Kerala State Syllabus 6th Standard English Textbook Part 1 PDF

KERALA READER ENGLISH STANDARD VI PART 1 GOVERNMENT OF KERALA KT 49-1/English-6 Vol-1...

KERALA READER ENGLISH STANDARD VI PART 1 GOVERNMENT OF KERALA KT 49-1/English-6 Vol-1 DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT, Kerala) 2016  PLEDGE THE NATIONAL ANTHEM India is my country. All Indians Jana-gana-mana-adhinayaka, jaya he are my brothers and sisters. I love Bharata-bhagya-vidhata. my country, and I am proud of Punjab-Sindh-Gujarat-Maratha its rich and varied heritage. I shall Dravida-Utkala-Banga always strive to be worthy of it. Vindhya-Himachala-Yamuna-Ganga I shall give my parents, teachers Uchchala-Jaladhi-taranga. and all elders respect, and treat Tava shubha name jage, everyone with courtesy. Tava shubha asisa mage, To my country and my people, I Gahe tava jaya gatha, pledge my devotion. In their Jana-gana-mangala-dayaka jaya he well-being and prosperity alone Bharata-bhagya-vidhata. lies my happiness. Jaya he, jaya he, jaya he, Jaya jaya jaya, jaya he! Kerala Reader - English Standard VI Part 1 Prepared by: State Council of Educational Research & Training (SCERT) Poojappura, Thiruvananthapuram -12, Kerala. E-mail: [email protected] Typesetting by: SCERT Computer Lab. First Edition : 2015, Reprint : 2016 Printed at: KBPS, Kakkanad, Kochi-30 © Government of Kerala Department of Education Dear students, The new English Coursebook for Standard VI, has been designed to make your reading and learning of English thoroughly enjoyable and effective. It will lead you through a world of new learning experiences, opening up vistas of known and unknown ideas and thoughts. I am certain you'll enjoy doing the activities towards the end of the texts. They are intended to increase your self- confidence and improve your vocabulary and analytical skills. It will help you to use English effectively and appropriately. Happy reading! Dr.P.A.Fathima Director SCERT Textbook Development Team Members Abdul Khader N M, MMAUPS Thuruthi Kasargode Abdu Razak A, AMUPS ParackalKanmanam, Thekkumury, Tanur, Malappuram Jahfar K, PTMUPS Amminikkadu, Perinthalmanna, Malappuram Hrdya J, GHSS Aruvikkara, Thiruvananthapuram Krishna K, AMUPS Kooriyad, Malappuram Minu G S, GUPS Anakudy Vamanapuram, Thiruvananthapuram Preetha P V, NVT English, GVHSS Mancha, Nedumangad, Thiruvananthapuram Rani S, Trainer, BRC Kilimanoor, Thiruvananthapuram Reghunathan T K, GHS Vennakara, Palakkad Reshmi Reghunath, GVHSS Karakulam, Thiruvananthapuram Santhosh Kumar A V, Udinur Central AUPS, Kasaragode Seema J Nath, GVHSS Mancha, Nedumangad, Thiruvananthapuram Shaji M, GUPS Karingapara, Adissery, Malappuram Sukhadan K N, CAUPS Pariyapuram, Tanur, Malappuram Experts Dr Chitra T Nair, Asst. Professor, University College, Thiruvananthapuram Dr Chitra V R, Asst. Professor, University College, Thiruvananthapuram Dr Manju C R,, Asst. Professor, Govt. Arts College, Thiruvananthapuram Dr Muraleedharan K C, Asso. Professor, Payyannur College, Kannur Reeja Thankachan, Asst. Professor, University College, Thiruvananthapuram Artist Ramesan P, Art Teacher, Iringannur HSS, Kozhikode Academic Co-ordinator Jose D Sujeev, Research Officer (English & IT), SCERT, Kerala  CONTENTS Unit 1 Rain of Love 7 Unit 2 Still We Rise 38 Unit 3 Glimpses of Nature 71  Unit 1 Rain of Love English VI 7  Unit at a Glance Rain of Love Prose: Life with Grandfather (Kesavan Sankara Pillai) Making a Mango Pickle (Bibhuti Bhushan Bandopadhyay) Poem The Little Boy and the Old Man (Sheldon Allan) Learning Outcomes By learning this unit, the learner will be able to: understand simple questions starting with ‘what’, ‘who’, ‘why’, etc. answer in English during classroom interaction. read and enjoy simple stories and understand the essential elements of a short story. write dialogues according to the given situations. develop a script based on the picture and the story he/she has read. identify expressions of the character from their dialogues. read, enjoy and appreciate poems. identify features and usages of present continuous tense and simple past tense. develop interest in collecting the names of their ancestors. write short messages. enjoy and appreciate films, by watching them. undertake simple project works. 8 English VI  Family Tree How many members are there in your family? Who are they? Here is a family tree. Collect details of your parents, grandparents, great grandparents, etc. Write their names and complete the family tree. Great Great grandfather grandmother........................................................ Great grandfather at Gre other............................. Great. ndm...... gra.......... Grandmother grandmother...................................... ather..................... Great G randf.......... G grandfather............. rand Great....................... r.... fat grandfather the..... he............................ o. m...... My.... r d....... Father.... t r ea othe... ran...... M other........ r G m.... G..... My.................. r g.... d.. an................ I.................... English VI 9  Life With Grandfather This is Raja’s family. Can you guess who the members of his family are? Who does Raja like the best in his family? Read the story and find out the answers to these questions. 10 English VI  Life with Grandfather My Home Everybody called me ‘Raja’. It is not my real name, but I liked being called ‘Raja’. I lived with my grandfather and grandmother. They were my guardians. My mother died when I was young. My father left me with my 1. Do you think Raja’s grandparents, who brought me up. grandfather was a man respected by everyone? We lived in a large house. But we were a small family. Pick out sentences from the story to justify your There were grandfather, grandmother, uncle and I. We answer. had many relatives but they lived in their own houses. Grandfather was a tall, strong man. He always spoke in a loud voice. He knew everyone in the village. People respected him. They came to him for advice and help. Grandmother was kind and gentle. She took good care of me. She would follow me like a shadow, saying, ‘Drink this milk’ or ‘Eat your food’ or ‘Have your bath’ or ‘Go 2. What will you feel if to bed’. I did not like this, but still I loved her very much. somebody insists you to do something? My uncle was young and very clever. He helped Grandfather in looking after his fields and gardens. People 3. Who helps you in liked him and I too liked him very much. your family when you Whenever I was in trouble, Uncle would are in trouble? come to my help. English VI 11  Life with Grandfather At home I did not have any friend to play with. Grandfather did not like my going out to play with other children. He believed that I would be spoiled if I did so. Other children did not like to come to our house because they were afraid of Grandfather. Yet, life with Grandfather was not dull. I liked my home and the very large garden all around it. There were many trees in the garden: coconut trees, mango trees and other kinds of trees. There were birds, butterflies and honey- bees. There were many tanks, with plenty of fish in them. Kingfishers, storks and other water birds came to the tanks to catch the fish. 4. We saw many things around Raja’s house. In a corner of the compound was a grove, where trees, List them out. shrubs and creepers grew wild. Jackals, mongooses, wild coconut tree cats and owls lived in the grove. We had many cows, bulls and bullocks. Little calves played and ran about in our garden. I liked to play with the calves and I liked to watch the birds in the garden. I looked for jackals coming out of the grove. I ran after mongooses and I caught butterflies 5. What brings more and reptiles. colour to Raja's life? 12 English VI  Life with Grandfather Making a Shower It was an evening after a heavy rain. Grandfather was picking flowers from the jasmine bush under the sandalwood tree. The leaves of the tree were full of raindrops. I knew 6. Who do you like to I could make rain if I shook the tree and Grandfather play with at home? and I would get a good shower. I liked bathing in the rain. But he might not like it. But it would be great fun. So I quietly went near the sandalwood tree and shook it with all my strength. There was a heavy shower and both Grandfather and I were soaked. I loved it. But 7. What was the reaction Grandfather did not. He turned to me with an angry look. of the Grandfather I was sure he would catch me and beat me. So I ran. He when he was soaked in the shower? ran after me. I ran fast. But he ran faster. He had almost caught me when he stumbled and fell. I ran away to the English VI 13  Life with Grandfather paddy fields and hid myself there. I heard Grandfather shout that he would teach me a lesson when I came back home. I did not want to go home because I feared Grandfather would beat me. I stayed on in the fields. It was getting dark. I was afraid to stay there alone in the darkness. I remembered all the ghost stories I had heard. I stood up, 8. Why did Raja select the loft in the cowshed looked around and then ran towards home. as his hiding place? I was still afraid to face Grandfather. So I did not go inside the house. I went to the cowshed and took shelter in the loft. From there I could see Grandfather sitting on the verandah saying his prayers. 