2. A Snake Charmer’s Story
Class 5 · Environmental Studies
4 ideas in Class 5 Environmental Studies, explained in plain words, with games and quizzes to practise.
A Family’s Skills and Livelihood
Part of: People, Snakes and Livelihoods
The story describes a Kalbelia family whose members learned skills from older relatives. They travelled between villages, performed with snakes, prepared plant-based medicines and received money or foodgrains from people. The grandfather remembers how this work supported the family.
Why it matters. Children can understand how knowledge passes between generations and how communities earn a living in different ways.
Try it in two minutes
- Ask what skills a child might learn from an older family member.
- Name two kinds of work described in the story.
- Discuss how money or foodgrains helped the family meet its needs.
Try at home. Ask a family member to describe a skill they learned from someone older and how it is useful.
Snakes, Bites and Useful Knowledge
Part of: People, Snakes and Livelihoods
The story says most snakes are not poisonous and names four kinds it describes as poisonous. It explains that fangs are hollow and that poison enters through them when a snake bites. It also tells how the grandfather tried to identify snakes from bite marks, but he could not always arrive in time.
Why it matters. Careful reading helps children separate what a story states from guesses, especially on a topic where guessing can be unsafe.
Try it in two minutes
- Ask whether the story says all snakes are poisonous.
- Have your child recall what the fangs do in the chapter.
- Discuss why recognising a limit to someone's knowledge matters.
Try at home. Read a short animal fact together and ask which sentence is stated evidence and which is a guess.
Changing Work and Protecting Wildlife
Part of: People, Snakes and Livelihoods
The story describes a rule against catching and keeping wild animals. The grandfather explains that some people harm animals to sell valuable parts. This rule changes how the family can earn a living. He suggests using music to entertain people and sharing knowledge about snakes instead.
Why it matters. Children can consider how rules protect animals while communities look for ways to continue earning a living.
Try it in two minutes
- Ask what harm the law is meant to prevent.
- Identify the livelihood problem the grandfather describes.
- Name the different work he suggests.
Try at home. Discuss a community skill that could be used in a new way when circumstances change.
Snakes and the Farming Environment
Part of: People, Snakes and Livelihoods
The grandfather explains that snakes eat rats in fields. He connects this with crops: if rats were not eaten, they would eat the crops. The story also asks children to think about how animals feel when used for entertainment and says people should not hurt or tease animals.
Why it matters. Children can see that animals are part of relationships in the environment and can think about treating them with care.
Try it in two minutes
- Ask what rats may eat in a field.
- Trace how snakes can help farmers by eating rats.
- Discuss one way people can avoid harming animals.
Try at home. Draw a simple chain showing a snake eating a rat and fewer rats reaching crops.
What your child will practise
- A Family’s Skills and Livelihood: Candy Quick Fire (Quick Fire)
- Changing Work and Protecting Wildlife: Animal Parade Quest (Collect the Answer)
- Changing Work and Protecting Wildlife: Desert Puzzle (Clue Puzzle)
- Snakes and the Farming Environment: Space Quick Fire (Quick Fire)
- Snakes, Bites and Useful Knowledge: Jungle Quest (Collect the Answer)
- Quiz: A Family’s Skills and Livelihood (8 questions)
- Quiz: Changing Work and Protecting Wildlife (8 questions)
- Quiz: Snakes and the Farming Environment (8 questions)
- Quiz: Snakes, Bites and Useful Knowledge (8 questions)