NCERT Solutions Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature

F R E E S T U D Y M AT E R I A L F O R E V E R Y S T U D E N T

CLASS 6 · ENGLISH

NCERT Solutions

Unit 3: Nurturing Nature

NCERT Textbook — Poorvi

BOOK PAGES SECTIONS QUESTIONS MEDIUM

75 – 102 24 89 English

Solutions, notes, sample papers & more at 68 pages

Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

CLASS 6 · ENGLISH · POORVI

NCERT Solutions — Unit 3: Nurturing Nature
Complete NCERT Solutions for Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature from the NCERT textbook Poorvi.
Every question from the three texts of the unit — the conversation Neem Baba (adapted from S. I. Farooqi),
the poem What a Bird Thought and the letter Spices that Heal Us — is answered, heading by heading, from
pages 75 to 102.

TEXTBOOK BOOK PAGES

Poorvi (Class 6) 75 – 102

SECTIONS QUESTIONS

24 89

MEDIUM

English

Let us do these activities before we read — Page 75

Page 1 of 68

Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Neem Baba

BEFORE YOU READ

I A tree is useful to us in many ways. Mention some of these uses. Write them in the
picture given below. (One has been done for you: 'Some parts of trees are used in
preparing medicines')

Some parts of
trees are used
in preparing
medicines

The tree picture on page 75, redrawn. One cloud is already filled in; write one use of a
tree in each of the other three.

A tree picture with four thought-clouds is printed on page 75. One cloud is already filled — Some
parts of trees are used in preparing medicines. Write one use of a tree in each of the other three
clouds.

Page 2 of 68

Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

CLOUD WHAT YOU CAN WRITE

1 (given) Some parts of trees are used in preparing medicines.

2 Trees give us shade, fruits, flowers and firewood.

3 Trees give out oxygen and clean the air we breathe.

4 Trees are homes for birds, squirrels and insects.

More uses you may add: wood for furniture and houses; leaves for plates and
manure; roots that hold the soil and stop it from being washed away; trees that
bring rain and keep a place cool.

Why this activity comes first: The lesson you are about to read is one long list of
the uses of a single tree. Filling these clouds first makes you notice how much you
already knew — and how much more Neem Baba has to tell you.

II Neem is a common tree in our country. Discuss in groups of four and fill Columns 1
and 2 with what you know about the neem tree and what you want to know.

This is a K–W chart: Column 1 is what you already know, Column 2 is what you want to know.
Fill Column 1 from your own experience, and turn your curiosity into proper questions for
Column 2.

COLUMN 1 — WHAT DO YOU KNOW? COLUMN 2 — WHAT DO YOU WANT TO
KNOW?

Neem leaves are bitter. Why are neem leaves so bitter?

People clean their teeth with neem twigs (datun). How old can a neem tree become?

Neem leaves are put in cupboards to keep insects away Which countries other than India have neem trees?
from clothes.

Neem gives thick shade and stays green almost all year. Can neem really cure diseases, and which ones?

Page 3 of 68

as e
Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature
a g l AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

co m
m.
Tip: Come back to this chart after you finish the lesson and tick every question in

m as e
l
Column 2 that Neem Baba has answered. You will find that he answers almost all of
them.
m .co a g
l a se
a g

co m
ag
Let us discuss — Pages 77 & 78
m .
Neem Baba, Part I
as e
COMPREHENSION a g l

co m
se m.
1 Amber found many facts about the neem tree from Neem Baba. Fill up the fact

o m l a
sheet based on what Neem Baba told her. (LET US KNOW OUR NEEM — Common
g names / Names
m .c / Given by / Period of birth / Born at / Found in / Common
a
se given by scientists / Names given by others)
name
a
agl
m I of the conversation (pages 76–77). a s
agl

. coPart
em
Every line of the fact sheet can be filled from

a s
LET US KNOW OUR NEEM agl

co m
.
Common name Neem — Given by: the Iranians

e m
m l as
.co g
Period of birth Millions of years ago

m at
eBorn a
a s
gl
Somewhere in North India or Myanmar

a
se m
Found in India, many Asian and African countries, and even some parts of America

om Nimori, Nimbamond, Nimbe, Nimo — and the Sanskrit
Nimb (Hindi), Nim,cLeemba, g l a
. a
em
Common names

a s
aglgrace of God' 2. 'nature's gift to man' (also 'cleanliness-parting tree')
names Arishta, Nimba and Nimbaca

Names given by 1. 'bitter

m
scientists

. co
em
m as
Names given by 1. 'magic tree' 2. 'the tree of the twentieth century'

.co
others
a g l
se m
g l a
a c
.
Where each fact comes from: “I was born millions of years ago somewhere in
North India or Myanmar” gives you two rows at once. “The name ‘Neem’ is given by
s e m
m a
. co
the Iranians” gives the ‘Given by’ box. And the long line beginning “Scientists call
e m agl
l as
us…” gives you both of the last two rows — the scientists' names and the popular
g
ones. a

com
m .
m as e
.co


a g l Page 4 of 68

Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Careful: Arishta, Nimba and Nimbaca are the Sanskrit names given in India, not
names given by scientists. Arishta means ‘the one who cures diseases’.