9. ‘Grandmother was extremely worried when Grandmother was waiting for me. When I did not turn he knew that Raja was up, she looked for me everywhere in the house. Then missing.’ Pick out the she came out and called aloud for me, thinking that I was sentences from the passage which convey somewhere in the garden. She did not get any answer. this idea. Then she went to Grandfather and asked him where I was. ‘You look for him in the house,’ Grandfather said. ‘He is hiding somewhere.’ ‘He is not in the house,’ Grandmother said. ‘I looked for him everywhere.’ 14 English VI  Life with Grandfather The News Spreads Then Grandfather stood up and went outside and called aloud. ‘Come Raja, come. I won't beat you.’ But I did not 10. Grandmother felt answer him, for I thought that he would beat me. angry with Grandfather. Grandmother was angry and said, ‘He won’t come. You Do you support the Grandmother? Why? drove him away. I heard you say that you would beat him if he came home. Poor child, he is afraid of you and has run away.’ Grandfather called the servants and asked them to go out and look for me. They went out but after a while returned to say that they could not find me. Grandmother started weeping. Grandfather started walking up and down the courtyard. The news that I was missing spread. Our neighbours came first, then our relatives and then others who had heard the bad news. Many came to offer their sympathies to 11. Why did Grandfather Grandmother. lose his temper? Grandfather did not like this. He shouted, 'Nothing has happened to the boy. He is hiding somewhere. Can't some of you go out and find him instead of wasting your time here?' English VI 15  Life with Grandfather Some of them went out to search for me. More and more people came and soon there was a big 12. Where might the crowd. By now Grandmother had lost all hope of seeing people have searched for Raja? Why couldn’t me again. She started telling the people what a good boy they find him? I was. The search parties returned without finding me. Grandmother started weeping loudly. The women in the crowd also wept. The servants of the house joined in the wailing. They all acted as if I were dead. I felt very sorry for Grandmother. I wanted to come out. Grandfather was a man of strong will. But I knew that 13. ‘I wanted to come he too felt very sad. He did not, however, lose hope. He out.’ What prevented Raja from coming out? stood up, turned in the direction of our family temple and prayed. ‘Help me God,’ he said. ‘Give me my child. I want him now. I cannot wait any longer.’ He then stood silent in prayer. 16 English VI  Life with Grandfather At that moment Uncle returned. He learnt what was 14. What would Raja say to his grandfather happening at home. He looked around and guessed where when he returned I was. He came to the cowshed and asked me to come home? down. I came down. Uncle took me into the house. Grandfather had just finished his prayer and turned. As he opened his eyes he saw me standing before him. He took me up in his arms in joy, hugged me and said, ‘God heard my prayers and has given you back to us.’ Kesavan Sankara Pillai (1902-’89), known as Shankar, was an Indian cartoonist and writer. He is considered as the father of Indian cartoons. He is particularly noted for his political cartoons. He is most remembered for establishing Children’s Book Trust in 1957 and Shankar’s International Dolls Museum in 1965. Shankar won many awards like Padma Sree (1956), Padma Bhooshan (1966) and Padma Vibhooshan (1976). His work Life with Grandfather is a fiction, published in 1953. KT 49-2/English-6 Vol-1 English VI 17  Life with Grandfather Let’s revisit the story 1. Pick out sentences from the story which show Grandmother’s love for Raja. _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ 2. Raja loves both Grandmother and Grandfather. But they are somehow different. Compare the characters of Grandmother and Grandfather. _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ 3. Raja hid in the cowshed for a long time. Was it right to do so? Write your views in a few sentences. _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ 4. Did you like the story? Which part of the story did you like the most? Write a note on why you liked the story. _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ 5. In the story, Raja made a shower by shaking the sandalwood tree. It was great fun for him. You must have had such funny experiences in your life. Recollect and present such an experience before your friends in the class. 18 English VI  Activity 1 Go through the concept maps on Raja’s family and his homestead. Grandfather many (tall and tanks strong) Raja Raja’s (naughty) birds, home Uncle Grandmother trees, animals, (friendly) (loving and garden reptiles caring) cowshed Now, prepare concept maps about your own family. Father............................................................... Myself My home.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Using the hints from the concept maps you have prepared, write a short description about your family. _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ English VI 19  Activity 2 Look at the pictures given below and fill in the boxes suitably. Hey crazy boy. I will teach Rain, rain, come again, you a lesson. Little Raja wants to play. Get me if you can... Oh!.... Help me, help me. I have broken my legs................................................................................... What is this boy doing there?....................................... What a nice boy he was!...................................... Help me God, give my....................................... child back....................................... 20 English VI Now, let’s complete the following events. Event no. 1 Raja shakes the sandalwood tree. Raindrops shower on him and his grandfather. Event no. 2 ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ Event no. 3 ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ Event no. 4 People make various comments about Raja’s disappearance. ___________________________________________________________________________ Event no. 5 ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ Now, read and understand how the first event is developed into a script. Event no. 1 (The stage is decorated with flowers and trees. Raja, a ten year old boy, enters from the left side of the stage.) Raja : Oh, lovely flowers, big trees! Once again I have come here to see you. Where are you my friends, my pretty butterflies, my sweet calves? (Raja sees his grandfather standing under a tree, picking flowers from the jasmine bush.) Raja : (To himself) Hi…. What are you doing there under the tree? Grandfather: All the flowers have fallen. I must collect them soon. Raja : I want to have a shower. Oh tree! Give me rain. Give me rain. (Raja shakes the tree and raindrops shower on Grandfather. Grandfather gets angry. Raja hides behind the tree.) Grandfather: You crazy boy… I will teach you a lesson. You may blow up the remaining events including characters, dialogues, actions, etc. and prepare a script. English VI 21 How well did I prepare the script? My script Sl. In my script Yes No No. 1 I fixed the main events of the story before writing the script. 