Chapter 9 of 24
Chapter 9: It's Raining
Appu the Elephant Waters the Dying Banana Trees: Rain and Plant Revival | CBSE Session 2026–27
Core Pedagogical Competencies & Concepts
- Plants droop and leaves turn brown when they do not receive water during long dry spells.
- Appu the elephant using his trunk to fill river water and shower dying banana trees until they turn green again.
- The arrival of rain clouds: Transforming parched brown landscapes into lush green living gardens.
- Clouds can appear in different shapes (elephants, horses, fleece) and bring joyful rainbows with 7 colors.
All Textbook Exercises & In-Text Tasks (17 Questions)
100% Complete Ingestion
Q1
Story Comprehension
Why were the banana trees drooping and how did Appu help them?
[3 Marks]
✅ Step-by-Step Solution & Working
The banana trees were drooping and withering because it had not rained for a long time and the soil had completely dried up. Appu bathed in the river, drank water to his fill, filled his long trunk with river water, and poured it over the thirsty roots of the banana trees until they perked up, turned lush green, and gave sweet bananas again.
CBSE Step-by-Step Marking Scheme
Explanation of drought and wilting trees
1.5 Marks
Appu's actions using his trunk to irrigate trees
1.5 Marks
Q2
Rainbow Science
When does a rainbow appear in the sky, and what are its seven constituent colors?
[3 Marks]
✅ Step-by-Step Solution & Working
A rainbow appears in the sky opposite the sun right after a rain shower when sunlight passes through microscopic airborne raindrops that act as natural glass prisms.
Seven Colors (VIBGYOR): Violet, Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, and Red.
Seven Colors (VIBGYOR): Violet, Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, and Red.
CBSE Step-by-Step Marking Scheme
Conditions for rainbow formation (sunlight + rain droplets acting as prisms)
1.5 Marks
Correct listing of 7 VIBGYOR colors
1.5 Marks
Q3
Nature Sensitivity
How do street trees get water when nobody waters them with hose pipes?
[2 Marks]
✅ Step-by-Step Solution & Working
Street trees develop deep taproot systems that penetrate deep into the subterranean soil layers to absorb groundwater. During the rainy season, rainfall naturally quenches their thirst and recharges the surrounding soil.
CBSE Step-by-Step Marking Scheme
Deep taproots absorbing underground water
1 Mark
Rainwater recharge
1 Mark
Q4
Story Comprehension • Appu Ate Bananas
In 'It's Raining':
(a) Why were the banana trees in the jungle drooping?
(b) How did Appu the elephant revive the dying banana trees?
[3 Marks]
(a) Why were the banana trees in the jungle drooping?
(b) How did Appu the elephant revive the dying banana trees?
✅ Step-by-Step Solution & Working
Story Details:
(a) Drooping Trees:
• The banana trees were drooping and drying up because it had not rained for a very long time in the forest.
(b) Appu's Rescue:
• Appu loved eating ripe bananas. He went to the river, drank his fill, and filled his long trunk with water. He carried the water back and sprayed it like a shower all over the banana roots until the trees stood upright and fresh again.
(a) Drooping Trees:
• The banana trees were drooping and drying up because it had not rained for a very long time in the forest.
(b) Appu's Rescue:
• Appu loved eating ripe bananas. He went to the river, drank his fill, and filled his long trunk with water. He carried the water back and sprayed it like a shower all over the banana roots until the trees stood upright and fresh again.
CBSE Step-by-Step Marking Scheme
Drought and lack of rain noted
1.5 M
Appu carrying water in trunk and showering trees explained
1.5 M
Q5
The Water Cycle & Clouds • Atmosphere
How do clouds form in the sky on hot summer days?
[3 Marks]
✅ Step-by-Step Solution & Working
Cloud Formation (Evaporation & Condensation):
• The hot sun heats water in rivers, ponds, and seas, causing water to evaporate into invisible water vapor that rises high into the sky.
• High up in the cold air, this water vapor cools down and condenses into billions of microscopic water droplets, which cluster together to form white and grey clouds.
• The hot sun heats water in rivers, ponds, and seas, causing water to evaporate into invisible water vapor that rises high into the sky.
• High up in the cold air, this water vapor cools down and condenses into billions of microscopic water droplets, which cluster together to form white and grey clouds.
CBSE Step-by-Step Marking Scheme
Evaporation of water into vapor
1.5 M
Condensation into water droplets forming clouds
1.5 M
Q6
Rainbow Formation • Sunlight & Raindrops
(a) When does a rainbow appear in the sky?
(b) Write the seven colors of the rainbow in order (VIBGYOR).
[3 Marks]
(b) Write the seven colors of the rainbow in order (VIBGYOR).
✅ Step-by-Step Solution & Working
Rainbow Science:
(a) Occurrence:
• A rainbow appears when sunlight shines through falling raindrops directly opposite the sun in the sky.
(b) 7 Colors (VIBGYOR):
• Violet, Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, Red.
(a) Occurrence:
• A rainbow appears when sunlight shines through falling raindrops directly opposite the sun in the sky.
(b) 7 Colors (VIBGYOR):
• Violet, Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, Red.
CBSE Step-by-Step Marking Scheme
Sunlight passing through raindrops opposite the sun
1.5 M
All 7 VIBGYOR colors in correct order
1.5 M
Q7
Rainy Day Delights • Children's Activities
What do children enjoy doing when the first monsoon showers arrive?
[2 Marks]
✅ Step-by-Step Solution & Working
Monsoon Joys:
• Children enjoy dancing and splashing in cool puddles, floating paper boats in running rainwater streams, and smelling the fresh earthy fragrance of wet soil (petrichor).
• Children enjoy dancing and splashing in cool puddles, floating paper boats in running rainwater streams, and smelling the fresh earthy fragrance of wet soil (petrichor).
CBSE Step-by-Step Marking Scheme
Paper boats, puddle splashing, and soil fragrance described
2.0 M
Q8
Observation Time • Animals and Habits
In Chapter 9 ('It's Raining'), 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
Ecosystem Stewardship: Animals as Forest Gardeners
Appu the elephant watered banana trees in the story. In real tropical forests, wild elephants eat ripe fruits and walk dozens of kilometers daily, dropping seeds in large piles of nutritious dung.
Analytical Task: How do wild elephants act as 'engineers of the forest' in real ecosystems?
Evaluation & Model Answer:
Wild elephants are true ecosystem engineers and forest gardeners: (1) Seed Dispersal: They consume fruits from hundreds of tree species and carry the seeds inside their digestive tracts over long distances, depositing them in fertile dung beds that sprout into new forest trees. (2) Creating Waterholes: During severe droughts, elephants use their feet and tusks to dig deep pits in dry riverbeds, exposing subterranean water that saves thousands of smaller birds, deer, and monkeys.
Rubric: Ecological role of elephants, seed dispersal over vast distances, digging waterholes during droughts (4 Marks).