Let us discuss — Page 80
Neem Baba, Part II

COMPREHENSION

1 How is neem useful to farmers?

Neem protects a farmer's crop from insects at almost every stage, and it costs him very little.

It keeps locusts away. “If the powder of neem seeds is mixed in water and sprayed on
plants and trees, then locusts don't eat them.”
It saves the crop from termites, “which eat roots of the crop”, and “stops breeding of other
insects that eat crops”.
It increases the yield. Used in rice fields where water stands, it “stops mosquito breeding
and helps to increase crop yield”.
It protects the harvest after it is stored. “People save their stored grains from insects by
adding neem seed powder to them.”

Why this matters: The farmer gets all this from seeds that fall free from a tree in his
own field. That is what Amber means when she calls neem a cost-effective method
— a good result for very little money.

2 Mention some of the uses of the neem tree.

Neem Baba names uses under three headings — health, farming and daily life.

Page 5 of 68

Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

WHERE IT HOW IT IS USED
IS USED

Health and Twigs clean the teeth; leaves spread on the bed give comfort in measles and stop germs
medicine breeding; a medicine made from the bark cures cough; a kajal made from the flowers
cures itching in the eyes; leaves, bark, flowers, fruits and roots all go into medicines.

Farming Seed powder sprayed on plants keeps locusts away; it saves the crop from termites and
other insects; in rice fields it stops mosquito breeding and increases yield; it protects
stored grain.

Daily life Leaves protect clothes from insects; neem oil is used to make soaps and toothpaste;
furniture of neem wood is not eaten by termites; the tree purifies the air and gives cool
shade.

Remember Neem Baba's warning: “These remedies are to be used only by people
who are well trained and have a lot of experience.” Never try a medicine on your
own.

Let us think and reflect — Page 81
Neem Baba

COMPREHENSION

I You just read about the neem tree. Write any two facts that surprised you the most.

Pick any two facts and, in one sentence each, say why they surprised you. Choose facts you did
not know before, not the ones everybody knows.

Sample answer:

1. The fact that surprised me most was that the neem tree is millions of years old
and was born in North India or Myanmar. I had always thought of the neem in
our street as an ordinary tree, not as one of the oldest families of trees in the
world.
2. The second fact was that kajal made from neem flowers can cure itching in the
eyes. I knew about neem datun and neem soap, but I never imagined that even
the tiny white flowers are useful.

Page 6 of 68

Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Other facts you could choose: that the name ‘Neem’ was given by the Iranians and
not by Indians; that neem seed powder in stagnant water stops mosquitoes from
breeding; that termites do not eat furniture made of neem wood; that scientists call
neem the ‘bitter grace of God’.

II 1 Complete the following sentence: Amber played in the shade of ______________________.

Amber played in the shade of the neem tree in her courtyard (Neem Baba).
Neem Baba himself reminds her of it: “I know you. You played in my shade in your childhood.”
The opening lines also tell us that she “sat down in the shade of the neem tree in her courtyard”.

II 2 Complete the following sentence: Neem seed powder protects crops from
______________________.

Neem seed powder protects crops from locusts, termites and other insects that eat crops.
Neem Baba says the sprayed powder keeps locusts away, “saves the crop from termites, which
eat roots of the crop”, and “stops breeding of other insects that eat crops”.

II 3 Complete the following sentence: ______________________ is a cost-effective method to
stop mosquitoes from breeding in stagnant water.

Putting the powder of neem seeds (in the stagnant water) is a cost-effective method to stop
mosquitoes from breeding in stagnant water.
This is Amber's own conclusion: “if we put the powder of neem seeds in stagnant water around
our homes, mosquitoes won't breed in them! This must be a cost-effective method…”

Why it is ‘cost-effective’: The seeds cost nothing — they fall from the tree. Yet they
do the work of an expensive spray. Least money, best result.

Page 7 of 68

Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

II 4 Complete the following sentence: One reason why doctors advise us to use neem
leaves for someone suffering from measles is ______________________.

One reason why doctors advise us to use neem leaves for someone suffering from measles is
that neem leaves have chemical properties that destroy germs and do not allow them to
breed.
A second reason is comfort: “Measles causes itching all over the body. Neem leaves give
comfort…” — so lying on a bed of neem leaves reduces the itching as well.

III Which parts of the neem tree are used to make medicines?

Five parts of the neem tree are used to make medicines — its leaves, bark, flowers, fruits and
even its roots.
Neem Baba says it in one line: “Neem leaves, bark, flowers, fruits and even roots can be used to
make medicines to cure many diseases.” Amber's own family proves it — her grandmother
cured her cough with a medicine made from neem bark, and cured her father's eye-itching with
a kajal made from neem flowers.

Tip: The answer to a ‘which parts’ question is a list. Write all five, in the order the text
gives them — you may lose a mark for leaving one out.