2 I mentioned the places where each event had taken place. 3 I included suitable characters for each event. 4 I wrote suitable dialogues for different situations. 5 I mentioned the entry and exit, positions, movements and actions of each character. 6 I mentioned the properties and costumes in the script. Activity 3 Look at the illustrations from this story. What are the characters doing here? 1. Grandfather is picking the flowers. (pick) 2. Raja is …………………….. the tree. (shake) 3. Raja is ……………………… at his grandfather. (laugh) 22 English VI  4. Grandfather ……………………… to God. (pray) 5. Raja …………………… in the loft of the cowshed. (hide) Activity 4 Raja narrated the above incidents to his classmate. But some parts in the narration are missing. Use the hints from the brackets and complete it. When my grandfather was picking the flowers under the sandalwood tree, I went near him and ________ (shake) the tree. He ________ (get) a good shower but he ________ (become) very angry. He ________ (turn) to me with an angry look. I ________ (run) fast and ________ (go) to the cowshed. I ________ (take) shelter in the cowshed. Everyone ________ (search) for me. Nobody ________ (can) find me. My grandfather, grandmother and all my relatives ________ (get) worried. At last, my Uncle ________ (find) me and took me to my grandfather. My grandfather was very happy and he ________ (thank) God. ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ English VI 23  Activity 5 After reading the story ‘Life with Grandfather’, Vinod, a student of Class VI, decided to send a message to his grandfather on the occasion of Grandparents Day. Some messages are given below. Put a tick mark on the messages which Vinod can send. The greatest gift I ever had from God is you. Happy Grandparents Day. In remembrance of the first death anniversary of your beloved parents. Sending lots of love and wishes on your wedding anniversary. May your birthday be filled with the warmth of sunshine, the sounds of laughter, the feeling of love and the sharing of good cheer. Thank you for being a great Grandfather. Your memories will always be there in my heart. Your marriage be blessed with love, joy and companionship for all the years of your lives! A wonderful day filled with much love, many wonderful surprises and lasting memories to cherish in the days ahead. Happy Birthday. Heartfelt condolences. They say that you can count your true friends on one hand- but not the candles on your birthday cake! Happy Birthday. I miss you Grandpa... You are the one with whom I can share all my secrets. May you live longer. Now, write a message to your grandfather on the ocassion of Grandparents Day. 24 English VI We have read the story ‘Life with Grandfather’. What similarities or differences do you find between the little boy and the old man? Here is a poem which opens a way to think about it. The Little Boy and The Old Man Said the little boy, ‘Sometimes I drop my spoon.’ Said the little old man, ‘I do that too.’ The little boy whispered, ‘I wet my pants.’ ‘I do that too’, laughed the little old man. Said the little boy, ‘I often cry.’ The old man nodded, ‘So do I.’ ‘But worst of all,’ said the boy, ‘it seems Grown-ups don’t pay attention to me.’ And he felt the warmth of a wrinkled old hand. ‘I know what you mean,’ said the little old man. Sheldon Allan (Shel Silverstein) (1930– ’99) was an American poet, singer, cartoonist, screenwriter and author of children's books. He is famous for his poems and theatre practices. His A Boy Named Sue won the 1970 Grammy Award. The Little Boy and the Old Man is taken from the book Words Alive which includes a number of poems. English VI 25  The Little Boy and the Old Man Let’s revisit the poem 1. Identify similar activities of the boy and the old man and write them down. _________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ 2. ‘I know what you mean...’ Why does the old man say so? _________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ 3. Is the little boy or the old man satisfied? Why? Justify your answer. _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ Activity i The little boy felt the warmth of a ‘wrinkled old hand’. Here ‘wrinkled old hand’ describes old age. Add a few more words describing old age. e.g. grey hair ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ Activity ii Pick out lines from the poem and rewrite them in the form of a conversation. Little boy : Sometimes I drop my spoon. Old man : ________________________________ Little boy : ________________________________ Old man : ________________________________ Little boy : ________________________________ Old man : ________________________________ Little boy : ________________________________ Old man : ________________________________ 26 English VI  Preparing mango pickle is not an easy task always. But does it create problems in one’s life? Let’s go through this story. Making A Mango Pickle It was eight or nine in the morning. ‘What is it?’ asked Apu, jumping off the Harihar’s son was playing by verandah in front of their house and himself in the open verandah of coming up to her. Durga held a half their house when Durga called out coconut shell in her hands. She lowered it suddenly from behind the jackfruit to show Apu its contents - slices of tender tree in their courtyard, ‘Apu, green mango before the seed had Apu-u-u-u....’ She had just made an hardened. Then, in an undertone, ‘Is Ma appearance after having been away back from the ghat yet?’ from home all morning. ‘No,’ said Apu, Durga was now about eleven. She shaking his was thin and darker than Apu. Glass head. bangles clinking on her arms, a none-too-clean sari and windswept dry hair flying any way - that was Durga. On her finely shaped face, her eyes shone large like her brother’s. English VI 27  Making a Mango Pickle ‘Can you fetch me a bit of oil and ‘But how shall I get to the chillies, Didi? some salt?’ she asked him secretively. They’re right up on the shelf. I can’t even ‘I’ll pickle these….’ reach it!’ ‘Where did you get them from, Didi?’ ‘Don’t bother; I’ll get some more Apu was delighted. mangoes later in the day. You know that ‘They were lying on the ground just tree by the pond - there’s lots and lots under the Sindurkunto tree. Now, get of budding mangoes that’ll fall off in me a pinch of salt and some oil, will the afternoon sun.’ you? The back door opened with a sharp ‘But Ma will give it to me if I bring clang and Sarbojoya was heard calling down the oil pot from the shelf,’ out, ‘Dugga… O… Dugg-a-a-a!’ replied Apu, scared. ‘That’s Ma calling – quick, go and see ‘Run and get it, fast. It will be a while what’s up. Finish it up over there…. No before she’s back; she’s gone to wash wait, you’ve got grains of salt all over the clothes. Hurry up!’ your mouth. Wipe them away first.’ ‘The shell,’ said Apu. ‘Give me the Durga heard her mother call out yet shell. I’ll pour it into the shell. You again, but there was no way she could stand by the back door and keep a reply for her mouth was quite full. She look out.’ began furiously devouring the slices of ‘Mind you, don’t spill any oil on the pickled mango. When she found that she floor. Better be careful. Otherwise still had many left, she hid behind the Ma’ll know for sure: you’re such a trunk of the jackfruit tree and started good for nothing.’ to gobble up the rest. Apu stood beside When Apu came out of the house, her frantically swallowing his share, for Durga took the coconut shell from there was no time to chew. As he ate, he him and expertly got the mix of oil smiled a guilty smile at his sister. and salt into the mango slices. ‘Here, ‘You little monkey,’ she said to her put out your hand-’ brother, ‘why don’t you wipe your face ‘Didi, are you going to eat all the rest clean? There is salt all over your face yourself ?’ even now!’ ‘Do you think you can get us a nice Then, putting on a most innocent chilli? I’ll give you an extra slice if expression, she entered the house. you do.’ ‘What is it, Ma?’ she asked. 