Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
Introduction to Environment :
Social Studies
Class Three
Meher Moriam
Mohammad Abdul Zabber
Translated by :
Professor Yasmin Ahmed Professor Mariam Begum
Published by
National Curriculum and Textbook Board
69-70, Motijheel Commercial Area, Dhaka-1000
Preface
For improving the existing quality of Primary Education in Bangladesh, National
Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) in collaboration with PEDP-2 initiated an
extensive program for development of curriculum and teaching learning materials in
2002. In the light of this program the curriculum, textbooks and other teaching
learning materials of Primary levels have been prepared, revised and evaluated.
The textbook entitled, 'Introduction to Environment: Social Studies' has been prepared
on the basis of attainable competencies for the students of Class Three. The subject
matter of the textbook is derived from the basic elements of the environment familiar
to the children. This will facilitate our young learners to know how they can make
best use of the environment and also preserve it properly.
The contents of the book are analyzed and explained in such a manner with practical
1
examples, illustrations and system of planned activities, that students are inspired to
study the subject with a keen interest.
This book is originally published in Bangla. From 2007 NCTB is publishing the
English version of the textbook. English is the language of choice in today's
globalized world. To facilitate the verbal and written communication skills of our
future citizens and suitably prepare them for international competition, we decided to
translate the original Bangla textbooks into English. It's pleasant to note that the
number of English medium schools in Bangladesh is increasing very fast. In this
context NCTB decided to publish all the textbooks of Primary level in English. This
was a big endeavour for us. Despite our all efforts the textbook may not be totally
error free. However, in the future editions we shall try to remove all errors and
discrepancies.
Finally, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks and gratitude to those who have
made their valuable contributions in writing, editing, evaluating and translating this
book. I sincerely hope that the book will be useful to those for whom it has been
prepared.
Contents
Chapter
Subject Matter
Page
One
Our Environment
Two
Three
Four
19
and School
27
33
Five
Our Country
Six
47
Seven
Our Wealth
53
Eight
61
Nine
Dignity of Labour
71
Ten
Democratic Attitude
80
Eleven
86
Twelve
Population of Bangladesh
its Increase and Problem
92
Chapter One
Our Environment
What is Environment?
Let us see what social elements are around us. Man has made
houses, buildings, roads, shops, schools,
playgrounds,
mosques, temples, pagodas and churches. Those elements of
the environment made and controlled by man make our social
environment.
Elements of Environment
Elements of environment are everything that exists in the
environment. We see many things around us. Are they all
made by man? No, many of them are not man-made. They are
given to us by nature. Let us write in the table below names of
element which are man-made and which are given to us by
nature.
Gifts of Nature
Man-made things
1.
1.
2.
2.
3.
3.
4.
4.
1.
1.
2.
2.
3.
3.
4.
4.
Our house is a very common element of social environment
Usually there are several rooms in a house, for example, living
room, a bedroom, a dinning room, a studyroom, a kitchen,
toilets, etc. Each room is used for each purpose.
Picture 1: House
Picture 2: School
Picture 3: Playground
Picture 4: Road
Environment Pollution
If the environment of our house is dirty, we suffer from poor
health. If the classrooms of the school remain unclean, it
causes illness. If there are holes in the playground or if the
field is uneven, we will fall and get hurt. If the road is dirty,
the bad smell of wastes will make us sick. Therefore, if our
House
School
Road
Playground
Environment pollution is one of the main problems in
Bangladesh. We will try to keep our environment pollution Free.
For that we:
1. Will not throw litter and waste here and there. We
throw litter in the dustbin or at a particular place.
2. Will always keep houses, schools, classrooms, roads
playgrounds clean.
3. Will not urinate or defecate in open places. We will use
toilets.
4. Will not cough or spit on the road.
5. Will not throw litter and waste in ponds, canals and
rivers.
We live in the environment. It is our responsibility to keep our
environment clean and beautiful.
Exercise
1.
2.
3.
4.
c.