IV Why is the story of neem tree thought-provoking?

It is thought-provoking because a tree born in India carries a name given by another
country, and a tree we walk past every day turns out to be one of the most useful plants
on earth.
Neem Baba himself calls the story of his name “very thought-provoking”. He was born in India
and was given the Sanskrit names Arishta (‘the one who cures diseases’), Nimba and Nimbaca —
yet the name the whole world uses, ‘Neem’, was given by the Iranians. In India alone he has
seven more names, and scientists have added ‘bitter grace of God’, ‘nature's gift to man’ and
‘cleanliness-parting tree’.
It makes us think about two things. First, that knowledge travels between countries — India
gave the tree, Persia gave the name. Second, as Neem Baba puts it, “we become well known for
what we do” — the neem is famous not because it is beautiful but because it is useful.

Page 8 of 68

as e
Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature
a g l AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

co m
m.
Meaning check: ‘Thought-provoking’ = interesting in a way that makes you think. So

as e
com l
the answer must say what it makes us think about — not merely that the story is
. a g
em
interesting.
a s
agl
Let us learn — Pages 81 to 83
. com ag
a s em
Neem Baba — Compound Words, Verbs and Personification

GRAMMAR agl

co m
se m.
I Study these words from the text: something, neem oil, cleanliness-parting, well

o m l a
known, grandmother, seed powder, childhood, well trained, thought-provoking. Put
g
m .ccompound words given above in their trees. (Open compound
a
e
the words / Closed
a s compound words / Hyphenated compound words). You may add some more words.
agl
a s
com agl

m .
e
Sort the nine words by what comes between the two words — a space, nothing, or a hyphen.

g l as
OPEN COMPOUND aCLOSED COMPOUND HYPHENATED COMPOUND
WORDS WORDS WORDS

co m
.
(A SPACE BETWEEN) (NO SPACE) (A HYPHEN BETWEEN)

e m
m l as
.co a g
neem oil something cleanliness-parting

s m known
ewell
gl a grandmother thought-provoking
a seed powder childhood —
se m
com g l a
m . a
e
well trained — —

a s
You may add some more words: agl

co m
.
OPEN CLOSED HYPHENATED

se m
comhigh school l a
.cream, agold, self-respect
school bag, post office, ice notebook, rainbow, sunflower, well-being, mother-in-law, ten-year-

m
ase
football, blackboard

agl c
m .
e
How to be sure: A compound word is two smaller words joined to make one new

om a s
. c agl
meaning — grand + mother, seed + powder. Read the word aloud and look at the

s e m → closed, hyphen → hyphenated. Nothing else
printing: space → open, joined
a
agl
decides it.

co m
m .
m as e
.co


a g l Page 9 of 68

Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

II Words that tell us what a person is doing are called verbs. In the table given below,
match the verbs in the first column showing action in the present to verbs in the
second column showing action in the past. Make a sentence with any one form of
the verb. One has been done for you. (1. become — (iv) became — 'I want to become
a teacher when I grow up.')

PRESENT PAST ANSWER SENTENCE

1. become (i) made 1. (iv) I want to become a teacher when I grow
up.

2. find (ii) gave

3. make (iii) told

4. (iv) became
discover

5. tell (v) found

6. give (vi)
discovered

The table on page 82, reproduced with the one row the book has already filled in.

All six of these are irregular verbs — their past form is not made by adding -ed, except discover.

PRESENT PAST ANSWER SENTENCE

1. become (iv) became 1. (iv) I want to become a teacher when I grow up. (given)

2. find (v) found 2. (v) Amber found many facts about the neem tree.

3. make (i) made 3. (i) My grandmother made a kajal from neem flowers.

4. discover (vi) 4. (vi) Scientists have not yet discovered all the qualities of
discovered neem.

5. tell (iii) told 5. (iii) The doctor told us to put neem leaves on the bed.

6. give (ii) gave 6. (ii) The Iranians gave the tree its name ‘Neem’.

Page 10 of 68

Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Tip: Learn irregular verbs in pairs by saying them aloud — become/became,
find/found, make/made, tell/told, give/gave. Only discover follows the ordinary rule:
discover + ed.

III Amber speaks to Neem Baba as if speaking to a person. This figure of speech is
called personification. Let us look at some more examples: • The leaves whispered
in the wind. • The flowers danced merrily in the breeze. Now, discuss it with your
classmates and teacher.

Personification is the figure of speech in which a thing, an animal or an idea is given the
qualities of a human being — it speaks, thinks, feels or acts like a person.
In the two given examples, leaves cannot whisper and flowers cannot dance; only people can.
The poet gives them these human actions so that we can picture the scene and feel it.
In this lesson the whole text is built on personification: the tree is called ‘Baba’, it says “I was
born…”, it blesses Amber — “Bless you, my child!” Even the opening line uses it: “She felt that the
tree was whispering to her.”