28 English VI  Making a Mango Pickle ‘And where had you gone a–wandering, Durga spread out her palm to get her may I know?’ asked Sarbojoya, ‘and share and asked a little hesitantly, ‘Isn’t where’s that monkey gone?’ there anymore of the rice fry, Ma?’ ‘I’m hungry, Ma,’ announced Apu, ‘Oh, it’s impossible…all those tart appearing suddenly. mangoes have set my teeth on edge.’ ‘Now hold on, let me take a breath. began Apu. He stopped abruptly O, Dugga, go and check on the calf, will when he saw Durga frowning and you? It’s been lowing away.’ winking at him. A little later, when she sat down in the ‘Where did you get mangoes from?’ verandah in front of the kitchen to cut asked his mother. up a cucumber for children, Apu Apu was afraid to tell the truth; he flopped down next to her. looked questioningly at his sister ‘Ma, do take some more of that white wondering what to reply. stuff out of the cucumber, it sticks in Sarbojoya turned to her daughter and my mouth,’ he said. demanded, ‘So you’d gone out again?’ English VI 29  Making a Mango Pickle Durga paled. ‘Ask him, I was just there Apu followed his sister out to watch by the jackfruit tree… and then, just the cow being milked. As soon as he as you called-’ stepped into the outer courtyard, Durga landed him a smart blow on his back. Fortunately, the conversation was cut ‘You wretch! Monkey!’ She made faces short by the entry of the milk woman at him and mimicked him. ‘All those tart Shorno. She had come to milk their mangoes have set my teeth on edge... cow. ‘Go, catch the calf,’ said Sarbojoya Dumbo! No brains at all.’ to her daughter. Bibhuti Bhushan Bandopadhyay (1894- 1950) was one of the leading writers of modern Bengali literature. He was a teacher, but later he served as a travelling publicist for the Goraksini Sabha. Bibhuti Bhushan’s works are largely set in Bengal with characters from rural life. His best known work is the novel, Song of the Road (Pather Panchali), which was later adapted into a film of the same name by Satyajith Ray. The story Making a Mango Pickle is an extract from the abridged version of Pather Panchali. Let’s revisit the story 1. What similarities do you find between Apu and Durga? ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ 2. Pick out the sentence which tells that Durga is pretty. ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ 3. ‘You stand by the back door and keep a look out’. Why does Apu say so? ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ 30 English VI  Activity 1 Who is the speaker? You have read the story Making a Mango Pickle, haven’t you? Given below are some dialogues taken from the story. Identify the speaker. Dialogue Speaker a ‘Is Ma back from the ghat yet?’ b ‘Give me the shell. I’ll pour it into the shell.’ c. ‘Do you think you can get us a nice chilly? I’ll give you an extra slice if you do.’ d ‘Where’s that monkey gone?’ e ‘Ma, do take some more of that white stuff out of the cucumber, it sticks in my mouth.’ Activity 2 Read the story again. Write down which dialogue fits the expressions given. Dialogue Expression Picture a ‘Where did you get them from, Didi?’ Anxiety b Happiness c Fear d Anger e ‘They are right upon the shelf. I can’t even reach it.’ Sadness English VI 31  Project Work The story revolves around a poor, Bengali Brahmin family in the early years of the 20th century. The father, Harihar is a priest who is unable to make both ends meet. The mother Sarbojoya, has the chief responsibility of raising her mischievious daughter Durga and caring Indir, a distant aunt of Harihar. With the arrival of Apu in the family, dramatic moments happen in their daily life. Now, watch the film Pather Panchali and express your views in the space given. Pather Panchali - In my view 1. What is the main theme of the film? 2. Who are the other characters you see in the film, who are not in the text? 3. Which scene in this film attracts you the most? Why? 4. Identify a funny incident in the film. 5. Mention the most tragic event in the film. Write an appreciation of the film Pather Panchali. ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ 32 English VI  I can I can do I can do with I need I can it well the help of others improvement read and enjoy simple stories and understand essential elements in a short story. write dialogues according to the given situations. develop a script based on the pictures in the story. read, enjoy and appreciate poems. identify the features and uses of present continuous and simple past tense. do vocabulary activities on my own. do language activities on my own. familiarise the style of sending short messages. understand more about films and write appreciations about them. identify the expression of characters in the story. KT 49-3/English-6 Vol-1 English VI 33  Glossary clink (v): to make a sharp ringing sound, like two sandalwood (n): a hard tropical wood, with a sweet glasses being hit against each other smell and is used to make perfume They clinked the glasses and drank for each other’s scare (v): to become frightened health. People were scared when they saw a snake. courtyard (n): an open space partly or completely shine (v): to be bright (shone: pp of shine) surrounded by buildings The dark polished wood shone like glass. devour (v): to eat something quickly soak (v): to put something in liquid for sometime When Durga saw her mother she devoured the slices of so that it becomes completely wet mango. I soak the clothes in soap water before I wash them. drench (v): to make somebody completely wet stumble (v): to hit your foot against something while Raju’s face was drenched with sweat. walking or running and almost fall frantically (adv): done quickly in a way that is not Rani stumbled over a rock and fell down. very well organized swallow (v): to make food, drink, etc. go down your They worked frantically to finish the work on time. throat without chewing furiously (adv): with great energy or speed The nurse asked the patient to swallow the pills. They worked furiously all weekend, trying to get it sympathy (n): showing that you understand and care finished on time. about somebody’s problems ghat (n): a place in the mountains We should show a little more sympathy to the poor. grove (n): a small area of land with a particular tart (adj): having an unpleasant sour taste type of tree on it: a grove of mango trees The unripe mangoes had a tart taste. guess (v): to try and give an answer or make a wail (v): to make a long loud high cry because you judgment without being sure feel sad or pain Can you guess the answer to this question? The people wailed on seeing the bus accident. hug (v): to put your arms around a person and hold warmth (n): the state of being enthusiastic and him tightly, to show that you like or love them friendly The friends hugged each other when they met after a When my teacher patted on my back I was reminded of long time. the warmth of my mother. jackal (n): a wild animal like a dog seen in Asia, whisper (v): to speak very quietly so that other that eats dead animals people cannot hear what you are saying Mini leaned over and whispered something into her mongoose (n): a small tropical animal with fur, that husband’s ear. kills snakes, rats, etc. windswept (adj): looking as though you have been nod (v): to move your head up and down to show in a strong wind agreement, understanding, etc. She combed her windswept hair. I asked him if he would help me and he nodded. wrinkle (v): lines or folds especially on the body of reptile (n): a cold blooded vertebrate animal that a person due to old age includes snakes, lizards, crocodiles, turtles, etc. I could see many wrinkles on my grandmother’s face. 34 English VI TEACHER PAGE You may go through the details given below. This will help you handle the class in an effective manner. These are general instructions. Detailed instructions for processing each text and activity will be given in the Teacher Text. How to process the text An entry text to the units is given to generate interest among the learners. So, it is very important to introduce them in a meaningful and interesting manner. Identifying the themes will help you to plan a good introduction. In the