The World Around Us

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B RFrom:
I TWWW.PDFBKS.COM
ANNICA
DI SC OV ER Y
LIBRARY
4
TH E WOR LD
AR OUN D US In this book, you will:
discover interesting things about the world around you.
learn new words.
answer fun questions.
find lots of activities to learn about
the world at the back of the book.
C HICAGO L ONDON N EW D ELHI PARIS S EOUL S YDNEY TAIPEI T OKYO

The world around us

is a wonderful place There is so much to learn
to play in and explore. about the whole wide world,
and it’s waiting just outside your door.
Come on, let’s take a look!
2 3
Most people live in places that are warm and sunny for
much of the year. The other part of the year is colder.
Others live in places where it is hot all the time.
Some people live in parts of the world is the

What like
world ve?
that never get warm! you li
where
4 5
Wherever you live, it is somewhere on Earth.

We all live together on Earth.
We share the Earth with all kinds of other living things

too. But what is the Earth like?
e in a big city or a small village.
ig ht liv
m
You
some
hat are ng
W livi
other Earth?
s on
thing
Maybe you live in the mountains

you
What do you
or near a river or an ocean.
n
see whe e?
go outsid
Imagi
n
living e
in a
differe
nt
place.
What
would
that p
la
be lik ce
e?
6 7
ater.
andw
f land
uo
p
a de
t is m .
nd . I blue r th.
sr ou tly
os er on Ea
r th i k s m t at ers.
h e Ea
r th loo uch wa hese w
T e E a o m ve in t
h
e, t there is mals lis
s p ac i
ro m ause r a n
F
i s b ec d othe
This , fish, an
l an ts
P
8 9
Oceans and seas cover most of the land on Earth. People, plants, and animals live almost everywhere on Earth.
But some of the land rises above the water.
The land above water is where all people live.

Many different plants and animals live on this land too.
10 11
From space, much of the land on Earth looks green.

Other parts look brown. Do you know what makes
the land look green? Do you know what the brown
parts are?
Look
pictur at the
e of E
a
again rth
Whe .
trees re are
grow
Where ing?
Trees and other plants give the land places are
few p with
its green color. The brown is desert Where lants?
ca
see w n you
land, or other places where few ater?
plants grow.
12 13
The Earth is made mostly of water and land. Here is a hint:

But there is another important part of the
world around us. You can’t see it or touch it,
t it , you couldn’t blow b
but it is everywhere. ho u up a b u bble
it o r b low a ll oo n. s
W
Can you guess what it is?
14 15
Without it, birds and planes couldn’t fly. It’s air!

There would be no such thing as kites.
Plants and animals could not stay alive. What is it? Air is all around us. We can’t see it or touch it.
But we all need air to breathe.
16 17
ir i d th e E ar th .
A
s always moving aroun
The air may be hot

or cold, wet or dry.
Sometimes the air
blows in a gentle breeze.
Other times it becomes a

wild wind.
As the air moves, clouds form. Clouds are made

of droplets of water or bits of ice that stick
together in the air above Earth.
18 19
d u s are always c
u n ha n
d a ro g
o r l
in
Th e w
g.
in g s i n th
Clouds hide the sun and then the sun We see different stars in the
comes out again. Day changes into night. sky as the night goes by.
Wha
othe t are
r
in th things
e wo
that
chan rld
ge?
20 21
The weather is always changing too.

Weather can change quickly. When you wake up in the
morning, the sun may be shining bright outside.
The air is warm.
Later, clouds may begin to fill the sky, like big, dark
pillows. The air cools off. The wind comes up.
you
h at do ing
W is go
think ppen?
to ha
22 23
Inside your house, you may be warm and cozy.

But if you are outside, watch out! You might get wet!
The wind rushes through the trees.
Far off, you might hear thunder.

Heavy drops of water splash against the windowpanes.
RAINSTORM! What
d
like to o you
a rain do on
y day
?
24 25
Rain is good for the Earth.

It gives us water to drink
and helps grow many of the foods we eat.
The trees and grass and flowers

need rain to grow too.
Sometimes the rain falls gently.

It might rain for only a few minutes.
Sometimes it rains for days and days.

26 27
Sometimes rain changes to snow.

When the snow piles up, you might go ice-skating,
have a snowball fight, or build a snowman.
would
The weather changes every day. It may change in only
What e to do
k
you li snow?
a few hours. The seasons change too. But the seasons
in the change much more slowly.
28 29
Think of your last birthday. From that time until In much of the world, it is easy to tell
your next birthday, four seasons will go by. when the seasons change. In other places,
the changes in season are not as easy to see.
The four seasons are winter, spring,
summer, and fall, or autumn.
30 31
E ve is t he coldes t seas
ryw on
here in int er of
the world, w th
ey
e
By wintertime in some places, many trees
ar.
have lost their leaves. Their branches are bare,
like bony arms in the cold.
Sometimes snow falls. You might see your

breath if you go outside. You might catch a
snowflake on your tongue!
B-r-r-r-r-rrr! It’s WINTER! Wh at is win

ter
here
like w e?
you li
v
32 33
After winter comes spring.

