Social Studies Standard Four-Chapter 1 PDF

FOR ONLINE USE ONLY DO NOT DUPLICATE Chapter One Our environment Introduction In Standard Three, you learnt the components of school environment...

FOR ONLINE USE ONLY DO NOT DUPLICATE Chapter One Our environment Introduction In Standard Three, you learnt the components of school environment and how to clean your classroom. You also learnt LY how to plant trees, flowers and grass in the school compound. In this chapter, you will learn the components of our rural and N urban environments. You will also learn practices that destroy O the environment in a village, street and town. In addition, you will learn different activities for conserving the environment. The meaning of environment SE The term environment refers to all things that surround us. The U environment is made up of different natural and man-made features. Natural features include forests, mountains, lakes, valleys, rivers and oceans. Man-made features include buildings, E roads and factories. All these features, make the environment. N Some of the features are found in rural areas while others are found in urban areas. In this case there are rural and urban LI environments. N Rural and urban environments O Rural and urban environments are different. The difference is on features, infrastructure, economic activities and social services. R The rural environment is made up of villages composed of several FO hamlets. Many houses are less modern like those roofed by grass. Most of the roads in rural areas are unpaved and dusty. A large part of the land is used mainly for settlement and farming. 1 Social Studies.indd 1 30/07/2021 13:51  FOR ONLINE USE ONLY DO NOT DUPLICATE There are very few or no factories and industries in rural areas. Social services such as healthcare, electricity, water supply and education are less developed. The urban environment is made up of cities and towns. The houses in urban areas are mostly modern and roofed with iron sheets. Many roads in urban areas are paved. The land is also used for settlement and business activities like factories, industries and trade activities. There are many economic activities LY in urban areas. Social services such as healthcare, electricity, water supply and education are more developed. N Study the following pictures and answer the questions that follow. O SE U E N LI N O R FO Figure 1: A rural environment 2 Social Studies.indd 2 30/07/2021 13:51  FOR ONLINE USE ONLY DO NOT DUPLICATE LY N O SE U Figure 2: An urban environment E Questions N 1. Mention three other things which are found in your LI environment but not shown in Figure 1 and 2. 2. What is the difference between features found in rural and N urban environments? O 3. Mention three social services that are available in urban areas. R 4. What are other two activities that take place in your environment but are not mentioned in the text? FO 5. List other two social services that are available in your environment. 3 Social Studies.indd 3 30/07/2021 13:51  FOR ONLINE USE ONLY DO NOT DUPLICATE Activity 1 In collaboration with your fellow pupils and the Social Studies teacher, do the following. 1. If your school is located in a village, visit a nearby town, but if it is located in an urban area, visit a nearby village. 2. During the visit, identify the key parts of the environment. Write them down and make a presentation in class. LY Exercise 1 N Answer the following questions: O 1. Mention four features that make a rural environment or an urban environment. SE 2. Mention five features that are found in your environment. 3. Explain the importance of the five features found in your U environment. Read the text below, study the pictures and then answer E the questions that follow. N Environmental degradation LI Environmental degradation refers to a decrease in quality of the components of the environment. In some places the N environment has been degraded and in some other places the O environment has not been degraded. Human beings conduct various activities that may lead to R environmental degradation in one way or another. Examples of such activities include charcoal making, lumbering and FO mining. These activities if not properly managed may harm the environment. Uncontrolled industrial waste may pollute water in lakes, rivers and oceans. Smoke from cars, air craft, 4 Social Studies.indd 4 30/07/2021 13:51  FOR ONLINE USE ONLY DO NOT DUPLICATE trains and industries cause air pollution. Bad practices such as littering, tree cutting, cultivation in hilly areas, and the use of unsuitable pesticides contribute to environmental degradation. A degraded environment is not suitable for crop cultivation, grazing or human settlement. Figures 3, 4 and 5 below show activities which cause environmental degradation. LY N O SE U Figure 3: Tree cutting E N LI N O R FO Figure 4: Poor waste disposal 5 Social Studies.indd 5 30/07/2021 13:51  FOR ONLINE USE ONLY DO NOT DUPLICATE LY N O Figure 5: Sand quarrying Questions SE 1. What will be the impact of environmental degradation if it continues? U 2. Mention four activities in your area that are destructive to the environment. E 3. Why do you think the activities you have mentioned are N taking place? 4. What action should you take if you find someone LI destroying the environment in your area? N Activity 2 O In a group of five pupils, visit a nearby area within a village or town, and do the following: R 1. Observe and identify different human activities found in FO that area. 2. Observe and list any three activities that degrade the environment in that area. 6 Social Studies.indd 6 30/07/2021 13:51  FOR ONLINE USE ONLY DO NOT DUPLICATE 3. List down the observable environmental problems found in that area. Present and discuss them with your fellow pupils in class. Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow. Zipora used to live with her aunt in Pwaga Village. She loved LY to participate in environmental conservation activities in her village. After a while, livestock keepers arrived in their village with large herds of livestock. The number of people and livestock N increased. Suitable land for crop production decreased so much O that people started to cultivate in hilly areas and river banks. The area became too small for the large number of livestock. SE This led to overgrazing. Similarly, there was need for more houses, hence sand was quarried from rivers for construction purposes. Likewise, a rise in fuel prices forced people to cut U down trees for firewood and charcoal. All these contributed to the reduction of the village forest and led to environmental degradation in Pwaga Village. E N One day, Zipora went to visit her brother in the city. Once she arrived, she was surprised to see that even in cities there was LI environmental degradation. She found that there was improper solid waste disposal. There were poor drainage systems where N open sewage systems were directed to residential areas and O along the roads. In addition, there was a lot of noise coming from garages, workshops, bars and street hawkers. As time went on, R Zipora was not comfortable with the environmental degradation in her village and in the town she visited. This motivated her FO to learn more about environmental conservation. She believed that education on environmental conservation would help her to educate the community on how to conserve the environment 7 Social Studies.indd 7 30/07/2021 13:51  FOR ONLINE USE ONLY DO NOT DUPLICATE for a better life. When she completed secondary education, she joined a college where she studied a course on environmental management. Questions 1. Based on the passage you have read, what are the activities mentioned that contribute to environmental degradation in the following areas? LY No Village Town (a) (b) N (c) O (d) (e) SE 2. Mention three key aspects that you have learnt about the environment. 