SENTENCE WHICH HUMAN QUALITY IS GIVEN

The sun smiled down on the wet fields. smiling

The old door groaned when I pushed it. groaning in pain

The river ran happily to meet the sea. happiness

Opportunity knocked at his door. knocking

Why writers use it: Personification makes nature feel alive and close to us. Once the
neem tree can speak, we listen to it as we would to a grandfather — and that is
exactly what this lesson wants: for us to treat a tree as a living friend, not a piece of
wood.

Let us listen — Page 83

Page 11 of 68

Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Neem Baba — 'Peepal Baba' (transcript on page 101)

LISTENING

1 Select whether this statement is correct: The mother was surprised to know that
Peepal Baba had planted trees all over the country.

Correct.
Her surprise is heard in her question: “How did he plant so many trees all over the country as a
child?” She cannot believe that one boy managed to plant trees in city after city.

2 Select whether this statement is correct: The mother disliked the work being done
by Peepal Baba.

Not correct.
She admires him throughout. She says “That's wonderful” when she first hears about him, and
at the end, “He is really doing great work. We should learn from him and plant more trees.”

3 Select whether this statement is correct: The mother wanted to know more about
Peepal Baba.

Correct.
She asks four questions one after another — “Who is he and what does he do?”, “Where did he
get this idea from?”, “How did he plant so many trees…?” and “But how did he come to be known
as Peepal Baba?” Only someone who wants to know more asks so many questions.

4 Select whether this statement is correct: The boy decided to take care of trees by
listening to Peepal Baba's journey.

Correct.

Page 12 of 68

Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

The story his teacher told him changes what Rahul intends to do. When his mother says, “We
should learn from him and plant more trees,” he answers at once, “Yes, Maa. We must tell
others to do the same.”

5 Select whether this statement is correct: The boy was worried about what his
teacher had told him.

Not correct.
Rahul is excited, not worried. He begins the conversation eagerly — “Maa, have you heard about
Peepal Baba? Our teacher told us about him today” — and then happily explains everything he
has learnt.

So the correct statements are 1, 3 and 4. Statements 2 and 5 are wrong.

Let us speak — Page 83

Page 13 of 68

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Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature
a g l AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Neem Baba
co m
e m.
m as
SPEAKING

.co a g l
a s em dry leaves of four different trees and plants around you. Make one card as
gl
Collect
a
1
given below. On the top, draw the shape of the leaf looking at the dry leaf and
colour it. Inside the card, write the name of the tree/plant the leaf is taken from

co m
. ag
and one of its uses.
e m
g l as
a

co m
em.
m l as
m .co a g
l a se
a g
m a s
m .co agl
l a se
a g

co m
m .
m as e
.co a g l
se m
g l a
a
m
The card shown on page 83, redrawn: a sheet folded in half so that it stands up, with the

a se
com l
leaf traced and coloured on the front.

. a g
m
ase
agl

c om
How to make the card:

1. Fold a sheet of thick paper in half so that it opens like a greeting e m .
m a s card.
o the dry leaf on the front and trace around its edge with
2.cPlace
. a gl a pencil. Draw in the mid-rib
a s em and the veins, then colour it.
agl 3. Do not write the name outside — the whole game depends on the name being hidden.
c
m .
4. Inside the card write two lines: the name of the tree or plant, and one use of it.
m a s e
e m . co agl
g l as
a

co m
m .
m ase
.co


a g l Page 14 of 68

Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Sample cards:

Neem — its twigs are used to clean the teeth and its leaves keep insects away
from clothes.
Tulsi — its leaves are boiled in tea to give relief from cough and cold.
Mango — its leaves are tied at the door as a toran on festival days; the tree gives
us fruit and shade.
Banana — its big leaves are used as plates for serving food.

Choose leaves that look different: a long thin neem leaflet, a small round tulsi leaf,
a long pointed mango leaf and a huge banana leaf. If all four look alike, no one can
guess them.

2 Now, speak about the whole process of making the card in front of the class.

Describe the process in order, using sequence words — first, then, after that, next, finally. Keep it
to five or six sentences and hold the card up while you speak.

Sample answer: “First I collected four dry leaves from the trees near my house.
Then I took a sheet of thick paper and folded it into a card. After that I placed the
neem leaf on the front and traced its shape with a pencil. Next I drew the veins
carefully and coloured the leaf green. Finally I opened the card and wrote inside it
the name of the tree and one of its uses — that neem twigs are used to clean our
teeth.”

Tip: Speak slowly and look at the class, not at the card. Practise once at home in
front of a mirror.

3 Ask your classmates to identify the leaf and tell them one of its uses. After they
answer, open the card, and share what you have written.

Turn this into a guessing game with three simple steps.

Page 15 of 68

Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

1. Show the closed card and ask, “Which tree does this leaf come from?” Let three or four
classmates guess.
2. Give one clue if nobody gets it — “This leaf is very bitter,” or “We tie these leaves at our door
on festivals.”
3. Open the card and read out the name and the use. Ask the class whether they know any
other use of the same tree.

