Chapter 18 of 24
Chapter 18: A House Like This!
Architectural Adaptation to Climate and Terrain: Stilt Houses, Igloos, Houseboats, Multi-storey Flats | CBSE Session 2026–27
Core Pedagogical Competencies & Concepts
- Stilt houses in Assam: Built 10 to 12 feet above ground on sturdy bamboo pillars to stay safe during frequent floods.
- Sloping wooden roofs in Manali (Himachal Pradesh): Allowing heavy winter snow and rain to slide off quickly.
- Thick mud houses with thorny bush roofs in Rajasthan: Keeping interiors cool against intense desert heat.
- Houseboats and Shikaras in Srinagar (Kashmir): Floating homes on Dal Lake with carved wooden Khatamband ceilings.
- Multi-storey concrete apartments in crowded megacities like Mumbai to accommodate many families in limited land.
All Textbook Exercises & In-Text Tasks (17 Questions)
100% Complete Ingestion
Q1
Climatic Adaptations
Why are houses in Assam built on bamboo stilts 10 to 12 feet above the ground?
[3 Marks]
✅ Step-by-Step Solution & Working
Assam receives torrential monsoon rains that cause frequent flash floods. Building houses on high bamboo stilts ensures that rising floodwaters and wild reptiles cannot enter living quarters. Furthermore, bamboo is flexible and withstands frequent earthquake tremors.
CBSE Step-by-Step Marking Scheme
Flood and waterlogging protection
1.5 Marks
Protection from animals and earthquake flexibility
1.5 Marks
Q2
Desert Architecture
How do the thick mud walls and thorny bush roofs of houses in Rajasthan keep people comfortable?
[3 Marks]
✅ Step-by-Step Solution & Working
Thick mud walls act as thermal barriers; they absorb desert solar heat during the scorching day without transferring it inside, keeping rooms cool. At night, when desert temperatures drop sharply, the stored warmth radiates back inside. Thorny brushwood roofs provide lightweight thatched insulation.
CBSE Step-by-Step Marking Scheme
Thermal insulation of thick mud during hot days
1.5 Marks
Nighttime heat radiation and thatched roof purpose
1.5 Marks
Q3
Specialized Dwellings
What is an 'Igloo' and what is a 'Houseboat'?
[2 Marks]
✅ Step-by-Step Solution & Working
• Igloo: A dome-shaped shelter constructed from tightly packed blocks of snow in freezing polar Arctic regions.
• Houseboat: A floating wooden residential boat found on scenic lakes and backwaters (like Dal Lake in Kashmir and Alleppey in Kerala).
• Houseboat: A floating wooden residential boat found on scenic lakes and backwaters (like Dal Lake in Kashmir and Alleppey in Kerala).
CBSE Step-by-Step Marking Scheme
Accurate definitions of both unique dwelling types
2 Marks
Q4
Climate-Adapted Housing • Regional Architecture
Match each type of house with the Indian region and the climate reason:
• Stilt House (Bamboo poles): [Assam - Heavy rainfall and floods, Manali/Himachal - Heavy snowfall and rain, Rajasthan/Desert - Scorching heat, Srinagar/Dal Lake - Floating tourist stay]
• Sloping Roof House: [Assam - Heavy rainfall and floods, Manali/Himachal - Heavy snowfall and rain, Rajasthan/Desert - Scorching heat, Srinagar/Dal Lake - Floating tourist stay]
• Mud House with Thatch Roof: [Assam - Heavy rainfall and floods, Manali/Himachal - Heavy snowfall and rain, Rajasthan/Desert - Scorching heat, Srinagar/Dal Lake - Floating tourist stay]
• Houseboat (Shikara): [Assam - Heavy rainfall and floods, Manali/Himachal - Heavy snowfall and rain, Rajasthan/Desert - Scorching heat, Srinagar/Dal Lake - Floating tourist stay]
[4 Marks]
• Stilt House (Bamboo poles): [Assam - Heavy rainfall and floods, Manali/Himachal - Heavy snowfall and rain, Rajasthan/Desert - Scorching heat, Srinagar/Dal Lake - Floating tourist stay]
• Sloping Roof House: [Assam - Heavy rainfall and floods, Manali/Himachal - Heavy snowfall and rain, Rajasthan/Desert - Scorching heat, Srinagar/Dal Lake - Floating tourist stay]
• Mud House with Thatch Roof: [Assam - Heavy rainfall and floods, Manali/Himachal - Heavy snowfall and rain, Rajasthan/Desert - Scorching heat, Srinagar/Dal Lake - Floating tourist stay]
• Houseboat (Shikara): [Assam - Heavy rainfall and floods, Manali/Himachal - Heavy snowfall and rain, Rajasthan/Desert - Scorching heat, Srinagar/Dal Lake - Floating tourist stay]
✅ Step-by-Step Solution & Working
Climate-Adapted Housing:
• Stilt House: Built 10–12 feet high on strong bamboo poles in Assam to keep living rooms dry during severe floods.
