Class 5 Activities

You need

• ✓8 paper balls in different sizes (crumpled newspaper)
• ✓Paints: yellow, orange, red, blue, green, brown, tan
• ✓String (very long — at least 50 metres for the distance activity)
• ✓A reference chart with planet sizes and distances from the sun

How to do it

1. 1Research the relative sizes of planets: Jupiter is 11 times Earth's diameter; Mercury is 0.38 times.
2. 2Make paper balls accordingly. The Sun would be impossibly large — represent it as a torch.
3. 3Paint each planet: Mercury (grey), Venus (yellow-white), Earth (blue-green), Mars (red), Jupiter (orange stripes), Saturn (add a cardboard ring), Uranus (pale blue), Neptune (deep blue).
4. 4Hang the model from a string in order from the sun.
5. 5The distance challenge: if Earth is 1 step from the sun, Jupiter is 5 steps, Neptune is 30 steps. Try this outside and walk the distance.
6. 6Ask: 'Why can't we travel to other planets easily?'

You need

• ✓A shopping receipt or screenshot of an online shopping cart
• ✓Paper and pencil
• ✓Calculator (to verify)

How to do it

1. 1Find an item with a discount: 'This shirt is ₹800, 25% off.'
2. 2Calculate: 25% of ₹800 = ₹800 × 25/100 = ₹200. Sale price = ₹600.
3. 3Compare two deals: '25% off ₹800' vs. '₹200 flat discount.' Which is better?
4. 4Try 'Buy 2 Get 1 Free' on a ₹150 item: you pay ₹300 for 3, which is ₹100 each — that is 33% off.
5. 5Find the 'real' price after all discounts on a full cart.
6. 6Ask: 'Why do shops offer discounts? Do they still make money?'

You need

• ✓Printed or screen photographs of Indian monuments
• ✓Paper to sketch what you see
• ✓A protractor and ruler
• ✓Reference: types of polygons, angles, symmetry

How to do it

1. 1Choose one monument per session. Study the photograph.
2. 2List every geometric shape you can identify: arches (semicircle), minarets (cylinder + cone), jalis (hexagonal lattice), domes (hemisphere).
3. 3Sketch the dominant shape and measure its angles if visible.
4. 4Check for symmetry: 'Is the Taj Mahal symmetrical? From how many lines?'
5. 5Calculate: if the dome diameter is 18m, what is its circumference?
6. 6Research: 'Why did Mughal architects use the pointed arch instead of the Roman round arch?'

You need

• ✓A simple recipe (khichdi: 1 cup rice, 1/2 cup dal, 3 cups water, salt, turmeric — serves 2)
• ✓Paper and pencil
• ✓Measuring cups
• ✓The actual ingredients to cook (optional but recommended)

How to do it

1. 1Write the recipe as given (serves 2).
2. 2Ask: 'If we want to make it for 6 people, how much of everything do we need?'
3. 3Work out the multiplier: 6 ÷ 2 = 3. Multiply each ingredient by 3.
4. 4Ask: 'What if only 1 person is eating?'
5. 5Discuss the ratio: 'For every 1 cup of rice, we need 1/2 cup of dal. The ratio of rice to dal is 2:1. It stays the same no matter how much we make.'
6. 6Cook it — apply the maths with real measurements.

You need

• ✓A topic: 'Homework should be banned', 'School uniforms are necessary', 'Mobile phones should be allowed in school'
• ✓Notepad to write 3 arguments for each side
• ✓A timer

How to do it

1. 1Choose a topic. Ask: 'What do you think? Are you for or against it?'
2. 2Give them 5 minutes to write 3 arguments FOR the topic — strongest first.
3. 3They argue FOR. You counter with questions.
4. 4Now switch: 5 minutes to write 3 arguments AGAINST.
5. 5They argue AGAINST the same topic they just argued for.
6. 6Debrief: 'Which side was harder to argue? Did making arguments for the other side change your mind at all?'

You need

• ✓A long roll of paper or several A4 sheets taped together (at least 1 metre)
• ✓A ruler for scale
• ✓Pencil, coloured pens
• ✓A Class 5 history textbook or a children's Indian history book

How to do it

1. 1Mark the timeline: 3000 BCE at the left, 1947 at the right. Work out a scale (e.g., 10cm = 500 years).
2. 2Mark key events: Indus Valley (2500 BCE), Vedic period, Maurya Empire (300 BCE), Gupta Empire (300 CE), Delhi Sultanate (1206 CE), Mughal Empire (1526 CE), British East India Company (1600 CE), 1857 Revolt, Gandhi's movements, 1947 Independence.
3. 3Draw a small illustration for each event.
4. 4Colour code by era: ancient (green), medieval (blue), modern (orange).
5. 5Add 2–3 facts next to each event.
6. 6Quiz each other using only the timeline — no textbook.