Our Body and Health
Overview
"Our Body and Health" is a foundational topic in Environmental Studies (EVS) for CG TET Paper I, designed for teachers who will work with classes 1–5. This topic helps young learners understand their own bodies, develop healthy habits, and recognize common illnesses—making it highly relevant to everyday life and child development.
In the CG TET exam, expect 3–5 questions from this area covering identification of body parts, functions of sense organs, personal hygiene practices, and prevention of common childhood diseases. Questions often use simple diagrams or scenarios that a primary teacher might encounter in the classroom. The pedagogical aspect focuses on how to make body and health concepts accessible to young children through activity-based learning.
Mastery of this topic requires knowing basic human anatomy at the primary level, understanding the five senses and their organs, recognizing good hygiene practices, and being familiar with common diseases prevalent in Chhattisgarh's rural and tribal areas.
---
Key Concepts
- **External body parts** are what children can see and touch—head, neck, arms, legs, hands, feet, eyes, ears, nose, mouth. Internal organs like heart, lungs, stomach, and brain perform vital functions but are not visible.
- **The five sense organs** connect us to the world: eyes (sight), ears (hearing), nose (smell), tongue (taste), and skin (touch). Each organ has a specific receptor that sends signals to the brain.
- **Personal hygiene** means daily practices that keep the body clean and prevent disease—bathing, handwashing, brushing teeth, cutting nails, wearing clean clothes, and keeping surroundings clean.
- **Balanced diet** includes carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals, and water in proper proportions. Malnutrition is a significant concern in Chhattisgarh's tribal areas.
- **Common childhood diseases** in the region include diarrhoea, malaria, dengue, typhoid, jaundice, and skin infections. Many are waterborne or vector-borne.
- **Vaccination (immunization)** protects children from diseases like polio, measles, tuberculosis, and hepatitis. The government's Universal Immunization Programme covers these.
- **First aid** refers to immediate, basic care for minor injuries—cleaning wounds, applying bandages, managing minor burns—skills relevant for primary teachers.
- **Mental and emotional health** is part of overall well-being. Children need play, rest, love, and security for healthy development.
---
Formulas / Key Facts
| Category | Must-Remember Facts | |----------|---------------------| | **Body Systems** | Digestive system breaks down food; Respiratory system helps breathing; Circulatory system pumps blood; Nervous system controls body functions | | **Sense Organs** | Eye → Sight; Ear → Hearing; Nose → Smell; Tongue → Taste (sweet, sour, salty, bitter); Skin → Touch (pressure, pain, temperature) | | **Teeth Types** | Incisors (cutting) → 8; Canines (tearing) → 4; Premolars → 8; Molars (grinding) → 12; Total adult teeth = 32; Milk teeth = 20 | | **Handwashing Steps** | Wet → Soap → Rub (20 seconds minimum) → Rinse → Dry | | **Safe Drinking Water** | Boiling for 10–15 minutes kills most germs; Chlorination and filtration also purify water | | **Malaria Prevention** | Use mosquito nets, remove stagnant water, apply repellents; caused by Plasmodium parasite via Anopheles mosquito | | **Diarrhoea Treatment** | ORS (Oral Rehydration Solution) = 1 litre boiled water + 6 teaspoons sugar + ½ teaspoon salt | | **Key Vaccines** | BCG (TB), OPV (Polio), DPT (Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tetanus), Measles, Hepatitis B |
---
Worked Examples
### Example 1: Sense Organ Identification **Question:** Raju cannot see the blackboard clearly from the back bench. Which sense organ has a problem, and what should the teacher do?
**Solution:**
- Step 1: Identify the sense involved → Vision (seeing)
- Step 2: Identify the sense organ → Eye
- Step 3: Recognize the problem → Possible vision defect (myopia/near-sightedness)
- Step 4: Teacher's action → Seat Raju in the front row temporarily; inform parents to get an eye check-up; refer to school health programme
**Answer:** Eye; the teacher should arrange front seating and recommend an eye examination.
---
### Example 2: Disease Prevention **Question:** In a village school in Bastar, several children are absent due to loose motions and vomiting. What is the likely cause, and what preventive measures should the teacher suggest?
**Solution:**
- Step 1: Identify symptoms → Loose motions + vomiting = Diarrhoea
- Step 2: Common cause in rural Chhattisgarh → Contaminated drinking water or unhygienic food
- Step 3: Preventive measures:
- Drink boiled or filtered water
- Wash hands before eating and after using the toilet
- Eat freshly cooked food
- Keep surroundings clean
- Give ORS to affected children to prevent dehydration
**Answer:** Likely waterborne diarrhoea; prevention through safe water, handwashing, and food hygiene.
---
### Example 3: Balanced Diet **Question:** A primary teacher notices that many students appear weak and tired. What dietary advice aligns with EVS teaching?
**Solution:**
- Step 1: Weakness and fatigue often indicate nutritional deficiency
- Step 2: Recommend a balanced diet including:
- Energy-giving foods (carbohydrates): Rice, roti, potato
- Body-building foods (proteins): Dal, milk, eggs, groundnuts
- Protective foods (vitamins/minerals): Green vegetables, fruits
- Step 3: Connect to local context → Encourage locally available foods like mahua, tamarind, leafy greens, and millets common in Chhattisgarh
**Answer:** Include all food groups; use locally available nutritious foods.
---
Common Mistakes
| Wrong Thinking | Correct Understanding | |----------------|----------------------| | "Skin is not a sense organ—it just covers the body" | Skin is the largest sense organ, detecting touch, pressure, pain, and temperature through nerve endings | | "Only dirty water causes diseases" | Clean-looking water can contain invisible germs; boiling or filtering is still necessary | | "Milk teeth don't matter because they fall out anyway" | Milk teeth affect jaw development, speech, and nutrition; dental hygiene matters from infancy | | "Vaccination causes the disease it prevents" | Vaccines contain weakened or dead pathogens that train the immune system without causing illness | | "Hygiene teaching is not part of EVS pedagogy" | EVS explicitly integrates health education; teachers must model and teach hygiene practices |
---
Quick Reference
- **Five senses:** See (eye), Hear (ear), Smell (nose), Taste (tongue), Touch (skin)
- **Handwashing rule:** Soap + 20 seconds rubbing = Most germs removed
- **ORS formula:** 6 teaspoons sugar + ½ teaspoon salt + 1 litre clean water
- **Milk teeth:** 20; Permanent teeth: 32
- **Malaria vector:** Female Anopheles mosquito; prevention = nets + no stagnant water
- **EVS pedagogy tip:** Use body-mapping activities, role-play, and local health examples for effective teaching