• Sloping Roof House: Slanted roofs in Manali allow heavy snow and rainwater to slide right off without leaking.
• Mud House: Thick mud walls and thorny bush roofs in Rajasthan insulate interiors, keeping rooms cool in blistering desert heat.
• Houseboat: Wooden floating house in Srinagar (Dal Lake) built for living and welcoming tourists on water.
• Stilt House: Built 10–12 feet high on strong bamboo poles in Assam to keep living rooms dry during severe floods.
• Sloping Roof House: Slanted roofs in Manali allow heavy snow and rainwater to slide right off without leaking.
• Mud House: Thick mud walls and thorny bush roofs in Rajasthan insulate interiors, keeping rooms cool in blistering desert heat.
• Houseboat: Wooden floating house in Srinagar (Dal Lake) built for living and welcoming tourists on water.
CBSE Step-by-Step Marking Scheme
All 4 houses accurately matched with regions and climate reasons
4.0 M
Q5
Building Materials • Multi-Story Flats vs Kutcha House
Contrast the building materials used in a high-rise city apartment (Pucca House) with a village hut (Kutcha House).
[3 Marks]
✅ Step-by-Step Solution & Working
Building Materials Comparison:
• High-Rise Pucca House: Cement, iron steel rods, baked red bricks, gravel, marble tiles, and glass windows.
• Village Kutcha House: Unbaked sun-dried mud, bamboo poles, straw, thatch, dry palm leaves, and cow-dung plaster.
• High-Rise Pucca House: Cement, iron steel rods, baked red bricks, gravel, marble tiles, and glass windows.
• Village Kutcha House: Unbaked sun-dried mud, bamboo poles, straw, thatch, dry palm leaves, and cow-dung plaster.
CBSE Step-by-Step Marking Scheme
Pucca house permanent materials listed
1.5 M
Kutcha house organic materials listed
1.5 M
Q6
Igloo Architecture • Polar Survival
What is an Igloo, who builds it, and why doesn't it feel freezing inside?
[3 Marks]
✅ Step-by-Step Solution & Working
Igloo Physics:
• An igloo is a dome-shaped winter shelter built by Inuits (Eskimos) using hard-packed snow blocks.
• Packed snow is a great insulator containing millions of trapped air pockets. Body heat and a small seal-oil lamp warm the interior, and the heat cannot escape through the snow walls.
• An igloo is a dome-shaped winter shelter built by Inuits (Eskimos) using hard-packed snow blocks.
• Packed snow is a great insulator containing millions of trapped air pockets. Body heat and a small seal-oil lamp warm the interior, and the heat cannot escape through the snow walls.
CBSE Step-by-Step Marking Scheme
Dome snow block construction explained
1.5 M
Thermal insulation of trapped air pockets in snow
1.5 M
Q7
Multi-Story Apartments • Urban Land Shortage
Why do large crowded cities like Mumbai and Delhi have multi-story skyscraper buildings instead of single houses?
[2 Marks]
✅ Step-by-Step Solution & Working
Urban Density:
• Large cities have millions of people but very limited land area. Building upwards into multi-story flats allows hundreds of families to live safely on a single small plot of land.
• Large cities have millions of people but very limited land area. Building upwards into multi-story flats allows hundreds of families to live safely on a single small plot of land.
CBSE Step-by-Step Marking Scheme
High population and limited land area rationale
2.0 M
Q8
Observation Time • Animals and Habits
In Chapter 18 ('A House Like This!'), what animals did the characters observe, and how do they move from place to place?
[3 Marks]
✅ Step-by-Step Solution & Working
Observations:
Animals move in diverse ways adapted to their bodies:
• Birds (Crow, Pigeon): Fly using wings and hop on two feet.
• Mammals (Cow, Dog): Walk and run on four legs.
• Reptiles (Lizard, Snake): Crawl on walls or slither on the ground.
• Insects (Ant, Grasshopper): Walk on six legs and hop/fly.
Animals move in diverse ways adapted to their bodies:
• Birds (Crow, Pigeon): Fly using wings and hop on two feet.
• Mammals (Cow, Dog): Walk and run on four legs.
• Reptiles (Lizard, Snake): Crawl on walls or slither on the ground.
• Insects (Ant, Grasshopper): Walk on six legs and hop/fly.