Sample exchange:
You: “Which tree does this small round leaf belong to?”
Classmate: “Is it tulsi?”
You: “Yes! Do you know one use of tulsi?”
Classmate: “We put its leaves in tea.”
You (opening the card): “That's right — Tulsi: its leaves are boiled in tea to give relief
from cough and cold.”

Let us write — Page 84
Neem Baba

WRITING

1 You have read about Neem Baba and learnt many things about the neem tree. Look
at the trees in your neighbourhood and write a paragraph about any one tree that
you like. • Where it is (roadside / park, etc.) • How it looks (height, tree trunk, leaves,
flowers, etc.) • Why you like it (shade, medicinal properties, shelter, beauty, etc.) •
Give a title to your paragraph.

Plan the paragraph in four parts, one for each bullet — that is exactly how the marks are
given.

1. Title — short and about your tree: ‘The Old Peepal at Our Crossing’, ‘My Friend, the
Gulmohar’.
2. Where it is — one sentence naming the exact place.
3. How it looks — three or four sentences on height, trunk, branches, leaves, flowers, fruit. Use
describing words.
4. Why you like it — two or three sentences. This part must be personal, not copied from a
book.

Page 16 of 68

Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Sample answer:
The Gulmohar in Our Park
The tree I like best grows just inside the gate of the small park at the end of our
street. It is not very tall, but its branches spread out wide like an open umbrella. Its
trunk is grey and rough, and its leaves are tiny and feathery, so the sunlight falls
through them in little dots. In the month of May the whole tree turns bright red with
flowers, and the ground below it looks like a red carpet. I like it because it gives us
cool shade in the afternoon, because sparrows and squirrels live in it, and because it
is the only tree in our colony that puts on such a beautiful dress every summer.
Whenever I feel tired, I sit under it — just as Amber sat under her Neem Baba.

What makes this a good paragraph: It has a title, one clear place, exact details
(grey rough trunk, feathery leaves, red flowers in May) and a personal reason at the
end. Vague sentences like “It is a very good tree and I like it very much” earn
nothing.

Let us explore — Page 84
Neem Baba

PROJECT

1 When people from Persia came to India and saw that a common tree of their
country was freely growing here, they started calling the tree Azad Darakhte Hindi.
So, the scientific name of Neem in Latin became Azadirachta indica. Neem has
different names in the Indian languages. Discuss with your teacher and find out
which Indian languages these names belong to. (Nimb, Nim, Leemba, Nimori,
Nimbamond, Nimbe, Nimo)

Only one of these is settled by the lesson itself — Neem Baba says, “in Hindi, my name is Nimb.”
For the rest, this is a find-out activity: ask your language teacher, your grandparents, or a
classmate whose mother tongue is different from yours, and fill the table with what you learn.

Page 17 of 68

Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

NAME LANGUAGE IT IS COMMONLY SAID TO BELONG TO

Nimb Hindi — stated in the lesson

Nim Bengali (also heard in Assamese, Odia, Punjabi and Urdu)

Leemba Marathi (limba) / Gujarati (limbdo)

Nimori Marathi — nimori / nimboli is also the word for the neem fruit

Nimbamond A southern form; usually given as Kannada

Nimbe Kannada

Nimo Gujarati / Kutchi

Check with your teacher: the textbook does not print the answers, and different
books match these names to different languages. Treat the last four rows as a
starting point for your discussion, not as a fixed answer — and add the name of
neem in your mother tongue to the table.

Notice the family likeness: Nimb, Nim, Nimori, Nimbamond, Nimbe, Nimo —
almost every Indian name grows out of the same Sanskrit root Nimba. The Persians
heard that word, called the tree Azad Darakhte Hindi (‘the free tree of India’), and
from that phrase scientists made the Latin name Azadirachta indica.

Let us do these activities before we read — Page 85

Page 18 of 68

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Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature
a g l AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

What a Bird Thought
co m
em.
m as
BEFORE YOU READ

.co a g l
a s emat the picture and discuss what you see in the picture with your teacher and
gl
Look
a
I
classmates. Think of a time when you worked hard. What did you do then? • How
did it help you? • How did it make you feel? Also, discuss in groups.

co m
e m . ag
g l as
a

co m
e m.
m l as
m .co a g
l a se
a g
m a s
m .co agl
l a se
a g

co m
m .
m as e
.co a g l
se m
g l a
a
se m
com g l a
m . a
ase
agl

co m
m .
m as e
.co a g l
The picture on page 85, redrawn.

se m
g l a
a c
m .
m a s e
m . co
The picture (page 85): a tall green tree. High up on one branch there is a nest with three open- agl
l a se
mouthed chicks in it, and a red parent bird flying in to them with its wings spread. A little lower,
agto the trunk. So the picture shows the same three stages the poem will
a green parrot is clinging
show — the nest, the young bird, and the free flier.

co m
m .
m ase
.co


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Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Then talk about your own hard work in three steps: what you did, how it helped, how it felt.