3. Do you think the decision made by Zipora to join college U to study environmental management was right? 4. Give two reasons to support Zipora’s decision. E Effects of environmental degradation N LI N O R FO Figure 6: Drought caused by environmental degradation 8 Social Studies.indd 8 30/07/2021 13:51  FOR ONLINE USE ONLY DO NOT DUPLICATE The environment is very important in supporting all living organisms on the earth. If we do not take care of the environment, our lives will be in danger. Environmental degradation leads to several effects. The effects are as follows: (a) Loss of forests which are important in the formation of rainfall and provision of clean air; (b) Loss of wild animals and other living organisms due to destruction of their habitats; LY (c) Global warming; (d) Frequent occurrence of hazards such as droughts and N floods; O (e) Occurrence of epidemics such as cholera, malaria, dengue and typhoid; SE (f) Soil erosion due to loss of vegetation, overgrazing, and poor farming practices; U (g) Reduced water levels in dams, lakes and rivers; and (h) Water pollution which may cause death to marine organisms including fish. E N Activity 3 1. Study the environment in your area. Write down various LI activities related to environmental degradation and present them in class. N O Environmental conservation Environmental conservation is the act of protecting, caring for R and preserving the environment. Environmental conservation is very important because a conserved environment ensures FO the survival of living organisms. It also ensures careful use of available resources in the environment for the benefit of the present and future generations. 9 Social Studies.indd 9 30/07/2021 13:51  FOR ONLINE USE ONLY DO NOT DUPLICATE Environmental conservation in a country takes place at different levels. The government has set up institutions and offices to manage the environment. There are environmental offices at village, street, ward, district, regional, and national levels. In addition, at each level there are various health and environmental conservation committees. The committees encourage people to participate in different environmental conservation activities. These activities include tree planting, general cleaning of the LY environment and cleaning of the sewage canals. At various levels, the committees have by-laws that are used to enforce environmental conservation activities. Fines are charged from N offenders who break the by-laws. For example, in Moshi town, O the fine for littering the ground is fifty thousand Tanzanian shillings. Therefore, we should conserve our environment to SE protect our lives and the lives of other organisms. Study the following picture and then answer the questions that follows. U E N LI N O R FO Figure 7 : People being educated about environmental conservation 10 Social Studies.indd 10 30/07/2021 13:51  FOR ONLINE USE ONLY DO NOT DUPLICATE Questions 1. Name three environmental conservation activities you have studied in the picture. 2. What have you learnt from the picture in Figure 7? 3. Name two other conservation activities that are not listed in the picture. Activity 4 LY (a) Plant flowers at school by adhering to the following steps. 1. Make a terrace with suitable soil or find a good pot N and fill it with suitable soil. O 2. Find a flower seedling of your choice. 3. Plant the flower seedling. SE 4. Water the flower seedling frequently. (b).Write five sentences to explain how you and your colleagues U conserve your school environment. (c) Visit your local government office or authority. Collect information on environmental conservation or local E environmental conservation activities taking place. Present N the information in class. LI Importance of environmental conservation N The following are the benefits of conserving the environment: 1. A well conserved environment provides living organisms O with a habitat, for example wild animals in national parks and game reserves; R 2. A good environment provides people and other living FO organisms with fresh air, and therefore, good health; 3. A conserved environment provides living organisms with adequate water supply. Availability of water is important 11 Social Studies.indd 11 30/07/2021 13:51  FOR ONLINE USE ONLY DO NOT DUPLICATE for human use, animals, irrigation, industrial use and several other uses; 4. A conserved environment promotes other economic activities such as tourism. Wild animals living in well- conserved parks attract tourists; and 5. A well-conserved environment provides food for human beings, animals and other living organisms. LY Excercise 2 N Answer the following questions: 1. Name other environmental conservation benefits not O mentioned in the text you have read above. 2. Write five sentences to explain the benefits of SE environmental conservation in your street or village. U Excercise 3 Answer the following questions: E 1. Write a short passage on conserving the environment in your village. N 2. Explain how you will apply the skills you have learnt in LI this chapter in your daily life. N 3. Describe the actions we must take to conserve our O environment. Write TRUE if the statement is correct and FALSE if the R statement is not correct. FO 1. The environment is conserved by pupils only________ _______ 12 Social Studies.indd 12 30/07/2021 13:51  FOR ONLINE USE ONLY DO NOT DUPLICATE 2. Buildings, animals and vehicles are some of the things that make up the environment _______________ 3. Good agricultural practices conserve the environment _____________ 4. A large number of livestock in one area prevents environmental degradation _________________ LY Vocabulary N Course a plan of study on a specific subject O Environmental decline in the quality of environmental degradation SE components such as land, water and air due to inappropriate use U Erosion removal of the upper part of the land by agents such as water and wind E Flood overflow of water on land N Global warming Is the increase in the average Earth’s LI surface temperature N Irrigation application of water on land to sustain the growth of crops O Street hawker someone who walks along the streets carrying and selling various goods at a R retail price FO 13 Social Studies.indd 13 30/07/2021 13:51