CBSE Step-by-Step Marking Scheme
Birds, mammals, reptiles, insects movement
3 M
Q9
Find Out & Write • Animal Habitats
Name two animals that live:
(a) On trees
(b) In water
(c) On land
(d) Underground in burrows.
[2 Marks]
(a) On trees
(b) In water
(c) On land
(d) Underground in burrows.
✅ Step-by-Step Solution & Working
Habitats:
• (a) On trees: Monkey, Squirrel, Owl.
• (b) In water: Fish, Frog, Crocodile.
• (c) On land: Horse, Elephant, Goat.
• (d) In burrows: Rabbit, Earthworm, Snake.
• (a) On trees: Monkey, Squirrel, Owl.
• (b) In water: Fish, Frog, Crocodile.
• (c) On land: Horse, Elephant, Goat.
• (d) In burrows: Rabbit, Earthworm, Snake.
CBSE Step-by-Step Marking Scheme
Correct examples for all 4 habitats
2 M
Q10
Discuss & Share • Our Senses
How do our five sense organs help us understand and navigate our daily environment?
[3 Marks]
✅ Step-by-Step Solution & Working
Five Senses:
1. Eyes: Help us see shapes, colours, and identify hazards.
2. Ears: Help us hear traffic horns, spoken words, and alarm sounds.
3. Nose: Helps us smell food, flowers, and detect smoke or gas leaks.
4. Tongue: Helps us taste sweet, sour, salty, and bitter food.
5. Skin: Helps us feel touch, heat, cold, roughness, and pain.
1. Eyes: Help us see shapes, colours, and identify hazards.
2. Ears: Help us hear traffic horns, spoken words, and alarm sounds.
3. Nose: Helps us smell food, flowers, and detect smoke or gas leaks.
4. Tongue: Helps us taste sweet, sour, salty, and bitter food.
5. Skin: Helps us feel touch, heat, cold, roughness, and pain.
CBSE Step-by-Step Marking Scheme
All 5 sense organs explained with functions
3 M
Q11
Water Cycle & Weather • Rain and Clouds
Where does rainwater come from, and why do plants and trees look fresher and greener after a rain shower?
[3 Marks]
✅ Step-by-Step Solution & Working
Rain and Plant Health:
• Rain comes from water evaporating from rivers, ponds, and seas, forming clouds in the sky that cool and condense into rain droplets.
• Rain washes off thick dust accumulated on leaves, unblocks stomata for breathing, and deeply soaks the roots with fresh mineral-rich moisture.
• Rain comes from water evaporating from rivers, ponds, and seas, forming clouds in the sky that cool and condense into rain droplets.
• Rain washes off thick dust accumulated on leaves, unblocks stomata for breathing, and deeply soaks the roots with fresh mineral-rich moisture.
CBSE Step-by-Step Marking Scheme
Water cycle / cloud formation
1.5 M
Why plants look greener after rain
1.5 M
Q12
Food Diversity • Regional Diets
Why do people living in Kerala eat more rice, fish, and coconut, while people in Punjab eat more wheat chapatis, mustard greens, and lassi?
[3 Marks]
✅ Step-by-Step Solution & Working
Regional Food Factors:
• What people eat depends directly on what grows easily and abundantly in their climate and geography.
• Kerala has coastal climate, abundant rainfall, and coconut groves, making fish and rice staples.
• Punjab has fertile plains ideal for wheat and mustard cultivation, and a strong dairy culture.
• What people eat depends directly on what grows easily and abundantly in their climate and geography.
• Kerala has coastal climate, abundant rainfall, and coconut groves, making fish and rice staples.
• Punjab has fertile plains ideal for wheat and mustard cultivation, and a strong dairy culture.
CBSE Step-by-Step Marking Scheme
Climate and agriculture connection
1.5 M
Kerala and Punjab examples explained
1.5 M
Q13
Cooking Methods • Kitchen Science
Match each food item to its primary method of cooking:
(a) Idli — (1) Frying
(b) Puri — (2) Steaming
(c) Roti — (3) Roasting on Tawa.
[3 Marks]
(a) Idli — (1) Frying
(b) Puri — (2) Steaming
(c) Roti — (3) Roasting on Tawa.
✅ Step-by-Step Solution & Working
Matching:
• (a) Idli — (2) Steaming
• (b) Puri — (1) Frying in oil
• (c) Roti — (3) Roasting on Tawa.
• (a) Idli — (2) Steaming
• (b) Puri — (1) Frying in oil
• (c) Roti — (3) Roasting on Tawa.
CBSE Step-by-Step Marking Scheme
Idli-Steaming, Puri-Frying, Roti-Roasting
3 M
Q14
Shelter & Houses • Diversity in Homes
Why are houses in heavy-rainfall regions like Assam built on bamboo stilts with sloping roofs?