Sample answer: Last year I could not swim at all and I was afraid of deep water. For
two months I went to the pond with my uncle every morning and practised. At first I
could only float, then I learnt to move my arms, and finally I swam right across. It
helped me because now I am not afraid of water and I have learnt that anything
difficult becomes easy with daily practice. It made me feel proud of myself — the
same way the bird in the poem feels when it says it is “quite fit for grown-up
labours”.

II Where do you see birds? What do you see the birds doing?

Answer in two lists — places first, then actions.

WHERE I SEE BIRDS WHAT I SEE THEM DOING

On trees, on rooftops and electric wires Sitting in a row and calling to one another

In the fields and near ponds Picking grains, catching insects, wading for fish

In our courtyard and on the windowsill Drinking water, bathing in a puddle, pecking at rice

In the sky, especially at sunset Flying home in a V-shape, circling high above

In nests among the branches Building the nest, feeding their chicks, guarding the eggs

Sample answer: I see birds mostly in the neem tree outside my window. Early in the
morning the sparrows hop about looking for insects, the crows quarrel loudly over
food, and a pair of pigeons sits quietly on the wall. In the evening I see long lines of
birds flying back to the trees.

III Do you want to fly like a bird? Why?

Take a clear position and then give two reasons. Either answer is right, as long as you explain it.

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Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Sample answer (yes): Yes, I would love to fly like a bird. First, I could see my whole
town at once — the fields, the river and the roof of my own school — the way the
bird in the poem sees the world when it flies beyond the tree. Second, I would never
have to wait for a bus again; I could visit my grandmother's village whenever I
wished.

Sample answer (no): No, I would not like to fly like a bird, because a bird must
search for its own food every single day and has no safe roof when it rains. I would
rather watch birds fly and stay in my warm home.

Link to the poem: Flying is what makes the bird's world grow. As long as it stayed
inside the shell it thought the world was a blue shell; only when it flew did it learn
how big and unknown the world really is.

IV What does a baby bird think about its world?

A baby bird thinks that whatever it can see at that moment is the whole world — because it
has seen nothing else.
This is exactly the idea of the poem you are about to read. Inside the egg the bird thinks the
world is “small and round, and made of pale, blue shell”. In the nest it thinks “the world was
made of straw”. Stepping out on the branch it says “the world is made of leaves”. Each time it is
honest — and each time it is wrong, because its world has only grown a little larger.

Guess before you read: Write down in one line what you think a chick believes
about the world, then read the poem and see how close you were. That is the fun of
this activity.

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Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

V Read the sentences and replace the underlined words with their correct meanings.
(Meanings given: at last, light, labour, fluttered) 1. The colour of the feather was not
dark but pale. 2. The butterfly moved lightly and quickly on to the flower. 3. Finally,
I finished my bird painting after trying many times. 4. The pretty flowers were the
prize for the gardener's hard work.

S.NO. SENTENCE UNDERLINED MEANING
WORD

1. The colour of the feather was not dark but pale. pale light

2. The butterfly moved lightly and quickly on to the moved lightly and fluttered
flower. quickly

3. Finally, I finished my bird painting after trying many Finally at last
times.

4. The pretty flowers were the prize for the gardener's hard work labour
hard work.

The rewritten sentences:

1. The colour of the feather was not dark but light.
2. The butterfly fluttered on to the flower.
3. At last, I finished my bird painting after trying many times.
4. The pretty flowers were the prize for the gardener's labour.

Why these four words: All four come back in the poem — “made of pale, blue
shell”, “I fluttered from my nest”, “At length I flew beyond the tree” (at length = at
last), “quite fit for grown-up labours”. Learn them now and the poem will read easily.

Let us discuss — Page 87

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Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

What a Bird Thought

COMPREHENSION

I Read the poem again. Identify the main idea of each stanza. There are two extra
sentences given. 1. The bird steps out into the world. 2. The bird lived happily in a
small world. 3. The bird becomes blind due to leaves. 4. The bird flies away as an
adult. 5. The bird is unhappy with the straw nest. 6. The bird lived in a cosy nest
with its mother.

Write the stanza number in the box beside each sentence, and leave the two extra ones empty.

SENTENCE BOX WHY

1. The bird steps out into the Stanza “One day, I fluttered from my nest, / To see what I could
world. 3 find.”

2. The bird lived happily in a Stanza “I lived first in a little house, / And lived there very well.”
small world. 1

3. The bird becomes blind due to — The bird was never blind. It only says “I have been very
leaves. (extra) blind”, meaning it had not understood.

4. The bird flies away as an Stanza “At length I flew beyond the tree, / Quite fit for grown-up
adult. 4 labours.”

5. The bird is unhappy with the — The opposite is true: “Nor needed any other.”
straw nest. (extra)

6. The bird lived in a cosy nest Stanza “I lived next in a little nest… And nestled by my mother.”
with its mother. 2

How to spot the extra sentences: Both of them say something the poem never
says. Sentence 3 turns a figure of speech into a fact, and sentence 5 turns
contentment into complaint. Always check the wrong options against the actual
lines.