We ........................ at school.
d.
Road is a mode of.................
Write 'T' against the left sides of the correct statements
and F against the right sides of the incorrect ones :
a.
The elements in the environment that are made and
controlled by man form our social environment.
b.
Buildings and roads are the elements of the natural
environment.
c.
If we make an unnecessary noise at schools, it pollutes
the environment.
d.
Playing mikes loudly does not pollute the
environment.
Match the phrases on the left with the ones on the right
and write them in your exercise book.
a. The things we have around us rivers and canals
b. Gifts of nature are
form our environment
c. Every afternoon we
the
body
becomes
healthy another
d. By road, we go from one play in the field
house to rivers and canals
Give a tick () mark against the correct answer:
4.1 Which is the element of social environment?
a. Animal
b. Trees
c. Water-body
d. Houses
4.2 Which is the element of natural environment?
a. Mosques
b. Rivers
c. Temples
d. Schools
5.
Chapter Two
the
Picture 3: DurgaPuja
Name of Festival
2. Hinduism
3. Buddhism
4. Christianity
We all celebrate our own religious festivals and ceremonies.
We enjoy taking part in our own religious festivals. We will
invite our class friends of other religions to these festivals. We
will also invite our friends from school, neighbourhood or
community. On the occasion of the religious festivals, we
wish our friends of all religions. We will present them
greeting cards and other things. We will enjoy together. We
will eat delicious food. We will play together.
Exercise
1.
2.
3.
4.
Chapter- Three
Work of parents
Our parents work very hard to bring us up. They always look
after us so that we never face miseries. From our birth, they
bring us up by working very hard and taking great care of us.
Our mother prepares food for us. Our parents keep an eye on
us when we go to school, study, eat and do other things..
Particularly, mothers remain more cautious about these things.
They remain awake for the whole night when we are sick and
arrange for immediate medical care.
walk a little with them around the house. We can read the
newspapers for them. Sometimes we can accompany.
Besides, we can help uncles and aunts in their work.
Picture 3: Keeping the classrooms and the school premises neat and clean.
All of us from the area will plant trees in various open spaces.
We will take care of them. Sometimes we will take part in
cleaning our area. As a result, our environment will not be
polluted. We will also save ourselves somewhat from the
attack of dengue and other serious diseases. In this way, we
can develop our family, school and the area.
Exercise
1. Fill in the blanks with the correct word:
a. All of us live in a ................................
b. There are many works in the school which are not
possible to be done..........................
c. We can also build a small.......................... in our
neighbourhood or community.
d. Besides, at intervals, we can help our parents
.................... jobs.
in
We plant trees
Chapter Four
We will brush our teeth. We will talk to them for some time.
We will not remain awake late at night but go to sleep quickly.
Exercise
1.
d. We will go home
5. Answer with a few words:
a. What will we do at home in the evening?
b. What are the rules and regulations we obey in school?
c. What are things we will do after returning home from
school?
d. What will we do after the ringing of the closing bell?
Chapter Five
Our Country
The name of our country is Bangladesh. This country is our
motherland. We love our motherland. The full name of our
country is The Peoples Republic of Bangladesh. It is an
independent country.
Our Map
The map on the right is
the map of Bangladesh.
We got this map
through the war of
independence. Our map
is our pride.
The ratio of the length and width of our national flag is 10:6.
The radius of the red circle will be one fifth of the length of
flag. For example, if the national flag is ten inches or twentyfive centimetres in length, its width will be six inches or
fifteen centimetres. And the red circle will cover the middle
with a radius of two inches or five centimetres.
According to the measurement we will now draw our national
flag in green and red in the table below :
the
martyrs. Our Matyred Day (Shahid Dibosh) has now earned the
recognition of the whole world. Today this day is observed all over
the world as the Intarnational Mother Language dat.
is
our
Right from 1947, the West Pakistani rulers started to oppress and to
do injustice to the people of East Pakistan. The West Pakistanis
were favoured more in education, in jobs, in trade and commerce
etc.The people of East Pakistan always raised protest against these.