first unit, the deep bondage of human relationships in our families is depicted through the funny events of childhood days. The second unit focuses on the marginalised women in the society. The third unit helps us feel the beauty of nature and warns us the need to preserve it. The stories are subdivided into smaller units and questions for interaction with the learners are given alongside the texts. These questions mainly serve the following purposes: Help to read the picture. Elicit learners’ assumptions and perceptions of the text. Help the learners make predictions on what might happen next. Bring out the reflections of the learners. Help the learners check the emotions of the characters (empathy/ antipathy/ sympathy, etc.). Analyse a situation critically. Instill in the learners an urge to read. Assess the progress of reading. Let the learners read the text on their own. You may ask them to sit in groups and discuss what they have read. You may interact with the groups and initiate a discussion to help them understand the difficult areas. Then, you may read the text aloud in meaningful chunks. Two or three pupils can read the text aloud in the classroom. English VI 35 The classroom language needed for teacher talk The teacher talk should: elicit divergent ideas from the learners build up responses in simple English initiate discussions consolidate ideas to make them clear Discussions with the learners are possible with the help of various linguistic devices. using tags for seeking confirmation, making assertions etc. reporting using discourse markers (for expressing attitudes, politeness, etc.) agreeing or disagreeing stating one’s own opinion using short responses building up certain responses How to deal with language activities and theatre games Simple theatre games and interesting language activities are helpful for easy acquisition of second language. The activities need not be kept reserved till the end of the unit. If you feel that some of the activities can be done while processing the story, you are free to do so. You may first give these activities as individual tasks with clear instructions. Or else, you can assign the task as pair or group activity with clear instructions. Working and playing together in small groups will promote interaction, togetherness and team spirit. Theatre games also help in language acquisition. They trigger the imagination of the learner and make learning a pleasurable experience. A simple theatre game creates ample opportunities for the learners to use language meaningfully. How can we incorporate creative drama in our classroom process Creative drama is an improvisational, non-exhibitional and process-oriented drama, where participants are guided by a leader to imagine, enact and reflect upon experiences. Here the role of the teacher exists only as a facilitator. Creative drama is not primarily concerned with teaching theatre skills. The purpose of creative drama is to use the natural dramatic impulse to facilitate learning. 36 English VI e.g. Take one of the events from the story, ‘Life with Grandfather’. After processing the text, we can ask the learners to stand in a circle. The teacher can give instructions to them: Raja is missing. The news spreads. Many people like teachers, politicians, filmstars and policemen gather in Raja’s house. People begin to speak about the mishap. The teacher may give the instruction as follows: Dear children, imagine you are one among the villagers, gathered at Raja’s house. Plan and practise appropriate dialogues and actions of each character. Those learners who are standing around can encourage them. After the perfomance, you can select and appreciate the best perfomance based on the following indicators. Appropriate dialogues Use of actions, expressions and postures suitable for the characters Clear and audible dialogue delivery Stage settings How to conduct learner assessment Learner assessment is a continuous process and an integral part of learning. You can assess your learners at each stage of the learning process. Informal interactions, interactive questions, reading the text, association of pictures with the text, language activities and theatre games give you ample opportunities for assessing your learner. Apart from these, you can see a separate page at the end of each unit entitled ‘I can’ for the self-assessment of your learners. How to use information and communication technology It is always a challenging task for the teacher to catch the attention of every learner. Learners are exposed to the world of digital audio-visual materials and attempt to teach them by using the old ‘chalk and talk’ method alone may not turn out to be a fruitful exercise. So every teacher must think of bringing about effective audio-visual texts into their classes and incorporate technology into the teaching-learning process effectively. Internet is a rich source of various kinds of materials. Google Images, YouTube, TeacherTube etc. will provide you with materials that can be used effectively in the classroom. The addresses of many such websites and Youtube are given in the Teacher Text. English VI 37  Unit 2 Still We Rise 38 English VI  Unit at a Glance Still We Rise We Prose: Cinderella One Child, One Teacher, One Pen and One Book can Change the World (Malala Yousafzai) Poem Woman Work (Maya Angelou) Learning Outcomes By learning this unit, the learner will be able to: interact in English in various situations. analyse a newspaper report. read and appreciate a story. read and appreciate a poem. read a passage and do the activities related to it. write the thoughts of a character. develop a skit. prepare an announcement. prepare an invitation card. frame exclamatory sentences. undertake simple project works. English VI 39 Look at the newspaper report given below: Express N ews r e’ b y ste pmother u old girl dies of ‘tort e doctors who Ten year hursda y. T h girl pm on T n year old la n a t io n a r ents’ exp o w : A te d t h e p. Luckn d e a t h at the fou n o r m ed the police e d t o to r y, in f sur render H o s p it al here unsatisf ac d to th e Medical e g e s h ifte Medical Coll e in g to r tu red Later, she wa s h e r e s h e d ie d a y , o n b s p it a l w on Thursd r. C o ll e g e H o o th e by her stepm t h e around 11pm. d o r d in g t o t h e p o li c e , y m e d ic a l re p orts confirme Ac c r d is S a la k h a , daughter of Prelimina d u n d e rg o n e extreme deceas e ha I n d ir a N a g a r, Lucknow. that the girl ic h r e sulted in her Ar a vin d , s physical tortu r e w h a w a s a s tu dent of Clas e se v eral marks o n Salakh o ol death. The r e w e r f G o ve r n m ent High Sch r e s id e n ts said that VI o a l d ir a N a g a r. S h e w a s her body. Loc ild line activists at In s to r m e d c h m itte d w it h serious injurie they had info ad 6 nt. s p ita l in th e city around a b o ut the incide a ho a. What is the news report about? b. What is the reason for the girl’s death? c. What would you do, if such a thing happened in your locality? d. Have you ever come across such incidents in your life? 40 English VI  Cinderella Who does all the work at home? What kind of work do you do? Imagine that you have to do all the household work alone. How will it be? Or, try to think of such a girl who does all domestic work without having proper food, clothing, etc. Read the story of such a girl. The Cinder Girl Once upon a time, there was a rich man who lived happily with his wife and daughter. One day, his wife fell sick. 1. What advice did the When she felt that her end was drawing near, she called dying mother give her her only daughter near her and said, ‘Dear child, be good daughter? and pious, and God will always take care of you. I will look upon you from heaven, and will be with you.’ And English VI 41  Cinderella then, she closed her eyes forever. The maiden went every day to her mother’s grave and wept, and remained pious 2. What happened to the mother ’s grave and good. When winter came, the snow covered the grave when winter came? with a white covering. Then, the sun came in the early spring and melted it away. Soon Cinderella’s father married again. The new wife was a proud and unkind woman. The new wife brought her two daughters along with her. Though they were beautiful and fair in appearance, at heart, they were wicked and ugly. And then began the evil times for the poor girl. ‘Is the stupid creature to sit in the same room with us?’ asked they. ‘Those who eat food must earn it. She is nothing but a kitchen maid!’ They took away her pretty dresses and forced her to put on an old grey one. They also gave her wooden shoes to wear. 3. Cinderella was ill- treated by her step- The stepsisters laughed at her and sent her to the kitchen. mother and stepsisters. There she was made to do heavy work from morning to What could be the night - get up early in the morning, draw water, make the reasons? fire, cook and wash. In the evenings, she was quite tired after the day’s hard work. As she had no bed to lie upon, she had to rest on the hearth among the cinders. She 4. Why is Cinderella called so? always looked dusty and dirty, as she slept in the cinders. So they named her Cinderella. 42 English VI  Cinderella The Magic Begins One day the young prince of the land invited all the young girls of the kingdom to a ball, planning to choose his princess from amongst them. Cinderella’s sisters were delighted on hearing this invitation. They selected the best gowns; they dressed their hairs. But they were not taking Cinderella with them. ‘You can go when beggars 5. ‘You can go when hold a ball,’ they told her. ‘Comb our hair, brush our beggars hold a ball.’ shoes, and make our buckles fast, we are going to the What would be the prince’s ball.’ When she heard this, Cinderella could not feelings of Cinderella to help crying, for she too liked to go to the party. She begged this comment? her stepmother to take her along. ‘What! You Cinderella! In all your dust and dirt, you want to go to the ball! You have no dress and no shoes! You want to dance!’ She turned her back to Cinderella and hurriedly set out with her two proud daughters. When Cinderella lost sight of them, she felt very sad. She started crying. Tears rolled 6. ‘If my mother had down her cheeks. She thought of her own mother. ‘If my been alive, she would have sent me to the mother had been alive, she would have sent me to the ball.’ ball.’ Why does Cinderella Suddenly she heard a voice: ‘You’ll certainly go to the think so? ball. I am your fairy godmother.’ Cinderella turned around. She saw a fairy standing in front of her. ‘I am the Queen of fairies,’ she said. ‘I will send you to the ball.’ ‘Well,’ said her godmother, ‘be a good girl, and I will contrive that you shall go.’ She went with Cinderella into her chamber, and told her, ‘Run into the garden, and bring me a pumpkin.’ Cinderella went immediately to gather the finest pumpkin she could get, and brought it to her godmother. She could not imagine how this pumpkin could help her go to the ball. The fairy waved a magic wand over the pumpkin. Suddenly the pumpkin changed into a red coach. Then the fairy said, ‘You’ll travel in this coach to the palace. But we must have horses to draw it. There is a mouse- English VI 43  Cinderella trap in the backyard of your house. Bring it to me.’ Cinderella went out and brought the mouse-trap. There were six mice in it. The fairy waved the magic wand over it and all the mice were turned into six white horses. 7. What changes occurred to the Looking at the coach and the horses, the fairy said, ‘Now following things? we have a coach to travel in and six horses to draw it. But a. Pumpkin we haven’t any footmen. Go again into the garden and b. Mice you will find six lizards behind the watering pot. Bring c. Lizards them.’ When Cinderella brought the lizards, the fairy d. Rags changed them into footmen. The footmen bowed at her. They wore blue and yellow clothes. Cinderella was very happy to see them. But she became sad when she looked at her clothes. ‘But I cannot go in these rags,’ she said. ‘I will give you wonderful clothes,’ the fairy said. The fairy touched Cinderella with her magic wand. Her rags changed into beautiful clothes of silk and gold. There were diamonds in her hair, and she wore two pretty glass shoes. Then the fairy said, ‘You can go to the ball now. 8. What will happen to But remember, the magic ends at 12 o' clock. You must Cinderella if she cannot return home before that time.’ return home before 12 o’ clock? 44 English VI  Cinderella The Ball Cinderella went to the ball dressed in wonderful clothes. She rode in the red coach. Six footmen waited on her. In the ball-room, she looked like a princess. Nothing was then heard but a confused noise, ‘How beautiful she is! How beautiful she is!’ 9. Had Cinderella The prince noticed her at once. He danced only with her. appeared in her old Her sisters were now jealous of her. But they did not clothes, how would the recognise Cinderella. She went on dancing and forgot prince have treated her? about the time. Then the clock started to strike twelve. She now remembered the words of the fairy. She bowed to the prince and ran quickly out of the ball-room. Arriving home, she ran to seek out her godmother to tell everything that had happened at the ball. She said that she heartily wished she could go to the ball the next day as well, because the prince had invited her. Then, her two sisters knocked at the door. Cinderella ran and opened the door. 10. Why did Cinderella ‘You stayed such a long time!’ She cried, gaping, rubbing pretend to be asleep? her eyes and stretching herself as if she had been sleeping. English VI 45  Cinderella ‘If you had been at the ball,’ said one of her sisters, ‘you would not have been tired with it. The finest princess was there, the most beautiful that mortal eyes have ever seen.’ Cinderella seemed very indifferent to what they said. Indeed, she asked them the name of the princess; but they told her they did not know. Cinderella smiling, replied, ‘She must, then, be very beautiful indeed; how happy you have been! Could not I see her? Ah, dear sister, do lend me your yellow dress which you wear every day.’ ‘Yes, to be sure!’ cried her sister. ‘Lend my clothes to such a dirty cinder-wench as you are! I should be such a fool.’ The entire family burst into laughter. The next day the two sisters were at the ball, and so was Cinderella, dressed even more magnificently than before. The prince was always by her side, and never ceased to give his compliments and kind words to her. Cinderella forgot about the time. She thought that it was no later than eleven when she counted the clock striking twelve. 11. Cinderella forgot the words of her fairy god- She jumped up and fled, as nimble as a deer. In her hurry, mother, on the second she left one of her glass shoes in the ball-room. day. What may be the reason? As she reached the coach, she heard the last ‘ding- dong’. Suddenly the coach became a pumpkin. The horse turned into mice and the footmen into green lizards. Her clothes became the old rags again. But the one shoe on her foot was unchanged. She reached home before her sisters arrived. So they did not know about her going to the ball. 46 English VI  Cinderella The Search The prince became very sad when Cinderella left him. His servants brought him the glass shoe that Cinderella had left in the room. He wanted to find out the beautiful girl who had danced with him. The next day, he sent messengers to announce that the prince would visit every 12. ‘This news excited the ladies.’ What is the home to find out the lady. This news excited the ladies. news referred to? The two stepsisters were very glad, because they had pretty feet. They put on their best clothes and waited for the prince. But Cinderella didn't have any good clothes. The prince visited every house. He invited girls to try on the shoe, Cinderella had left in the ball-room. The girls tried it on, but it did not fit any one of them. Finally, the prince reached Cinderella's house. The eldest stepsister went to her room to try on the shoe, and her mother stood by. But she could not get her big toe into it, for the shoe was too small. Then, her mother handed her a knife, and said, ‘Cut the toe off, for when you are a Queen, you will never have to go on foot.’ So the girl cut off her toe, squeezed her foot into the shoe. She concealed her pain, and went down to the prince. The prince looked at her shoe, and saw blood flowing under it. ‘Not the right bride at all!’ The prince shouted in anger. Then, the other sister tried the shoe. She went into her 13. Pick out sentences which show that the room to do so and got her toes comfortably in, but her stepmother and her heel was too large. Then her mother handed her the knife, daughters were greedy saying, ‘Cut a piece off your heel; when you are the Queen, and overambitious. you will never have to go on foot.’ So the girl cut off a piece of her heel, and thrust her foot into the shoe. The prince looked at her feet and became more angry and shouted: ‘There is blood on your shoe. The shoe is too small. Not the right bride at all!’ Then Cinderella came forward and said, ‘Let me try it.’ Her sisters laughed at her. ‘Clear out of here. How dare English VI 47  Cinderella you come here in these dirty rags, you ugly creature?’ they said. But the prince asked her to try the shoe. ‘I have seen you somewhere, but I cannot remember where,’ he said. Cinderella put her left foot into the shoe and it fitted her perfectly. Everybody was astonished. She then pulled out the other shoe from her pocket and put it on her right foot. Just then, the fairy appeared and touched her with her magic wand. In a moment, her rags changed into clothes of silk and gold. The prince danced with joy and cried, ‘This is the right bride! The shoes are fit for her. She is the right bride after all.’ He said to Cinderella, ‘You are the most beautiful girl in the country. I will make you my bride.’ 14. ‘Cinderella pardon- The prince married and took her to the palace. Cinderella ed her sisters and took them to the palace.’ pardoned her sisters and took them to the palace. They What quality of lived there happily thereafter. Cinderella is revealed here? (Slightly adapted) 48 English VI  Cinderella Let’s revisit the story 1. Cinderella had to suffer because of the bad treatment from her stepmother and stepsisters. Write briefly about her sufferings and her reactions to it. ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 2. Cinderella left one of her glass shoes in the ball-room. How did this incident change her life? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 3. Is Cinderella a lovable girl? Why do you think so? Pick out sentences to substantiate your answer. ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ English VI 49  Activity 1 Read the following passage. Cinderella begged her stepmother to allow her to attend the ball. ‘What! You Cinderella! In all your dust and dirt, you want to go to the ball! You have no dress and no shoes! You want to dance!’ She turned her back to Cinderella and hurriedly set out with her two proud daughters. When Cinderella lost sight of them, she felt very sad. She started crying. Tears rolled down her cheeks. Wiping her tears, she began to think. What would be the thoughts of Cinderella? 50 English VI  Activity 2 The prince became very sad when Cinderella left him. His servants brought him the glass shoe that Cinderella had left in the room. He wanted to find out the beautiful girl who had danced with him. The next day, he sent messengers to announce that the prince would visit every home to find out the lady... Finally, the prince came to Cinderella’s house. Let’s develop a skit based on the events that made Cinderella the prince’s bride. The following ladder of events will help you develop the skit. The prince makes Cinderella his bride. Cinderella tries the glass shoe and it fits her well. Cinderella’s stepsisters try the glass shoe. The prince visits Cinderella’s house. Cinderella Characters: I. Cinderella II. Prince III. Stepmother IV. Stepsister (1) V. Stepsister (2) VI. Fairy godmother VII. A courtier Curtain rises. [A well decorated room of Cinderella’s house. Cinderella’s stepmother and stepsisters are eagerly waiting for the prince. A courtier enters and announces the arrival of the prince.] Courtier : ………………….. English VI 51  Activity 3 The prince invited the girls in the land to the ball through a public announcement. This was the announcement read by the messenger in public places. a l l t he o n of t i e a tten ountry. o r th th e c a v e a F ple o f ll h ep o t y s h a n e xt a j e s lace on M a His l at hi s p bal d a y. o f the ls Sun ried gir the ball. u n mar vited to se one All om are in shall choo. d e king Majesty s his brid His g them a amon The prince chose Cinderella as his bride. The prince asked the messenger to make an announcement in public places around the kingdom about the royal wedding. Prepare the announcement. 52 English VI  Activity 4 We usually invite friends and relatives for parties or celebrations. Here are two such invitations. Read them. With your blessings, let our home be blessed forever Join us for the Birthday party We Our little Peter is turning nine. cordially invite you and your family Saturday, October 4 on the occasion of the 11.00 am HOUSE WARMING CEREMONY at our residence On Saturday March 8 ‘Green Valley’ at 8.00 am Perur We hope to see you there. Prakash ‘Nest’ Rose Garden, Kochi Now, design an invitation card for your birthday. Include details like: Whom you want to invite. Where the venue is. When it will be. __________________________________ __________________________________ English VI 53  Activity 5 Here are some words to describe Cinderella. Use more words to fill in the blanks. ___________________________________ attractive smart ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Activity 6 Read the extract from the story given below. In the ball-room, she looked like a princess. Nothing was then heard but a confused noise, ‘How beautiful she is! How beautiful she is!’ Read the following reactions of different people as Cinderella walked into the ball- room. 54 English VI  How beautiful she is! What a smart girl she is! How pretty she looks! English VI 55 Let’s make similar expressions using the words given in brackets. (happy, delightful, strange, selfish) You may begin like this: ‘How ________________________________ !’ ‘What a ______________________________ !’ ‘_____________________________________ !’ The prince exclaims, ‘How beautiful she is!’ We can change this expression in the following way. She is very beautiful. Look at the table given below and fill the blank spaces. How kind she is! She is very kind. _____________________ She is very smart. What a lovely girl she is! ____________________ _____________________ She is very young. 56 English VI  Poem What are the different kinds of work your mother does at home? Does your father help your mother with domestic chores? Who does the cooking? Here is a poem that describes a woman at work. Woman Work I’ve got the children to tend The clothes to mend The floor to mop The food to shop Then the chicken to fry The baby to dry I got company to feed The garden to weed I’ve got shirts to press English VI 57  Woman Work The tots* to dress The can* to be cut I gotta* clean up this hut Then see about the sick And the cotton to pick. Shine on me, sunshine Rain on me, rain Fall softly, dewdrops And cool my brow again. Storm, blow me from here With your fiercest wind Let me float across the sky ‘Till I can rest again. Fall gently, snowflakes Cover me with white Cold icy kisses and Let me rest tonight. Sun, rain, curving sky Mountain, oceans, leaf and stone Star shine, moon glow You’re all that I can call my own tot*: very young child can*: (here) sugarcane gotta*: a slang for ‘have Maya Angelou (1928 – 2014) was an American author, got to’ poet, dancer, actress and singer. She is best known for her series of seven autobiographies, which focus on her childhood and early adult experiences. The first, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings tells of her life up to the age of seventeen and it brought her international recognition and acclaim. 