Summary
Chapter 4 of the Class 3 The World Around Us (EVS) NCERT textbook (Our Wondrous World), "Getting to Know Plants", introduces children to the five main types of plants — trees, shrubs, herbs and grasses, climbers, and creepers — through the story of three friends named Gopu, Simmi, and Raj, and guides them to observe parts of a plant such as roots, stem, leaves, flowers, fruits, and seeds, while exploring how everyday foods like rice, wheat, dal, and sugarcane all come from plants.
- Five Types of Plants — The chapter teaches children that plants come in five main types: trees (tall with a thick trunk and deep roots), shrubs (medium-sized with several woody stems), herbs and grasses (smaller plants with soft green stems), climbers (plants that grow upward using support), and creepers (plants that spread along the ground).
- Parts of a Plant — Using a tomato plant as an example, the chapter introduces the six main parts of a plant: roots, stem, leaves, flowers, fruits, and seeds, and encourages children to identify and label these parts themselves.
- Plants We Eat — The chapter connects plants to everyday food, explaining that grains like rice (paddy), wheat, bajra, jowar, and ragi are seeds of grasses, while pulses like toor, masoor, moong, and urad are seeds of shrubs, and that sugar comes from the sugarcane stem.
- Observing Leaves and Bark — Children are encouraged to observe that leaves differ in colour, shape, size, texture, and smell — for example, tulsi, coriander, mint, and lemon grass each have different smells — and to explore the bark of trees by making rubbings with a crayon on paper.
Key points & formulas
- 01Plants come in five types: trees, shrubs, herbs and grasses, climbers, and creepers
- 02Trees have a big woody trunk, many branches, and roots that go deep into the soil
- 03Shrubs are medium-sized with several woody stems growing close to the ground — hibiscus, rose, tulsi, and curry leaf are examples
- 04Grasses are a type of herb with soft hollow stems and thin flat leaves; bamboo and sugarcane are tall grasses
- 05Climbers grow upward using other plants or walls for support (money plant, jasmine), while creepers spread along the ground (pumpkin, watermelon)
- 06The six parts of a plant are roots, stem, leaves, flowers, fruits, and seeds
- 07Rafflesia, found in Mizoram, is the biggest flower and can be as large as an umbrella
Frequently asked questions
01What are the five types of plants taught in Chapter 4?
Chapter 4 introduces trees, shrubs, herbs and grasses, climbers, and creepers as the five main types of plants, each with different stem types, sizes, and ways of growing.
02What is the difference between a climber and a creeper?
Climbers have thin, flexible stems and grow upward by using other plants or walls for support, like the money plant and jasmine. Creepers also have thin, flexible stems but spread along the ground instead, like pumpkin and watermelon plants.
03What are the parts of a plant?
The chapter uses a tomato plant to show the six parts: roots, stem, leaves, flowers, fruits, and seeds.
04How are trees different from shrubs?
Trees have one big wooden trunk with many branches and roots that go deep into the soil. Shrubs are medium-sized and have several woody stems that grow close to the ground, not a single large trunk.
05Which foods that we eat come from grasses?
Rice (paddy), wheat, bajra, jowar, and ragi are all seeds of large grasses. Sugarcane, which gives us sugar, is also a tall grass.
06Why is bamboo a special grass?
Bamboo is a special kind of tall grass that stays alive for longer than just one year, unlike most grasses.
07What dal or pulses come from shrubs?
Toor (pigeon peas), masoor (red lentils), moong (green gram), and urad (black gram) are all seeds of shrubs.
08How do leaves differ from plant to plant?
The chapter explains that leaves of different plants have different colours, shapes, and sizes. They also smell different — for example, tulsi, coriander, curry leaves, mint, and lemon grass each have a wonderfully different smell.
09What is the biggest flower mentioned in the chapter?
Rafflesia, found in Mizoram, is described as the biggest flower and can be as large as an umbrella.
10What is bark and what activity do children do with it?
Bark is the hard outer covering of a tree trunk. Children are asked to press paper against the bark and rub a crayon or pencil over it to create a bark-pattern print, then guess which tree the pattern belongs to.
11What does the Make Friends with a Plant activity involve?
Children choose a plant, give it a name like a pet, water it every day, and record observations about its leaves, flowers, and fruits — noting the colour, shape, and how many there are — over time.
12Why are herbs different from trees and shrubs?
Herbs are smaller plants whose stems stay soft and green and never become woody, unlike the hard trunks of trees or the woody stems of shrubs. Mint, tomato, coriander, and mustard are examples of herbs.
More chapters in Our Wondrous World
Read Chapter 4 of Our Wondrous World, the Class 3 The World Around Us NCERT textbook (2026-27 edition), online for free: the complete chapter as published by NCERT with every diagram, solved example and exercise, with step-by-step solutions, answers and revision notes. Open the NCERT PDF above, or browse all NCERT Class 3 textbooks.
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