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Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature
a g l AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

co m
m.
Look at the pictures 1–4 and write the matching line from the poem for each. (1. an
e
II

om from the tree)
egg 2. a chick in a nest with its mother 3. a bird sitting on a leafy branch 4. a bird
flying.c g l as
em
away a
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The four pictures on page 87, redrawn.

m a
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a g

m a s
m .co MATCHING LINE FROM THE POEM agl
se
PICTURE WHAT IT SHOWS

1. A pale, round egg ag
l a “I lived first in a little house … And made of pale, blue
shell.”

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e
2. A chick in a nest with the “I lived next in a little nest … And nestled by my mother.”

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mother bird

a g
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l a
3. A young bird sitting on a leafy “One day, I fluttered from my nest … I said the world is

ag branch made of leaves.”

se m
com labours.” l a
4. A grown bird flying away from “At length I flew beyond the tree, / Quite fit for grown-up

. a g
m
the tree

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Tip: The four pictures are simply the four stanzas in order. Once you see that, the

m
matching takes ten seconds — picture 1 is stanza 1, picture 2 is stanza 2, and so on.
. co
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Answer with a word from the poem: What was the shape of the bird's first house? _

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ROUND

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Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Stanza 1 says: “I thought the world was small and round, / And made of pale, blue shell.” The
bird's first house was its egg, and an egg is round.

III 2 Answer with a word from the poem: What was the bird's second nest made of? _ _ R
__

STRAW
Stanza 2 says: “I thought the world was made of straw, / And nestled by my mother.” The nest
was built of dry straw, so that is all the chick could see around it.

III 3 Answer with a word from the poem: What did the bird see when it came out of its
nest? L _ _ _ E _

LEAVES
Stanza 3 says: “I said the world is made of leaves.” The moment it stepped out of the nest, the
branches of the tree filled its whole view.

III 4 Answer with a word from the poem: What did the bird do at the end? _ _ _ W

FLEW
Stanza 4 says: “At length I flew beyond the tree, / Quite fit for grown-up labours.” Flying beyond
the tree is the last and biggest step of its life.

Tip for such puzzles: Count the dashes first. Four dashes ending in W, and an action
done at the end of the poem — flew is the only word that fits both.

IV Now, recite the poem aloud along with your teacher and classmates.

Recite it as the bird's own story, and let your voice grow as the bird's world grows.

Stanza 1 — soft and small, as if you are inside a shell.

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Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Stanza 2 — warm and sleepy; give a gentle stress to nestled and mother.
Stanza 3 — quick and excited on “One day, I fluttered”, then slow and thoughtful on “I have
been very blind.”
Stanza 4 — loud, open and confident, and then puzzled on the last two lines.

Where to pause: Stop very slightly at the end of each line and take a proper breath
at the comma before the last line of every stanza. Bring out the rhyming pairs —
well/shell, other/mother, find/blind, labours/neighbours — by touching them lightly,
not shouting them.

Let us think and reflect — Pages 88 & 89
What a Bird Thought

COMPREHENSION

I1 Write whether the following sentence is True or False: The bird changed its house
two times.

True.
Count the homes named in the poem. It “lived first in a little house” (the egg-shell), it “lived next
in a little nest” of straw, and “at length” it “flew beyond the tree” into the open world. Shell →
nest is the first change, nest → the wide world is the second.

I2 Write whether the following sentence is True or False: The neighbours tell the bird
about the world.

False.
The last two lines say the exact opposite: “I don't know how the world is made, / And neither do
my neighbours.” The neighbours cannot tell the bird anything, because they do not know
either.

The point of the ending: The bird has stopped giving quick answers. Once it
thought the world was a shell, then straw, then leaves. Now that it has really seen
the world, it is honest enough to say that nobody knows — which is the wisest thing
it says in the whole poem.

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Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

II 1 (i) Read the lines and answer: 'I thought the world was made of straw, / And nestled
by my mother.' — Who lived in the nest along with the baby bird?

Its mother lived in the nest along with the baby bird.
The line “And nestled by my mother” tells us that the mother bird settled the chick warmly in the
straw nest and stayed with it. That is why the chick “nor needed any other” — with its mother
beside it, it wanted nothing more.

II 1 (ii) Complete the following by choosing the correct option: The bird thought the
world was made of straw because __________. A. it lived in a straw hut B. its nest
was made of straw C. its mother fed straw to it D. there was straw all around

B. its nest was made of straw
The chick had never left the nest, so the straw of the nest was the only thing it had ever seen or
touched — and it took that for the whole world.

Why the other options are wrong: A — a hut is a human home, and the bird lived
in a nest. C — the mother fed it food, not straw. D — the straw was not ‘all around’
the tree; it was only in the nest. Option D is close, but B says exactly what the poem
says.

II 1 (iii) Which word tells us that the baby bird was warm and comfortable?

The word is ‘nestled’.
To be nestled is to be settled snugly and safely in a soft place. When the poem says the world
was “nestled by my mother”, we can picture the chick tucked warmly under her feathers in the
straw.