Following this, in 1966 Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
laid down the 6 Point Demand for Autonomy, and the mass
movement was started. In 1969, the movement turned into a mass
uprising. In 1970 a general election was held all over Pakistan. In
this election The Awami League under the leadership of Bangabandhu
won the majority seats in Pakistan National Assembly. But they were
not allowed to form a Government. As a result people of East
Pakistan started a strong movement against the leaders in West
Pakistan.
On 7 March Bangabandhu called for Independence. And the
Non- Cooperation Movement started. The rulers of Pakistan
chose to suppress the movement with an iron hand. On the
night of 25th March 1971, the Pakistani army attacked the
Bengalis. They killed many Bengalis. After this killing the
people of East Pakistan became agitated.
Exercise
1.
2.
3.
4.
Answer in brief:
a. Describe the colours of the national flag of Bangladesh.
b. In which places are the national flag waved on the
Independence Day and the Victory Day?
c. Describe our state emblem.
d. Describe two of our national emblems.
e. What do we do on the Martyr's Day?
f. How do we observe the Bengali New Year?
Chapter- Six
Let us see our country in the map. We know the upper portion
of the map is north. The lower portion is south. If we stand
facing the north the east is on the right and the west is on the
left. Now let us see which countries are there around
Bangladesh. There are West Bengal, Asam and Megalaya of
India on the north. In the east there are Asam and Tripura of
India and Myanmar. West Bengal of India is on the west and
in the south there is a vast water body. It is called the Bay of
Bengal.
Let us fill in the following Table
In the North of Bangladesh there is
In the East of Bangladesh there is
In the West of Bangladesh there is
In the South of Bangladesh there is
Drawing the Map of Bangladesh
Let us draw our country's map. How shall we drawn it? Let us
take a thin paper. The paper will be transparent so that the
map will be visible if it is put on the map. Let us put the paper
on the map. Let it be fixed with pin all around. The map will
be visible through the paper clearly. Let us draw the lines
around it with the pencil. What a beautiful map has been
drawn. The map has been drawn by sketch. So it is called a
sketch map.
Area
The map of Bangladesh occupies a small space in the world
map. The area of Bangladesh is one lac forty seven thousand
and five hundred seventy kilometres.
River
Bangladesh is a land of rivers. There are many rivers in the
country. Some rivers are small. Some rivers are big.
Sometimes tributaries flow from the big rivers. And many
rivers fall into the big rivers.
The Padma, The Jamuna, The Meghna, and the Karnafuly are
the big rivers of our country There is another big river. It's
name is Brahmaputra. The big rivers are generally originated
from the hills. Rivers flow.
Let us see in the map,
where these rivers have
come from and where
they are flowing. The
Padma
flows
into
Bangladesh
in
the
district of Rajshahi, the
western boundary of
the country from India.
The
Brahmaputra
comes from India to
Bangladesh near the
district of Kurigram in
the north. This river is
divided into two parts
near the Dewanganj.
Picture :Rivers of Bangladesh in the Map
Exercise
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
they?
e. What is called flood?
Chapter Seven
Our Wealth
In our daily work we use various things from around us in
various ways. For example, we study in schools. We pray at
mosques. We cook with gas. Electricity gives us light. When
we are sick, we go to hospitals. We get wood from forests. We
use wood in many ways. So, the useful things that comes to
our use and removes our want are called wealth. Wealth plays
a very important role in our personal and national life.
Kinds of Wealth
Wealth can be of two kinds.
1.
2.
National Wealth
Social Wealth
National Wealth
The wealth which the state controls is called national wealth.
Every one has the right to use this wealth. Water, gas,
electricity and forests are our main national wealth.
Water
Water is a kind of wealth we use a lot everyday. We get water
from rivers, canals, ponds and lakes. We cannot live without
water. So the other name of water is life. But we should drink
pure and arsenic free water. We use water for cooking, washing
hands, bathing etc. We cannot cultivate land without water.
