Unique House names and their features

Unique House Names and Features for Class 5 EVS

Through this concept, the students will learn about some unique house names and why they are considered as special houses. Here the students will be introduced to various animal shelter names.
After reading the concept, students will be able to:

• Understand various needs for temporary housing.
• Explain what is farmhouse and know that a caravan is a mobile house.
• Understand what is igloo and camping tent house.
• Know what is a houseboat and why stilt houses are found in flood-prone areas.
• Analyse that jharokha designs are created for sufficient airflow.
• Relate that sloping roof houses are seen in areas that receive heavy snowfall.
• Know that the dab window in Srinagar is built to extend the living space of houses.

Each concept is explained to class 5 students using descriptions, illustrations, and concept maps. After you go through a concept, assess your learning by solving the two printable worksheets given at the end of the page.

Download the worksheets and check your answers with the worksheet solutions for the concept of Conservation of Forest and Wildlife provided in PDF format.

Some houses are built based on their utility and the area they are in.

Examples:

• Areas that are waterlogged throughout the year have houses built at a height.
• In areas where snowfall occurs throughout the year, the houses are built, keeping the weather conditions in mind.

Let us now look at various special shelters that are built for different purposes.

Tent:

• A tent is a temporary house built using poles and fabric.
• These are usually built for a short duration.
• Helpful for night stay in places where other accommodations are not available.

 

Caravan:

• It is a mobile house.
• A caravan is built by converting a vehicle into a space suitable for a living by installing all the required amenities.
• This type of house is used for long travels.

 

Igloo:

• It is a house made of ice bricks.
• These are dome-shaped houses that resemble a hemisphere.
• Igloos are found in extremely cold areas like Canada and Greenland.

Houseboat:

• A houseboat is also a mobile house.
• As the name suggests, it is a boat that is converted into a house with all the amenities.
• It is generally found in areas that have large rivers or lakes.
• These houses are used as a source of recreation and for earning money.

Stilt house:

• Stilt houses are built in flood-prone areas.
• The houses are built on an elevated level so that the water does not affect them.
• The main raw materials used are cement, bamboo, stone, and wood.
• Building the stilt houses on a height provides an abundance of airflow, which is suitable for surviving in hot and humid areas.

Treehouse::

• Treehouses are generally found in forest areas.
• Huge trees are converted into houses.
• They are not as luxurious as the other houses but have ample space for sleeping and resting.
• These houses are at a height which helps protect against wild animals.

Let us now look at various houses that are built, keeping in mind the region's climatic conditions.

Houses in deserts or dry areas:

The houses in hot, dry areas are built with a special focus on ventilation.These houses have large windows and balconies, which allow sufficient airflow.There is a space between the outer and inner walls of the house so that the house does not get too heated due to the scorching sunlight.

The vast buildings have small windows called jharokhas, providing ample airflow space. Hawa Mahal of Jaipur is an example of such a building.The villages in desert areas have other arrangements for keeping their houses cool.Houses in villages are mostly built of mud, which takes time to get heated by the sunlight, and quickly cools down as the sun goes down.The roofs of these houses are covered with hay, which is drained with water to keep the house cool.

• One can find such houses in the state of Rajasthan.

Houses in Areas that Receive Snowfall :

• Areas that receive heavy snowfall have conical-shaped houses with sloping roofs.
• Such sloping roofs do not allow the snow to accumulate and help them slide off.
• The house has an attic for storing raw food and other necessities because people cannot go out to buy something during heavy snowfall.
• Houses in the mountains are generally built with thick stones covered with mud and lime. These thick walls help in keeping the house warm during excessive snowfall.The raw materials used are based on their availability as it is not easy to carry loads to the high altitude of the mountains.
• The ground floors of these houses do not have any windows to prevent the entry of cold winds.

Unique features of houses in Kashmir:

• One can see special types of windows emerging out of the walls. They are called dabs and are built to sit and enjoy the view.

• Beautiful arches on the windows and doors of wooden houses are seen there, called mehraab.

• One can see beautiful carvings on the walls of big houses. These carved designs are called khatambands.

• The houseboats are called Dongas. They have a length of around 80 feet and are 8 to 9 feet wide.

Shelters of Animals:

Just like man, animals too need shelters for the following reasons—

• To stay safe and protect themselves from predators.
• To survive the harsh weather conditions.
• To lay eggs and look after the young ones.

Humans keep animals as pets or rear them to obtain various animal products. To provide a safe place for the animals, humans make animal shelters.

Some man-made animal shelters are described below—

1. Coop:

• • A shelter made for keeping hens and ducks is called a coop.
  • A coop can be either a metal or a wooden cage.
  • A coop can also be used to keep small animals like rabbits.

2. Kennel:

• • A shelter made for keeping dogs is called a kennel.

3. Aquarium:

• • A shelter made for keeping aquatic animals like fish is called an aquarium.
  • Generally, small colourful fish are kept in an aquarium, but they can also be used to keep small turtles.

4. Barn:

• • A large shelter made for keeping livestock like sheep and goats is called a barn.
  • The space in the barn is also used for storing feed for the livestock.

5. Stable

• • A shelter built for keeping animals like horses is called a stable.
  • The area in the stable is divided into sections where individual horses are kept.

Some natural animal shelters which we come across are as follows—

New Words

Did You Know?

• The change in the temperature and pressure leads to the development of creaks in the wooden walls of houses.
• Keret House in Warsaw is the narrowest house in the world. It was built by Jakub Szczęsny, a Polish architect.
• Antilia in Mumbai is the largest, tallest, and most expensive house in the world and was designed by an American architect.It belongs to Mukesh Ambani, the famous industrialist, and its height is equivalent to a building with sixty floors.