

1. The Lakshadweep islands in the Arabian Sea.
2. The Andaman and Nicobar islands in the Bay of Bengal.
3. The coastal islands near the Indian mainland.

All these islands have strategic locations from the defence point of view. Long ago, forts were built on some of these islands off the coast of Maharashtra to safeguard the coast. These historical forts are known as sea forts. We can see several such forts along the Konkan coast. An example is the Janjira Sea fort.

Use your brain power!

1. Which is the State next to us which was formed in 2014?
2. How many States are there in India?
3. In which State is the Great Indian Desert mainly located?

Now make charts of the information you have collected and put them up in the classroom. While doing this, do not forget the Union Territories. In this way, you will have a display of each State and Union Territory (UT) in your classroom.

Crops and Transport Routes

We also notice differences in the crops produced in the different regions. Let us find out where the coffee, tea, oranges, mangoes, etc. that we see in the market come from, and how they reach us. See the map on the next page.

[Note: The actual map from the textbook cannot be displayed here, but students should refer to page 49 of their textbook.]

Study the map given above carefully. This map shows some of the cash crops and transport routes in India.

Answer the questions given below with the help of the map.

1. From where will we obtain saffron? Trace the most convenient route.
2. In which States is tea grown?
3. Find the route taken to bring cloves into our State and trace it.
4. Find the States in which apples are grown. Circle their names.
5. Find the route to deliver oranges from Nagpur to Bikaner and trace it.
6. Find a route to deliver coffee and mangoes to West Bengal and trace it.
7. How will you send onions from Maharashtra to Arunachal Pradesh?

What’s the solution?

Harsh and Tanishka live in Mumbai. They want to see the Andaman and Nicobar islands. First they are going to see their uncle in Chennai. After that, they will visit the islands. To make this trip, which of the routes on the map on page 49 will they have to take? Will you help them by tracing this route on the map?

Always remember: There is a diversity of plants, animals and birds in our country. We can easily see this in forested regions. We must preserve this diversity.

What We Have Learnt

• We studied India with the help of maps.
• We studied the landforms and water bodies in India.
• Through activities, we obtained information about the various languages, clothes, festivals and other features of India.
• We identified some crops and transport routes in India.

Exercises

1. Correct the following statements and write them in your notebook.
   1. There are coffee plantations in Himachal Pradesh.
   2. Konkan lies in the eastern part of India.
   3. Tripura is the smallest State in India.
   4. The Sabarmati river flows through Madhya Pradesh.
   5. The Sahyadri mountains are located in Andhra Pradesh.
2. Make a chart of the States and the rivers flowing through/in them.

Activities

1. Collect information and pictures about any one State along the northern boundary of India.
2. Make a presentation: ‘I am the State of …….. speaking.’
3. Find out which languages are spoken in your surroundings. Mention the States/region to which they are related.