Water is used in mills and factories. Our life cannot go
Natural Gas:
Those of us who live in cities use gas for cooking. Now-adays, in many villages, gas is also used for cooking.
Natural gas produces heat light and power. So in the mills and
factories gas is used as fuel. Gas is used for the production of
fertilizer and pesticide. Our house is lit with gas. Now-a-days
we use gas for running cars. Gas is our national wealth. We
get this wealth from nature. If we waste gas it will be finished
quickly. We must not keep the burners on when we do not need
it. We must turn off the burners after we finish cooking. We
have to use gas in the mills and factories when we need it.
Electricity
Electricity lights our houses and roads. Fans are run by
electricity. Radio and television inform us of what is
happening in the world. All these happens with the help of
electricity. X-ray machine is used to diagnose different
diseases. It is also run with the help of electricity. Computer is
also run with the help of electricity. We also use water pumps
which are used in agricultural land and in industries.
We shall write about the uses of electricity in the table
below
1.
2.
3.
4.
2. in school compounds
4. on both sides of roads
6. in the fallow lands
8. around ponds
Social Wealth
We build up many things for the need of the people. For
example, we set up schools for children to study. We make
small bridges or culverts over the canals and small rivers so that
people can cross rivers and canals. We build roads so that
people can move from place to place.
We build mosques, temples, churches and pagodas so that we
can use them for religious purposes. These are our social wealth.
Exercise
1.
2.
3.
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
4.
Answer briefly:
a. What is wealth and how many kinds of wealth are there?
b. Write about the importance of water as wealth.
c. What harm will happen if we waste gas?
d. Describe the importance of trees.
e. What is the usefulness of social wealth?
f. Write down the names of places where we shall plant trees,
g. What problems will we face if we waste electricity?
Chapter-Eight
4.
Children's rights
Right to get love and affection
Right to get a name and nationality
Right to get healthy food and treatment
Right to play games and right to recreation
5.
Right to education
6.
1.
2.
3.
The other duties are to obey the rules of the country, to pay
taxes timely, to cast vote in election, to honour all religions
and to take care of the national wealth.
There are many organizations to ensure the rights of citizens.
In rural areas every union has a Union Council. Chairman is
the head of the Union Council. There are some members also.
All of them are elected by the people of the union . The duty
of the Union Council is to protect the rights and facilities of its
people.
In cities there are city corporations. Each city has a chairman
and a few members. The members of the city-corporation are
called commissioners. The main duties of city- corporation are
to keep the city clean and beautiful and to ensure welfare of
the people living there.
We will know about who are the voters. No person under the
age of eighteen and who are not the citizens Bangladesh can
cast votes. So the persons who are eighteen must become
voters. They should cast votes in elections.
Now let us make a table about the rights and duties of a citizen
Rights of a citizen
Duties of a citizen
1.
1.
2.
2.
3.
3.
4.
4.
5.
5.
Exercise
1.
2.
Write down 'T' for true and 'F' for false statements below:
a. In a family boys have more rights than girls.
b. Our greatest right in school is the right to get education,
c. Children and elders have the same likes and dislikes.
d. We have different types of duties to our neighbours.
3.
Match the sentences on the left with the ones on the right.
a. is a child right
a. To develop children's life in a
beautiful way
b. To obey the rules in schools is our b. duty
c. To observe one's religion is
c. our right
d. A citizen's duty is
d. to love the country
e. right of the citizen
4.
4.5
5.
Answer briefly.
a. What is needed to build up a healthy life?
b. Write about three rights of a child.
c. What are our rights in school?
d. What are our duties to society?
e. What is the main duty of a citizen?
f. What are the rights of children in a family ?
g. Write down our duties in school.
h. What is Human Right?
i. Make a list of the duties of a child to family.
Chapter Nine
Dignity Of Labour
Some of us live in villages and some in towns. We all live in
houses. Our houses should always be clean. We feel well to
live in clean houses. Our health will also be good. We can
study better. So we will always keep our houses clean and
tidy. What should we do to keep our houses nice and tidy? Let
us read the table below.
