CTET · Study & Practice

Food, Shelter & Water

AreaEnvironmental Studies DifficultyEasy to Moderate CTET weightage4-6 questions (Food, Shelter and Water are core EVS themes in every CTET Paper I)

Food, Shelter and Water are three of the six themes the NCF and the CTET EVS syllabus are built around, and together they supply a steady four to six questions in every Paper I. The questions are rarely abstract: CTET frames them as everyday primary-stage situations a Class 1-5 child would meet -- which nutrient is missing if a child cannot see well at dusk, why a Rajasthan house has thick walls and small windows, why we should not let a tap run while brushing. To answer confidently you need the basic science right -- the food sources and the nutrients with their deficiency diseases, the kinds of houses and why building materials change with climate, and where water comes from, how the water cycle works and how it is conserved. This chapter pins down those facts precisely (Vitamin A deficiency causes night blindness, Vitamin C causes scurvy, iron deficiency causes anaemia, and so on) and ties each to the kind of child-centred scenario CTET actually sets.

Topics

1 Food: Sources, Cooking & Preservation 4 worked · 4 practice · 8-Q MCQ test Start → 2 Shelter: Houses & Materials 4 worked · 4 practice · 8-Q MCQ test Start → 3 Water: Sources, Uses & Conservation 4 worked · 4 practice · 8-Q MCQ test Start →

⚡ Smart tips & memory hooks

Memory hooks and exam-smart tips to lock this chapter in and answer CTET MCQs quickly and accurately.

  • Nutrient-disease pairs to recall instantly: Vit A -> night blindness, Vit C -> scurvy, Vit D -> rickets, Iron -> anaemia, Iodine -> goitre, Protein -> kwashiorkor/marasmus.
  • Energy foods = carbohydrates + fats; body-building = proteins; protective = vitamins + minerals. Fats give the most energy per gram.
  • Kutcha = Cheap/temporary (mud, straw, bamboo). Pucca = Permanent (brick, cement, concrete).
  • Climate decides the house: hot desert -> thick walls + small windows + flat roof; heavy rain/snow -> sloping roof; floods -> stilt house; polar -> igloo.
  • Water cycle in order: Evaporation -> Condensation -> Precipitation -> Collection. (Sun heats, vapour rises, clouds cool, rain falls.)
  • Water-borne diseases (dirty water): cholera, typhoid, diarrhoea, dysentery, jaundice -> always boil/filter before drinking.

⚠️ Common mistakes & traps

CTET loves to test these exact confusions. Internalise each trap before exam day.

  • Swapping Vitamin A and Vitamin C deficiencies -- Vitamin A lack = night blindness, Vitamin C lack = scurvy.
  • Calling carbohydrates the body-building food -- proteins build the body; carbohydrates and fats give energy.
  • Saying sea water is a source of drinking water -- it is salty and must be made fresh first.
  • Confusing condensation and precipitation -- condensation forms clouds (vapour to droplets); precipitation is the rain/snow falling.
  • Thinking a kutcha house means a small house -- kutcha refers to weak, temporary materials (mud, straw), not size.
  • Assuming rickets is caused by lack of iron -- rickets is from lack of Vitamin D/calcium; iron deficiency causes anaemia.

📈 CTET exam insight & PYQ analysis

Food, Shelter and Water themes give CTET Paper I a reliable four to six questions. The commonest pattern is the nutrient-deficiency match (a symptom such as poor night vision, swollen neck or weak bones, and you pick the missing nutrient or the disease) -- night blindness, scurvy, rickets, anaemia and goitre recur constantly. Shelter questions focus on why houses suit their climate (thick desert walls, sloping rainy roofs, stilt houses in floods) and the kutcha-versus-pucca and animal-homes distinctions. Water questions test the water-cycle order (evaporation-condensation-precipitation), sources of fresh versus salty water, conservation and rainwater harvesting, and water-borne diseases from contaminated water. Pedagogically, EVS at the primary stage is taught through observation and the child immediate environment, so scenarios are always set in everyday family and village contexts.

🎴 Flashcards — instant recall

Tap a card to reveal the answer. Drill these until they are automatic.

Deficiency of Vitamin A causes which disease?Tap to reveal
Night blindness (sources: carrot, papaya, green leafy vegetables)
Lack of Vitamin C causes?Tap to reveal
Scurvy (sources: amla, lemon, orange, guava)
Which mineral deficiency causes goitre?Tap to reveal
Iodine (prevented by iodised salt and seafood)
Anaemia is caused by deficiency of which mineral?Tap to reveal
Iron (sources: green leafy vegetables, jaggery)
Which nutrients are the body-building foods?Tap to reveal
Proteins (pulses, eggs, milk, fish, meat)
Kutcha house vs pucca house?Tap to reveal
Kutcha = mud/straw/bamboo, temporary; Pucca = brick/cement/concrete, permanent
Why do desert houses have thick walls and small windows?Tap to reveal
To keep heat out and the inside cool
Houses on raised wooden stilts (e.g. Assam) protect from?Tap to reveal
Floods (and animals)
Order of the water cycle?Tap to reveal
Evaporation -> Condensation -> Precipitation -> Collection
Collecting and storing rainwater to recharge groundwater is called?Tap to reveal
Rainwater harvesting
Name two water-borne diseases.Tap to reveal
Cholera and typhoid (also diarrhoea, dysentery, jaundice)
Lack of Vitamin D causes which bone disease?Tap to reveal
Rickets (sources: sunlight, milk)

📌 Quick revision

Food, Shelter and Water are core EVS themes worth four to six CTET Paper I marks. Food comes from plants and animals; its nutrients are carbohydrates and fats (energy), proteins (body-building) and vitamins and minerals (protective) -- and you must know the deficiency diseases cold: Vitamin A -> night blindness, Vitamin C -> scurvy, Vitamin D -> rickets, iron -> anaemia, iodine -> goitre, protein -> kwashiorkor/marasmus. A balanced diet has all of these plus roughage and water; cooking and preservation (drying, salting, refrigeration, pickling) keep food safe and lasting. Shelter divides into temporary kutcha and permanent pucca houses, with designs shaped by climate -- thick-walled desert homes, sloping rainy roofs, flood-proof stilt houses, polar igloos -- and animals build nests, hives and burrows. Water comes from rain, rivers, ponds, wells and the salty sea; it circulates through the water cycle (evaporation, condensation, precipitation, collection); it must be conserved and can be stored through rainwater harvesting; and dirty water spreads cholera, typhoid and other water-borne diseases, so it should be boiled or filtered.

Chapter test

📝 Food, Shelter & Water — Chapter Test
25 fresh questions · timed · full solutions
Start chapter test →
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🏆 Vidaara CTET success checklist

You have truly mastered Food, Shelter & Water when you can tick every box below.

  • Recall every formula in this chapter without looking them up
  • Solve each topic’s practice set with at least 80% accuracy
  • Use the chapter shortcuts to cut your solving time in half
  • Spot and avoid every common trap listed above
  • Score 80%+ on the timed chapter test

📋 Chapter mastery scorecard

Track where you stand. Aim for the target before moving to the next chapter.

Skill checkpointTarget
Concept theory & formulas understood100%
Topic practice sets attempted (3 topics)3/3
Best topic-test score— → 80%+
Chapter test score— → 80%+
Flashcards drilled to instant recall12 cards