Everybody's Water
Making connections
Quick answers
1. In the play, water is represented by different characters. List their names in this word web.
🌊 ------- Rainfall;
🌊 ------- Groundwater;
🌊 ------- Lake;
🌊 ------- Ocean;
🌊 ------- Sea;
🌊 ------- Water Tap;
🌊 ------- Water In a Bottle;
2. Fill in the blanks.
a. The news that Water has disappeared is shown on Earth TV.
b. Pollution has changed the colour of the lake to grey-sludge.
c. Water from the taps just goes down the drain.
d. In the play, the idea of recharging the ground with water is first given by Water In a Bottle.
Reference to context
3. "Breaking news, live and exclusive on Earth TV. All the water has disappeared from our planet."
a. Who says these lines?
= TV Journalist says lines.
b. In your own words, explain what 'breaking news' means.
= 'Breaking news' is a news on a current issue to broadcast interrupting the on going news or show.
c. List the four water sources that had run dry at the start of the play.
= The four water sources that had run dry at the start of the play are - tap, well, hand pump and pot of drinking water.
4. "GROUND WATER: I have something to say. You don't forget to recharge your phones, do you? You don't forget to eat and recharge your energy, do you?"
a. To whom is Groundwater speaking?
= Groundwater is speaking to Everybody.
b. What are the two things Groundwater lists in these lines? Why are these things easy to remember?
= The two things Groundwater lists in these lines are - to recharge our phones and to recharge our energy by eating or drinking.
These things are easy to remember because we can not be alive unless we eat or drink and re-energise us. We can not stay connected to the world if we do not recharge our phones. Our phone is a very important thing to us.
c. What else does Groundwater want us to remember?
= Groundwater wants us to remember that if he dries up, we will also dry up like him. We should try to give some rainwater to the ground. We should throw spare of waste water on the ground or soil. Land will store it up and give it the the groundwater and we can take it back whenever we need it.
Read, reflect and write
5. Why did Water decide to take Everybody to court?
= Water decided to take Everybody to court as they did not care to save water. They did not save at least some of rainwater. They are filling the lakes with harmful, smelly chemicals. All the fish in the lake are dying. They ruthlessly draw out groundwater. They use water the most with least care to save it.
6. List any three complaints of the source of water.
= Three complaints of the source of water are -
❐ Everybody always leave the tap on after using it. This drains a lot of water and waste it.
❐ People do not save some rainwater and use it to water the plants, to wash vehicles and if purified, even to drink.
❐ They take only few sips from the water bottle and throw it away. They just throw the bottle without opening the cap of the bottle. Unless the ground would have been recharged with the extra water of the bottles.
7. What does the word recharge mean? What does the play teach us about ways to recharge the water in the ground?
= The word recharge means to recycle or to take an effort to the restore.
The play teaches us many ways to recharge the water in the ground. Those are -
❐ We should plant more threes and water them and use water wisely.
❐ We should throw away spare or waste water on the ground or on the soil.
❐ We should try to give the ground some rainwater.
❐ We should pour the extra water of the bottle on the ground.
8. What does Water wish for at the end of the play?
= Water wishes to flow clean, free and happy. It wants to see a green, clean and pure planet. Everybody should treat it wisely and kindly.
9. Name some other natural resources that need to be saved. Give suggestions on how all of us can help to save them.
= Some other natural resources that need to be saved are - coal and petroleum. These are non-renewable source of energy. We use them in a huge amount everyday. These two are the most important ingredients in the factories and vehicles. We must use them in a sustainable way.
We can save them in the following ways -
❐ We should use alternative sources of energy, especially for cooking.
❐ We should use bulbs of CFLs instead of regular bulbs.
❐ We should use carpools or public transport to travel.
❐ We should switch off the car, when car is at traffic signal, to save fuel.
❐ We should use air conditioners or heaters only when needed.
About this play:
This play was scripted by Maraa, a media collective, for a Schools Water Portal. The schools Water Portal is a platform for sharing knowledge on water as a resource, among teachers, students, school managements and parents. Misuse of water is a key concern today and this portal aims to bring about changing by making the young generation aware of the problems, their causes and the available solutions.