Living Together – Class 4 The World Around Us Chapter 1 Notes & NCERT PDF

Chapter 1: Living Together

Introduction

This is the first chapter of Unit 1, Our Community. We meet Chandan, who lives in a beautiful village. Near his house there is a big playground where he plays kabaddi with his friends after school. A big banyan tree stands at one corner, and the elders of the village sit under it to talk. The chapter shows that people and places are connected, and that a community becomes strong when everyone works together.

What's in this Chapter

A Tour Around My Village – Children look at a picture of Chandan's village and then explore their own locality. They note how people and places are connected. For example, a shopkeeper sells food, clothes and local products; a road connects people living in different areas and allows easy movement of goods; a health centre treats illness; the police provide safety.

Public places – Schools, markets, playgrounds, parks and roads are used by everyone. People play, relax and meet there, and they come together to clean and decorate them. These shared experiences bring people closer.

Van Mahotsav: A Festival for Planting Trees – Chandan and his friends John and Mallika plan to clean the park near their school and plant trees. Mallika says her grandmother walks in the park every morning, and cleaner surroundings and trees will give "better air to breathe". Van Mahotsav, the Tree Planting Festival, is celebrated every year in India during the rainy season, from 1 July to 7 July.

Helping Hands in the Community – The parents join in. Sameer fixes the park benches with wood and nails, Babita repairs the street light, and Noor brings saplings from her plant nursery. On the day, groups are formed for cleaning, planting, watering and cooking, and the park looks beautiful afterwards.

Community Bridge Across a River – In Kanker, Chhattisgarh, the Chinar river often overflows in the rainy season. In 2024 the whole community built a simple but strong bridge in just two days using bamboo, stones and other material, so children could reach school and villagers could cross the river.

Sharing a Meal – After the tree plantation, everyone eats a community feast. Vegetables and cereals come from the villagers, children hand out banana leaves, and the used leaves are put in a pit, where they become manure that improves the soil.

Do you know? boxes also tell us about ant and bee colonies (every member has a job), Uruka in Assam (on the first day of Magh Bihu, 14 January, people build a hut of bamboo and hay called Bhela Ghar and share a feast), and Khetala in Sikkim (people who come together to help each other at harvest time).

Key Ideas

Activities from the Book

Words to Learn

Tips for Parents & Teachers

Common Mistakes