To keep houses nice and tidy
1. We will sweep the compound every morning and evening.
2. We will dust the furniture everyday.
3. We will arrange things in the house everyday.
4. We will clean the toilet and bathroom every morning and
evening.
5. The rubbish should be thrown in a particular place.
It is not enough to keep the house clean. We will keep the
surroundings clean also. Or dust and dirt will be piled up. This
makes our environment dirty. Nobody likes a dirty
environment. We will be attacked with diseases if we live in
this kind of environment.
Our parents work to keep the house clean; others also work for
it. They sweep the rooms and the compound. They make beds,
chairs and tables and almirahs clean. They wash plates,
glasses, jugs and bowls.
Workers
Some people do physical work. They are called labourers. The
main types of labours of our country are:
9. Porter
1 . Farmer
2. Weaver
10. Hawker
3. Fisherman
11. Boatman
4. Blacksmith
12. Rickshawpuller
5. Potter
13. Mason
6. Tailor
14. Carpenter
7. Barber
15. Electrician
8. Cobbler
Potter : A potter makes flower pots, jars, pots, water jars with
clay. We use them for various works.
Tailor : A tailor makes our dresses.
Barber : A barber cuts hair.
Cobbler : A cobbler mends our shoes.
Workers around us
3.
4.
Professional:
There are some professions also. Their professions do not
need physical labour. People do their work with their
knowledge and intelligence. They are called professionals.
In our country the main professionals are
1. Teacher
5. Doctor
2. Judge
6. Engineer
3. Lawyer
7. Agriculturist
4. Journalist
8. Nurse
Now we will learn about the works of different professionals.
Teacher : A teacher helps his students with his teachings to be
good human beings.
Judge : A judge passes judgment in courts.
Lawyer : A lawyer assists in matters of judgment in courts.
Journalist : A journalist collects information and news from
home and abroad. We can know it from journalists, from
newspapers, from radios and televisions.
1.
3.
2.
4.
We have learnt about some workers and professionals. We
have also learnt about their works. All the workers and
professionals
Exercise
1.
2.
3.
Write 'T for true and F for false by the left of the
following statements
1.
2.
3.
4.
Match the words on the right with the ones on the left.
a. No work will make us
fisherman
b. In a court the work of a
a lawyer
judge is helped by
afraid
c. Fish is caught from canals respected
and rivers by
Judge
d. All works should be
4.
5.
Answer briefly
a. In which works should we help our parents to keep the
house clean?
b. What are the needs we have in society?
c. Write down the names of five workers and five
professionals.
d. Why should we respect all workers and professionals?
Chapter Ten
Democratic Attitude
We are young. We live in a family with our parents, brother
and sister. Besides, there are many neighbours, relatives and
friends. We have classmates and teachers and others in the
school. All of them are part of our society. People of different
ages live in our society. Some are senior to us and some are
junior to us. We shall think for a while about who are senior to
us and who are junior to us in our houses and schools.
Now we will write the names in the table below.
Senior to us
Junior to us
In the house-
In the house-
In school -
In school-
What can we learn from the table? In our house and school
there are some people who are senior to us. The senior persons
give their opinion on different matters. Sometimes the young
also express their views. A person can express his personal
views, give advice on different matters. Different persons can
have different ideas on different matters.
No work can be done properly if the opinions differ. For this
the majority must have the same opinion. All should come to a
conclusion. We must accept the opinion of the majority. When
we obey the opinion of the majority, it is called democratic
5.
A class-leader does many duties everybody, for example (a) to
keep the blackboard clean (b) to collect the homework from
his classmates and submit them to the teacher (c) to inform the
class teacher or headmaster of the illness of any student or of
any problem (d) to keep the classroom clean with the help of
other classmates. So a class captain does many things. But the
main duty of the captain is to help the class teacher in his
work and also to maintain discipline in the classroom, A
Captain cannot perform duties alone. In our house we cannot
do without the help of our parents, brothers and sisters. In our
school we cannot study without the help of our class captain.