[3 Marks]
✅ Step-by-Step Solution & Working
Stilt Houses:
• Bamboo Stilts: Keep the house 10 to 12 feet above ground level to prevent floodwaters and wild animals from entering.
• Sloping Roofs: Allow torrential rainwater to slide off quickly without accumulating or causing leaks.
• Bamboo Stilts: Keep the house 10 to 12 feet above ground level to prevent floodwaters and wild animals from entering.
• Sloping Roofs: Allow torrential rainwater to slide off quickly without accumulating or causing leaks.
CBSE Step-by-Step Marking Scheme
Reason for bamboo stilts (floods)
1.5 M
Reason for sloping roof (rain runoff)
1.5 M
Q15
Community Helpers • Occupations
Identify the worker who:
(a) Mends our shoes
(b) Delivers letters and parcels
(c) Shapes clay into earthen pots on a wheel
(d) Treats sick people and prescribes medicines.
[2 Marks]
(a) Mends our shoes
(b) Delivers letters and parcels
(c) Shapes clay into earthen pots on a wheel
(d) Treats sick people and prescribes medicines.
✅ Step-by-Step Solution & Working
Community Helpers:
• (a) Mends shoes: Cobbler
• (b) Delivers letters: Postman / Mail carrier
• (c) Shapes clay pots: Potter
• (d) Treats sick people: Doctor.
• (a) Mends shoes: Cobbler
• (b) Delivers letters: Postman / Mail carrier
• (c) Shapes clay pots: Potter
• (d) Treats sick people: Doctor.
CBSE Step-by-Step Marking Scheme
Cobbler, Postman, Potter, Doctor
2 M
Q16
Web of Life • Food Chain
What is the 'Web of Life'? Draw a simple food chain showing how grass, deer, and lion are connected.
[3 Marks]
✅ Step-by-Step Solution & Working
Web of Life & Food Chain:
• The Web of Life shows that every living organism is interconnected and depends on others for survival.
• Food Chain: Sunlight → Grass (Producer) → Deer (Herbivore) → Lion (Carnivore).
If grass disappears, deer starve; if deer disappear, lions cannot survive.
• The Web of Life shows that every living organism is interconnected and depends on others for survival.
• Food Chain: Sunlight → Grass (Producer) → Deer (Herbivore) → Lion (Carnivore).
If grass disappears, deer starve; if deer disappear, lions cannot survive.
CBSE Step-by-Step Marking Scheme
Definition of Web of Life
1.5 M
Grass → Deer → Lion chain explained
1.5 M
Q17
Review Questions • True or False
Write True or False:
(a) Blind people can read books written in Braille script using their fingertips.
(b) Rainwater is the main natural source of fresh water on Earth.
(c) Animals do not have feelings and cannot communicate danger to each other.
[3 Marks]
(a) Blind people can read books written in Braille script using their fingertips.
(b) Rainwater is the main natural source of fresh water on Earth.
(c) Animals do not have feelings and cannot communicate danger to each other.
✅ Step-by-Step Solution & Working
Answers:
• (a) True: Braille uses raised dots felt with fingertips.
• (b) True: Rain replenishes rivers, lakes, and groundwater.
• (c) False: Animals communicate through warning calls, scents, and body language to alert their group of predators.
• (a) True: Braille uses raised dots felt with fingertips.
• (b) True: Rain replenishes rivers, lakes, and groundwater.
• (c) False: Animals communicate through warning calls, scents, and body language to alert their group of predators.
CBSE Step-by-Step Marking Scheme
True, True, False with reasoning
3 M
🌟 NEP 2020 Competency-Based Case Study
Vernacular Architecture and Modern Climate Resilience
Modern builders in flood-prone wetlands are replacing traditional bamboo stilt houses with heavy ground-level concrete brick homes, resulting in catastrophic waterlogging every monsoon.
Analytical Task: Why is indigenous vernacular architecture scientifically superior to copy-pasting city concrete designs in ecologically sensitive areas?
Evaluation & Model Answer:
Indigenous architecture represents centuries of empirical adaptation to local geology, climate, and hazards. Stilt houses let floodwaters flow underneath unimpeded without structural resistance. Mud and thatch naturally regulate temperature without air conditioning. In contrast, heavy ground-level concrete blocks natural drainage pathways, traps indoor heat, and cracks during earthquakes. True modern engineering blends indigenous wisdom with durable materials rather than blindly imposing unsuitable concrete blocks.
Rubric: Ecological wisdom of vernacular architecture, natural drainage vs concrete barriers, thermal efficiency (4 Marks).