58 English VI  Let’s revisit the poem 1) Who is the speaker of the poem? _________________________________________________________________________ 2) Is the woman really happy to do her household chores? Mention the lines from the poem which support your answer. _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ 3) Why does the woman ask the storm to blow her from there? _________________________________________________________________________ 4) Look at the lines given below. ‘Fall gently, snowflakes Cover me with white Cold icy kisses and Let me rest tonight.’ Here the woman seeks relief from her busy world of household chores. She requests the snowflakes to help her. Here, snowflake is considered as her friend and a human being. Can you find out similar examples from the poem? Pick out the lines. _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ 5) ‘You’re all that I can call my own.’ Why does the woman say so? Which among the following is not a possible answer? a) It is only nature that gives her company and refreshes her mind and body. b) She claims that they always remain beside her as life-giving friends. c) She has no other true companion in life. d) Nature is the only enemy that she has in her life. English VI 59  Activity i The woman in the poem ‘Woman Work’ has no time to rest amidst her various domestic chores. Likewise, Cinderella had to do all the work at home. What are the household works that the woman, Cinderella and you do at home? List them down. Woman Cinderella You tends her children fetches water ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ Activity ii Read the following lines from the poem ‘Woman Work’. I’ve got the children to tend The clothes to mend The floor to mop The food to shop Then the chicken to fry The baby to dry I got company to feed The garden to weed I’ve got shirts to press The tots to dress The can to be cut I gotta clean up this hut Then see about the sick And the cotton to pick. The word ‘tend’ in line 1 and ‘mend’ in line 2 end with the same sound. They are rhyming words. Pick out other pairs of rhyming words from the above lines. ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 60 English VI  Activity iv Read a few lines from the poem ‘Amanda’ by Robin Klein. Don’t bite your nails, Amanda! Don’t hunch your shoulders, Amanda! Stop that slouching and sit up straight, Amanda! Did you finish your homework, Amanda? Did you tidy your room, Amanda? I thought I told you to clean your shoes, Amanda! Don’t eat that chocolate, Amanda! Remember your acne, Amanda! Will you please look at me when I’m speaking to you, Amanda! Stop that sulking at once, Amanda! You’re always so moody, Amanda! Anyone would think that I nagged at you, Amanda! What do these lines remind you of? Don’t your parents give you a lot of instructions? Write down a list of things that your parents/elders ask you to do/not to do. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Both the women in Angelou’s ‘Woman Work’ and Robin Klein’s ‘Amanda’ lack freedom. Comment on this statement. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ English VI 61  You are part of different families, societies, communities, etc. Sometimes, you have to face many struggles and obstacles. Who will help you in such situations? In Cinderella’s life, a fairy helped her to change her fortune. But, in real life, can we expect such fairies to help us? There are some people in our society who raised their voice for their rights and also for bringing about positive changes in the society. Malala Yousafzai is one among them. She is the girl who stood up for education and suffered for that. Let’s read the speech of Malala, which she delivered at the U N General Assembly. One Child, One Teacher, One Pen and One Book can Change the World Respected elders and my dear Dear brothers and brothers and sisters, sisters, do remember Today, it is an honour for me to be one thing. Malala speaking again after a long time. Day is not my Being here with such honourable day. Today is people is a great moment in my life. the day of every woman, I don’t know where to begin my every boy and speech. I don’t know what people every girl who would be expecting me to say. But have raised their first of all, thank you God for whom voice for their rights. There are hundreds we all are equal and thank you to of human rights activists and social every person who has prayed for my workers who are not only speaking for fast recovery and a new life. I cannot human rights, but who are struggling to believe how much love people have achieve their goals of education, peace shown me. I have received and equality. Thousands of people have thousands of good wish cards and been killed by the terrorists and millions gifts from all over the world. Thank have been injured. I am just one of them. you to all of them. Thank you to the children whose innocent words Dear sisters and brothers, we realise the encouraged me. Thank you to my importance of light when we see elders whose prayers strengthened darkness. We realise the importance of me. our voice when we are silenced. In the 62 English VI  One Child, One Teacher... Change the World same way, when we were in Swat, the schools. We are really tired of these wars. North of Pakistan, we realised the Women and children are suffering in importance of pens and books when many parts of the world in many ways. we saw the guns. Many innocent and poor children are The wise saying, ‘The pen is mightier victims of child labour. Young girls have than the sword’ was true. The to do domestic child labour and are extremists are afraid of books and forced to get married at an early age. pens. The power of education Poverty, ignorance, injustice, racism and frightens them. They are afraid of the deprivation of basic rights are the women. The power of the voice of main problems faced by both men and women frightens them. women. Honourable Secretary General, peace Dear fellows, today I am focusing on is necessary for education. In many women’s rights and girls’ education parts of the world terrorism, wars and because they are suffering the most. conflicts stop children from going to There was a time when women social activists asked men to stand up for their rights. But, this time, we will do it by ourselves. I am not telling men to step away from speaking for women’s rights rather I am focusing on women to be independent to fight for themselves. Dear sisters and brothers, now it’s time to speak up. We call upon the world leaders that all the peace deals must protect women and children’s English VI 63  One Child, One Teacher... Change the World rights. A deal that goes against the peace and education for everyone. No dignity of women and their rights is one can stop us. We will speak for our unacceptable. We call upon all rights and we will bring change through governments to ensure free, our voice. We must believe in the power compulsory education for every child and the strength of our words. Our all over the world. words can change the world. We call upon all governments to fight Because we are all together, united for against terrorism and violence, to the cause of education. And if we want protect children from brutality and to achieve our goal, then let us empower harm. ourselves with the weapon of We call upon the developed nations knowledge and let us shield ourselves to support the expansion of with unity and togetherness. educational opportunities for girls in Dear brothers and sisters, we must not the developing world. forget that millions of people are We call upon all communities to be suffering from poverty, injustice and tolerant – to reject prejudices based ignorance. We must not forget that on caste, creed, religion or gender, to millions of children are out of schools. ensure freedom and equality for We must not forget that our sisters and women so that they can flourish. We brothers are waiting for a bright, cannot all succeed when half of us peaceful future. are held back. So let us wage a global struggle against We call upon our sisters around the illiteracy, poverty and terrorism and let world to be brave – to embrace the us pick up our books and pens. They strength within themselves and realise are our most powerful weapons. their full potential. ‘One child, one teacher, one pen and one book Dear brothers and sisters, we want can change the world.’ schools and education for every Education is the only solution. child’s bright