Snow stops falling, but it might rain a lot.
Birds come home after a winter away. The grass and
other plants turn bright green. Lots of colorful flowers
grow. Tiny buds appear on the trees.
ver b ack to life!

E
ythi in g It’s SPRING!

ng is com
n you
How ca en
tell wh s
ha
spring
here
come w ?
you live
34 35
The warmest time of year is summer.
Summer is a good time for trips

to the beach or the pool.
A summer day may be so hot
that you don’t feel like doing anything at all!
Leaves and grass turn darker green.

Fields of corn and wheat grow tall under
That’s SUMMER!
the hot summer sun.
What
d
like to o you
the su do in
mmer
?
36 37
The weather grows cooler again when fall comes.

The leaves die and fall from many trees Many animals gather food to eat
and other plants. Some crops of food that through the long winter too.
have grown through the summer are ready to
eat. Farmers bring these crops in from the fields.
What
like b do you
est a
the fa bout
ll?
This is the season called FALL! t sea
Wha u think
son
do yo e next?
om
will c
38 39
s gr ow and c ha nge.
l an t
hr s , p
T
oug s on
h all the sea
Plants that grow indoors may look very

different from outdoor plants. But all plants
are alike in some ways.
Almost every plant has leaves, roots, and seeds.

Some plants grow in soil. Others grow in water.
Many have flowers too.
Some plants even grow on trees.
40 41
Tr hap e s an d sizes. Bu
es s t mo
t st p
e
and re n
other pl s are many diffe l ants
are
ant
gree
Green plants help make
n.
the air we breathe. These
plants get energy when
the Sun shines on their
leaves. This gives them
the food they need to
make more air.
Without green plants, we would have nothing to eat.

We would not even be able to breathe.
42 43
t ant part of
Roots are an impor plan
Most plant roots grow in the ground.
ts .
The roots help the plants get food from the soil.
Roots that grow

underground often
look like this.
Even plants that grow in water have roots, like these.

44 45
r tant
e impo too.
Flowers ar
All flowers have seeds. These seeds give us new plants. Flowers are important for
another reason.
Some seeds fall from the flowers straight to the ground. Some flowers grow into
Others are carried by the wind and land somewhere else. fruits and vegetables.
These seeds take root in the ground. Then new plants grow.
is
What rite What
i
avo
your f ble? favori s your
te frui
vegeta t?
46 47
Look carefully at the fruits and vegetables on the

next page. Can you match each one with
the tree or the plant below that it
comes from?
48 49
al l li ving thi n
for g s.
om e
The Earth is h d.
e ct e
t hin g i n o ur is c onn
r y living wo rld
Eve
Plants need sun and rain to grow. People and The changes in the world around us
animals need plants for the food and air they give us. bring new life and keep us alive.
50 51
ur beautiful pla
of o net
em are Ea
W
d c r th
ust take goo
it!
in
in g
r yth
and eve
52 53
4 Fun Ways to Learn about TH E W OR LD A RO UN D US
TH E W OR L D Nature’s Paintbrushes Cut into the folded sides and the edges to make
patterns. Be careful to leave some of the folded
Take a walk in nature with a friend. edges uncut. Now unfold your snowflakes.
AR O UN D US 1 Collect two or three fallen tree

branches of different kinds and
sizes. Look for leafless branches.
The dried saltwater should make them sparkle!
Adopt a Plant!
GLOSSARY You might want to collect a pine branch with
How good are you at noticing
crops (krops) plants grown usually for food, such as cereals and corn
lots of needles still on it too, if you can find one.
When you get home, get out your paints!
Ask a grown-up to hammer the thickest end of

3 changes in the living world around
you? Here is a fun way to see changes
you might not have noticed before. To
start, pick a plant somewhere near your house.
the branch until it is flat. This will cause the
ends to fan out like a small paintbrush. Use You will be watching what happens to it over
time. For instance, adopt a small, young tree
desert (DEZ ert) a hot, dry, and usually sandy your paintbrush branches to create a colorful
painting! For the pine branches, just dip the whose leaves you can see up close, or choose a
area with little water and where needles directly into the paint. tomato plant, a rosebush, or other growing thing.
Visit your adopted plant every few days and see
few plants or trees grow What other things can you think of if you see anything different about it. Does it have
to paint with? new flowers? Is it losing leaves? Are more insects
crawling in it than last time you checked?
Sparkly Snowflakes
droplets (DROP litz) tiny drops Use a small notebook or make your own by
Even if there is no snow where you
2
stapling blank pages between a construction-
live, you can have snowflakes! Ask paper cover. Put the date at the top of the page
a grown-up for several white paper
soil (soyl) the ground or earth in which plants grow coffee filters. (Use plain white paper
every time you write down something new
about your adopted plant. You could include
cut in large circles if you don’t have coffee drawings of the changes. You might even add
filters.) Flatten the filters as much as possible. photographs. How does your plant look
wheat (hweet) a crop that can be made into cereal Using watercolors or watered-down tempera different as the season passes? If you watch
paints, paint the coffee filters in snowflake your plant for a whole year, you will probably
or ground into flour, which is used in baking colors—gray, pale blue, dark blue, silver. see a lot of changes!
breads and cakes Meanwhile, have a grown-up help you add lots
of salt to a cup of hot water. Stir to mix it
together and let the water cool. Now dip your
brush in the saltwater and paint a thin layer of
it over the paper filters.
When they are dry, fold each paper filter in

