The Worm PDF - Educational Worksheet

2.3 The Worm (1) ‘Worms play a very important role in maintaining ecological balance. They are friends of farmers.’ Form groups and discuss the significance of worms in the above two roles. (2) Think and write down how the following creatures can be useful : (a) Dragonfly : (b) Spider...

2.3 The Worm (1) ‘Worms play a very important role in maintaining ecological balance. They are friends of farmers.’ Form groups and discuss the significance of worms in the above two roles. (2) Think and write down how the following creatures can be useful : (a) Dragonfly : (b) Spider : (c) Ants : (d) Honeybees : (e) Earthworms : (3) Little creatures in nature can also be your teachers. Think and write what we can learn from the following. (a) Bees : (b) Ants : (c) Spiders : (d) Caterpillars : (4) Breeding worms to use them to convert organic waste into fertilizer is called vermiculture or vermicomposting. Find out more about Vermiculture and how you can carry out the same in your garden / backyard, to fertilize your plants at home. 36  The Worm Turn, turn thy hasty foot aside, hasty : hurried and careless Nor crush that helpless worm ! scornful : filled with The frame thy scornful looks deride hate deride : express Requir’d a God to form. hatred Why should we take The common Lord of all that move, care even of small worms? From whom thy being flow’d, thy being : your life, A portion of His boundless love existence On that poor worm bestow’d. bestow’d : given as a gift The sun, the moon, the stars He made To all His Creatures free : What other And spreads o’er earth the grassy blade, creations of God are mentioned? For worms as well as thee. Let them enjoy their little day, lowly : humble, Their lowly bliss received; simple O do not lightly take away bliss : joy, pleasure The life thou canst not give ! Explain the thought in the last two lines - Thomas Gisborne in simple words. 1. Read the poem aloud and you will find some old outdated words that we do not use in everyday language now. However, some writers / poets use them to impart an old-fashioned flavour to suit the background of their write-up. Such words are called Archaic words. Give the modern words for the archaic words from the poem. thy being 37  bestow’d thee thou cans’t Read any poem / sonnet by William Shakespeare. Pick out archaic words and guess what they mean. 2. The poet uses a device where he directly addresses someone absent or abstarct. Such a device is the Figure of Speech called ‘Apostrophe’. For example : Turn, turn thy hasty foot aside. l Pick out any two other lines from the poem that contain an Apostrophe. 3. Think and answer in your own words in your notebook. (a) Why does the poet appeal to us, to respect the life of a worm? (b) Why do you think God created worms? What is their ecological importance? (c) ‘Live and let live’ is a famous proverb. Which lines from the poem support this proverb? (d) Does the poem urge us to protect only worms? What is the general message conveyed through this poem? 4. Find from the library or internet other poems composed on tiny living creatures. Try to understand the message in each of them. 5. ‘Even small things in nature play a big role. So protect nature!’ Frame some slogans based on the above topic. Draft a short speech on the above topic, which you could give at your school assembly. Use the following steps while drafting. Greeting Salutation Self - introduction Introduction of the topic Body of the speech Conclusion Expression of gratitude to the audience 6. Paraphrase the poem in your own simple language. Write it down in your notebook. 7. Frame a pointwise analysis of the poem ‘The Worm’. Use the following points. (a) Poem and poet : (b) Theme : (c) Tone : (d) Structure and stanzas : (e) Rhyme and Rhythm : (f) Language and Imagery : (g) Figures of Speech : 38