NCERT Solutions for Class 5 EVS Chapter 4: Our School — A Happy Place – Free PDF Download

Chapter 4 of Class 5 EVS, Our Wondrous World, Our School — A Happy Place, follows Aasha and Mohit as they dream of turning their school into a “green school” through waste management, water conservation, and kindness.

Last Updated: August 26, 2026

NCERT Solutions for Class 5 EVS Chapter 4: Our School — A Happy Place

What this chapter teaches.
What makes a “green school” — managing waste properly, saving water, using electricity carefully, and planting trees; proper waste management — separating waste into dry waste (blue bin) and wet waste (green bin); water conservation; road/traffic and fire safety around school; and how a happy school comes from friendship, kindness, cleanliness, and a positive environment, not just facilities.

Write & Discuss (Textbook Questions)

What do I really like about my school? How can I make my school greener? In case there is any difficulty at school, whom do I talk to or inform?
(Open-ended, personal.) Sample answers: liking the playground or friends; making the school greener by planting trees, saving water, and reducing waste; and informing a class teacher, the school counsellor, or the principal about any difficulty.

What happens if we do not separate our waste?
Wet and dry waste mixed together is harder and more unpleasant to process — recyclable dry waste (paper, plastic, metal) gets spoiled by wet waste, wet waste cannot be composted properly, and all of it usually ends up dumped together in a landfill instead of being reused or recycled.

What can we do to make the work of sanitation workers easier and safer?
Segregate waste properly at source, avoid throwing sharp or hazardous items loose in the bin, use bins instead of littering, and treat sanitation workers with respect and gratitude for the essential work they do.

If your area is getting warmer, what actions can be taken to keep it cool?
Paint roofs white or light colours to reflect heat, plant more trees for shade, reduce concrete/paved surfaces, and avoid unnecessary use of heat-generating appliances.

What are some easy things we can do in our school to prevent the wastage of water? How can you collect and use rainwater at home or in school?
Fix dripping taps, turn off taps fully after use, use a mug instead of a running tap while washing, and reuse leftover water for plants. Rainwater can be collected from rooftops through pipes into a storage tank or a rainwater-harvesting pit that lets it soak into the ground and recharge groundwater.

Besides making signboards, what else can we do to improve traffic near the school?
Have a designated safe pick-up/drop-off zone, post a guard or volunteer during school hours, mark a pedestrian zebra crossing, and encourage carpooling or walking in groups to reduce vehicle congestion.

Activities

Activity 1 — Map your school.
A school map activity in which children walk around and note the main building, playground, garden, water tanks, and other key features, then draw them roughly to scale.

Activity 3 — Black tile vs white tile in the Sun.
The white-painted tile feels cooler than the black-painted one, because light colours reflect more sunlight (and heat) while dark colours absorb more heat — this is why light-coloured roofs help keep buildings cooler.

Activity 4 — Dripping tap.
Timing water collected from a dripping tap shows that even a slow drip adds up to a large amount of wasted water over a day, week, or month if left unfixed.

Let Us Reflect (End-of-Chapter Questions)

1. Out of all the classrooms in your school, which one do you think is the nicest and why? (Open-ended, personal.) Answers should describe a classroom and give reasons such as good light, decoration, cleanliness, or happy memories there.
2. Create a happiness tree. On a wall or chart paper, draw a large tree with many branches, and let classmates add leaves describing what makes them happy at school. (Class activity — no single written answer; each leaf reflects one student’s own source of happiness at school.)
3. Sharing one’s feelings is exciting. Write a letter to your teacher on ‘My School — My Happy Place.’ (Open-ended creative-writing task.) A good letter should describe specific things the student enjoys about school — friends, teachers, activities, or the environment — in a warm, personal tone.
4. Which actions would you extend to your home, neighbourhood and communities to make it a happy place for all? Describe any one of them in detail. Sample answer: keeping the neighbourhood clean by not littering and encouraging neighbours to segregate waste, which keeps the area healthier and more pleasant for everyone, just like a green, happy school.
5. Imagine a day in school from someone else’s perspective (a wheelchair user, a student who speaks a different mother tongue, or a sanitation worker). Describe their day. Sample answer (sanitation worker): they may start work early, clean classrooms and toilets, collect and segregate waste, and deserve more recognition and support from students and staff for keeping the school clean and safe.
6. As principal for a day, what three changes would you make to enhance happiness, safety and greenery in your school? Sample answer: (1) plant more trees around the playground, (2) install a proper waste-segregation system with clearly marked bins, (3) start a weekly “kindness hour” where students help and appreciate one another.
7. In groups of 4-5, act out the given scenarios (line-jumping, property damage, littering, teasing, noise disturbance) and discuss what the right response would be. (Class role-play activity.) The right response in each scenario involves speaking up calmly, reporting to a teacher if needed, and choosing kindness and fairness over conflict.
8. Write a one-minute speech for your morning assembly on ‘My Dream School.’ (Open-ended creative-writing task.) A good speech should describe a school that is clean, green, safe, and kind, and mention specific ideas like more trees, less waste, and more caring behaviour among students.
9. Take a quick survey: ask five students and one teacher (a) what makes them happy in school, (b) what could be improved, and (c) one kind thing they saw today. (Open-ended survey/data-collection task.) Students should record real answers from their survey and summarise common themes, such as friendships making people happy and cleanliness being an area for improvement.

Why This Chapter Matters

Learning to care for both the school environment and the people in it builds both environmental responsibility and empathy.

How to Use These Solutions

Talk with your child about what would make their own school greener and happier, and encourage them to suggest one small change. Download the full chapter from our Class 5 EVS NCERT book page, or browse the Class 5 hub.

More on This Chapter

See also the Extra Questions and Revision Notes for this chapter.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a green school?
A school that manages waste, saves water and electricity, and plants trees to care for the environment.

Which bin is used for wet waste?
The green bin.

What does the “Let Us Reflect” section of this chapter ask students to do?
It is the textbook’s own set of nine end-of-chapter reflection tasks — from describing a favourite classroom to writing a speech, running a happiness survey, and acting out real-life school scenarios — answered in full above.

Written by Satish

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