Chapter 9: Family and Community
Solutions for In-text Questions, Activities, End-of-Chapter Questions, and Projects
Standard 6 Social Science
1. Page No. 137: Important Questions
1. Why is the family unit important?
Answer: We all live in a family. The family is the oldest and most fundamental unit of any society. A family provides us with love, warmth, and security. In a joint family, many generations live together, which instills values in children, and members support each other in times of difficulty.
2. What is a community and what is its role?
Answer: A small group of people of a specific religion, region, similar occupations, or common interests is called a community (e.g., Parsi community, teachers' community, etc.). A community is a larger unit whose main role is for people to try their best to support each other, live cooperatively, and develop by being mutually interdependent.
2. Page No. 138: Let's Find Out (Activity)
1. What types of families do you see around you? Make a list.
Answer/Outline: Students should observe their surroundings and make a list. For example:
- Joint family: In which grandparents, parents, uncles, aunts, and cousins live together.
- Nuclear (small) family: In which only parents and their children live together.
2. Which type of family seems to be greater in number? Why do you think this is so?
Answer: In modern times, nuclear families are seen in larger numbers. Reason: Due to people migrating from villages to cities for jobs or businesses, lack of residential space in cities, and inflation, nuclear families are more common today.
3. Discuss the information gathered with your friends in the classroom.
Outline: Forming a group of 4-5 students in the classroom, each student will discuss the statistics of how many joint and nuclear families are in their neighborhood.
3. Page No. 139: Let's Find Out (Table Activity)
Question: Make a list of members including all relatives of your family, write the word used for them in your mother tongue or regional language, and try to find the equivalent words in English.
Answer (Completed Table):
| Name (Example) | Gujarati Word | Description / Word in English |
|---|---|---|
| Rani | Bahen | Mother's brother's daughter (Cousin) |
| Samir | Kaka | Father's younger brother (Uncle) |
| Rameshbhai | Dada | Father's father (Grandfather) |
| Gitaben | Foi | Father's sister (Aunt) |
| Sureshbhai | Mama | Mother's brother (Maternal uncle) |
(Note: Here, in English, many relationships are denoted by a single word like 'Uncle' or 'Aunt', whereas in Gujarati there is a specific word for each.)
4. Page No. 141: Let's Find Out
1. Draw a family tree of seven members.
Project Outline: Take a drawing paper. Draw a large tree at the top. Write the names of your grandfather and grandmother on the top branch. On the two branches below them, write the names of your parents on one side and your uncle and aunt on the other. Write your name and your brother or sister's name on the lowest branches to prepare a 'Family Tree' of 7 members.
2. Why did Shalini's parents buy clothes for everyone? Think.
Answer: Shalini's family is a joint family. In a joint family, there is a feeling of love and equality among all members. So that no one feels discriminated against on a festival or special occasion and happiness is maintained in the whole family, her parents must have bought clothes not only for their own children but for all the children in the family.
3. What would you have done if you were in Shalini's place?
Answer: If I were in Shalini's place, I too would have been happy to wear and share new clothes with my cousins. Because sharing happiness in a family doubles it.
5. Page No. 143: Let's Find Out
1. Create a story of a family in India where family values are taught, write it or draw a picture and present it to the class.
Project Outline: You can write the story of 'Shravan Kumar', who dedicated his life to serving his blind parents. Or, write a story of a farming family where the grandfather imparts agricultural knowledge to the children and the whole family eats together harmoniously. Draw a picture of this story and show it in class.
2. Together with all your friends in class, perform a short play on two or three families... while performing this play, present how these families resolve their problems.
Activity Outline: Form a group of 5-6 students in the class. Keep the theme of the play "Helping a neighbor in financial difficulty". When a family faces a shortage of money due to illness, act out how two neighboring families get together, collect funds, offer physical help, and pull that family out of the crisis.
3. In the stories of Shalini and Tenzing... what are the aspects of modern life that explain why some couples adopt nuclear families today?
Answer: Aspects of modern life such as - having to leave the hometown and go to big cities for higher education and job opportunities, the small size of houses in cities, the desire for the freedom of modern lifestyle, and lack of time - due to all these reasons, some couples prefer to live in a nuclear family today.
6. Page No. 144: Do Not Miss
Question: There are many such examples where people have worked together for the benefit of the community without expecting any kind of compensation. Have you heard of other such examples?
Answer: Yes, there are many such examples.
- Recently, during the COVID-19 (Corona) pandemic, many youths and religious organizations worked to deliver free tiffin services and oxygen cylinders to sick people without any expectation of compensation.
- When natural disasters like earthquakes or floods occur in Gujarat, people from the local community come together and work selflessly to clear debris and rescue stranded people. This is an excellent example similar to the 'Halma' tradition of Jhabua village mentioned in this textbook.
7. Page No. 147: Let's Find Out
Question: Make a list of people outside your family who help you in one way or another.
Answer (List):
- Teachers: Who impart knowledge to me at school.
- Doctors and Nurses: Who treat me when I fall ill.
- Sanitation Workers: Who keep my surroundings and roads clean.
- Milkmen / Vegetable vendors: Who deliver essential items to the house every morning.
- Neighbors: Who are the first to rush for help when sudden trouble strikes.
- Police and Security Personnel: Who keep us safe by maintaining law and order in our area.
8. Page No. 148: Let's Find Out and Exercises
1. What kind of community are you a part of?
Answer: As a student, I am a part of my 'school student community'. Additionally, I am also a part of the 'resident community' of my village/society, and a community related to arts/sports.
2. Is there any club in your school? Are you a member of it? How does it function?
Answer / Guide: Yes, there is an 'Eco Club' (Environment Club) and a 'Science Club' in my school. I am a member of the Eco Club. Our club does tree planting in the school ground, runs awareness campaigns to reduce the use of plastic, and celebrates environment-related days.
3. What rules do you follow in your family and neighborhood? Why is it important?
- Family rules: Respecting elders, returning home on time at night, and helping each other with household chores.
- Neighborhood rules: Not making noise late at night, always throwing garbage in the dustbin, and maintaining good behavior with neighbors.
Importance: By following these rules, discipline is maintained, quarrels can be avoided, and one can live peacefully with mutual cooperation.
4. Do you think that some rules are unfair to some people in the family or community?
Answer: Yes, sometimes in orthodox families or communities there are different rules for boys and girls. For example, daughters are asked to only do household chores and are not allowed to go out for higher education, while sons are given all the freedom. Such rules are clearly unfair as they are against the principle of equality.
5. Describe a situation where community cooperation made a difference. Or draw a picture of it.
Project Description: A few years ago, rainwater was not getting stored in the main pond of our village. As a result, there was a severe water shortage in summer. Under the guidance of the village Sarpanch, the entire village community came together and offered voluntary labor (Shramdaan). People took spades and pans and deepened the pond themselves, and planted trees around it (just like the Bhil community did in the 'Halma' tradition in Jhabua). During the monsoon, the pond overflowed with water. Thanks to this community cooperation, today there is no shortage of water for farming and drinking in the village. (Students can draw a picture in their drawing book similar to the picture of people doing Shramdaan given on page 145).