So in the class we shall help the class captain in different
activities. For, he is our elected leader. We will always keep in
mind that he is our classmate and friend.
It is not that there will be only one leader in a class all the year
round. Many of us may strongly desire to be the class leader.
What can we do then? New leader may be elected from time
to time. This may fulfill the desire of many. This will create
new leaders also. We will always show democratic attitude in
electing a leader. In other words, we will elected a new leader
on the basis of the opinion of the majority.
Exercise
1.
2.
Write T' for true and 'F' for to false against the following
sentences.
a. In our house all the people have the same opinions.
b. Nobody can become the captain in the classroom on his
own will. ;
c. Only one class-leader will remain in the classroom all the
year round.
d. A class-leader himself will do all the duties.
3.
Match the words on the left with the ones of the right.
a. The class leader is
of the elders
b. We shall respect the opinion our classmates
of
c. To maintain discipline in the democratic attitude
class-room is the duty of
the class captain co-operation
d. To accept the opinion of the
majority is
4.
5.
Answer briefly:
a. How can we come to a conclusion if we differ in our
opinion in a particular matter?
b. What is democratic attitude?
c. Why should we show democratic attitude in different
matters?
d. What are the responsibilities and duties of a class leader?
e. Why should we help the class leader in different works?
Chapter Eleven
The people of Mayanmar mainly eat rice. They eat rice from
small round bowls instead of plates. Their favorite dish is
'khaushay.'
It is cooked with noodles mixed with chickens. Another
favourite dish is fish-kopta
The birth anniversary of Goutama Buddha is the greatest
festival of Mayanmar. The pappet dance is also popular in
Mayanmar. Their favourite games are football, kite flying
hide and seek and boat-race etc, Tobin tong, Ouzi and ai yak
are favourite dances of the people of Mayangmar.
The cultures of India and Mayanmar are sometimes different
and sometimes similar.
Main Main
Language
Main Food
Religion
Dress
games
Exercise
1.
2.
Write 'T' against the true statement ant 'F' against false
statement.
a. Culture shows all sides of human life.
b. India is a small country.
c. Many people live in India.
d. Most of the people in Mayanmar are Muslims.
3.
d. Thefavouritegameof Mayanmar
Puppet-dance
is
4.
5.
Answer briefly:
a. What kinds of clothes do the people of India wear?
b. What kinds of games do the people of India play?
c. Describe the food of the people of Mayanmar.
d. Which are the popular dances of Mayanmar?
Chapter Twelve
What can we see in the pictures? In the picture in the left hand
side we see a family with two children-there are four
members. In the picture in the right hand side we see a family
with nine members. Let us decide which family is big and
which is small.
Usually, a small family consists of few children. And a big
family consists of a large number of children. In our country a
small family consists of two children.
We have learnt about a small and a big family. Now we shall
count our family members and the numbers of members in
some families we know, and write them down in our exercise
books. Now we shall compare the size of the family. In this
way we can identify a big and a small family easily.
The advantages of a small family
We need foods, clothes, books, exercise books, pencils etc. for
our daily use in the family. The needs of a small family can be
easily fulfilled. Parents can provide nutritious food if there are
few children. Besides, we can wear nice clothes. We can live
in
Besides necessary clothes are not available for all. For this,
children suffer in winter. In a big family many people huddle
together in one room and many have to sleep on one bed. It
causes troubles to all. In big families the children do not get
chance. So they remain illiterate. A big family can only give
the boys opportunity for education and other facilities. As a
result the girls lag behind in education. They also do not get
other facilities. But the education for girls is necessary for the
development of a country.
There are two pictures of a small and a big families in the
previous page. We will look at the pictures carefully and fill
the table below by writing down some advantages and
disadvantages of big and small families.
The advantages of a small family
1.
2.
3.
1.
2.
3.