half. Then fold each one in half again. Finally,
fold in half one last time.
54 55
Helping Children Get the Most out of TH E W OR L D A RO UN D US Volume
“Play is a child’s work.” It is through play that children learn, as they are often much more receptive
when the activities are fun, engaging, and things they have chosen to do. Being outside provides
them different opportunities to sharpen their senses by seeing, touching, smelling, and hearing, all
while moving around freely. Here are some ways to enhance the activities on the previous page.
Nature’s Paintbrushes. Small branches and twigs can be dipped in paint to be used almost
like pencils. But by flattening the end of the branch, the fibrous insides will be exposed, making a
great little paintbrush. If your child has collected long branches, cut them down so that they are very
short and easy to use. A bit more messy but a lot of fun for children is to dip other plant parts in
paint too. They could paint using the bushy stem of a plant, a small fern, or a palm frond, for
instance. Older children might enjoy arranging different shaped leaves on a piece of paper and
then painting over them. After your child has painted over the leaves and the paper is dry, carefully
remove the leaves. The leaf silhouettes make a great piece of children’s art!
Sparkly Snowflakes. Younger children may need a bit of help folding and cutting the
snowflake patterns for this activity. If they want to cut their own shapes, however, let them do so,
even if the shapes don’t end up perfect. To get the most sparkly effect, make sure the hot water is
heavily saturated with salt. Experiment to see how much salt you will need per cup of water. For
younger children, either cut some snowflake shapes for them or just let them paint on plain paper
and then add a saltwater layer last. Hang the snowflakes with thread or craft wire or just tape them
to your windows.
Adopt a Plant! This activity is a great way to help children increase their powers of observation
and learn about the cycles of plant life at the same time. Take a walk with your child, even if just
around the yard, down the street, or to a nearby park, and explain the object of the activity. If
possible, guide him or her to plants that might go through more rapid changes so that the changes
will be apparent more quickly, but don’t insist. The younger your child is the more you’ll want to
pick a plant that will go through changes quickly—or perhaps do this activity during a time of year
when there are obvious changes in the foliage around you.
Illustrations by Johanna Boccardo.

Page 48: Photos: Corbis; (top right) Bernardo Bucci; (bottom left) Bradley Smith. Page 49: Photos: Corbis; (top left) Ed Bohon; (top right)
Bernardo Bucci; (bottom left) Owaki—Kulla; (bottom right) Lew Robertson.
© 2005, 2008 by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
International Standard Book Number: 978-1-59339-823-1 (set)
International Standard Book Number: 978-1-59339-827-9 (volume 4)
No part of this work may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or
by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Britannica Discovery Library:
Volume 4: The World Around Us 2005, 2008
Britannica.com may be accessed on the Internet at http://www.britannica.com.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Britannica, and the Thistle logo are registered trademarks of Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
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From: WWW.PDFBKS.

About the pagination of this eBook

Due to the unique page numbering scheme of this book, the

C HICAGO L ONDON N EW D ELHI PARIS S EOUL S YDNEY TAIPEI T OKYO

The world around us

Come on, let’s take a look!

Others live in places where it is hot all the time.

Some people live in parts of the world is the

Wherever you live, it is somewhere on Earth.

We share the Earth with all kinds of other living things

Maybe you live in the mountains

The land above water is where all people live.

From space, much of the land on Earth looks green.

The Earth is made mostly of water and land. Here is a hint:

Without it, birds and planes couldn’t fly. It’s air!

The air may be hot

Other times it becomes a

As the air moves, clouds form. Clouds are made

The weather is always changing too.

Inside your house, you may be warm and cozy.

Far off, you might hear thunder.

Rain is good for the Earth.

The trees and grass and flowers

Sometimes the rain falls gently.

Sometimes it rains for days and days.

Sometimes rain changes to snow.

Sometimes snow falls. You might see your

B-r-r-r-r-rrr! It’s WINTER! Wh at is win

After winter comes spring.

ver b ack to life!

ythi in g It’s SPRING!

The warmest time of year is summer.

Summer is a good time for trips

Leaves and grass turn darker green.

The weather grows cooler again when fall comes.

Plants that grow indoors may look very

Almost every plant has leaves, roots, and seeds.

Without green plants, we would have nothing to eat.

Roots that grow

Even plants that grow in water have roots, like these.

Look carefully at the fruits and vegetables on the

4 Fun Ways to Learn about TH E W OR LD A RO UN D US

AR O UN D US 1 Collect two or three fallen tree

Ask a grown-up to hammer the thickest end of

When they are dry, fold each paper filter in

Helping Children Get the Most out of TH E W OR L D A RO UN D US Volume

Illustrations by Johanna Boccardo.

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