Use it yourself: ‘The kitten nestled against its mother and fell asleep.’

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Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

II 2 (i) Read the lines and answer: 'I said the world is made of leaves, / I have been very
blind.' — Why did the bird think the world was made of leaves?

Because the first time it came out of the nest, leaves were all it could see.
The bird “fluttered from my nest, / To see what I could find”. It landed on the branches of its own
tree, and from there the green leaves filled its view in every direction. Having never gone
further, it once again decided that whatever it could see was the whole world.

The pattern of the poem: Shell → straw → leaves. Three times the bird mistakes its
surroundings for the world. Each mistake is bigger than the last — and each one is
honest, because it can only judge by what it has seen.

II 2 (ii) What does the set of words 'I said' mean? A. flew B. shouted C. spoke D. cried

C. spoke
‘Said’ is the past form of ‘say’, and to say something is simply to speak it. The bird is not
shouting or crying here — it is quietly telling us what it decided about the world.

II 2 (iii) Fill in the blanks to complete the sentence: The bird felt that it had been very
blind because it could not __ __ __ the leaves from __ n __ __ __ e the nest.

The bird felt that it had been very blind because it could not see the leaves from inside the nest.
Three dashes → s-e-e. Six dashes with an n second and an e last → i-n-s-i-d-e.

What ‘blind’ means here: The bird's eyes were perfectly good. It calls itself blind
because, sitting inside the nest, it had understood nothing about the world outside
— the way we say “I was blind to the truth.”

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Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature
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co m
m.
Why did the baby bird think that its first world was small, round and blue?
e
III

m l as
.co a g
a
s em
agl its first world was an egg — and an egg is small, round and pale blue.
Because
Before it hatched, the bird lived inside the shell: “I lived first in a little house, / And lived there

. c om
very well.” The curved shell was the only thing it could see and touch, so it naturally decided that
ag
s
“the world was small and round, / And made
e mof pale, blue shell.”
a
agl
Notice the honesty: The bird was not foolish. It described its world exactly as it
found it. Its mistake was only in thinking that its world and the world were the same
co m
thing.
em.
m l as
m .co a g
l a se
a IVg Where did the bird go when it fluttered from its straw nest?

m a s
m .co agl
se

g l a
a
It went out on to the leafy branches of its own tree, just outside the nest.
The poem says, “One day, I fluttered from my nest, / To see what I could find, / I said the world is

co m
made of leaves.” It did not fly far — it had not yet learnt to fly properly, it only fluttered. That is

m .
e
why everything it found was leaves. Flying beyond the tree comes only in the last stanza, when it

m l as
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is grown up.

m a
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V What quality did the bird say it had, when it flew away?

com g l a
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ase

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It said it was “quite fit for grown-up labours” — that is, it had grown strong and capable
enough to do the hard work of an adult bird.

c o m
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The quality is maturity and self-reliance. It no longer needs its mother to feed it or the nest to

m a s em
hold it; it can find its own food, build its own home and look after itself.

. co a gl
asem
l
Word note: labours = hard work. At length = at last, after a long time. Both are words
a g
c
you met in the pre-reading activity on page 85.
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m a s e
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a

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Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

VI Who do you think were the bird's neighbours? Why do you think so? Discuss.

The bird's neighbours are the other birds and creatures that live in the same tree and the
trees nearby — sparrows, parrots, crows, squirrels, and the grown-up birds that hatched before
it.
Two clues point to this. First, the bird has spent its whole life in one tree, so ‘neighbours’ must
mean the ones sharing that tree. Second, the line is “I don't know how the world is made, / And
neither do my neighbours” — it compares itself with them as equals, which only makes sense if
they are creatures like itself.
A second reading is also defensible, and worth mentioning in the discussion: the poem is
really about all of us, so the ‘neighbours’ may stand for everyone else in the world, human
beings included. Read that way, the last line says that no one — bird or person — fully
understands how the world is made. That is the stronger and more interesting reading, because
it turns a small poem about a chick into a poem about growing up.

How to answer a ‘why do you think so’ question: Give your answer, then quote or
paraphrase the line that supports it. Never leave the ‘why’ half unanswered.

Let us learn — Pages 89 & 90
What a Bird Thought — Rhyming Words and Describing Words

GRAMMAR

I (a) Let us write some rhyming words. One has been done for you. (Words from the
poem — Stanza 1: well, shell; Stanzas 2, 3, 4: ___ ; New rhyming words — Stanza 1:
fell)

In this poem the second and fourth lines of every stanza rhyme. Find that pair in each stanza,
then add a new word of your own that rhymes with it.

STANZA 1 STANZA 2 STANZA 3 STANZA 4

Words from well other find labours
the poem shell mother blind neighbours

New rhyming fell (given), bell, tell, brother, another, kind, mind, behind, wind harbours,
words smell, spell bother (as in wind up) arbours

Page 30 of 68

Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

A word of caution on stanza 4: Very few English words rhyme exactly with labours /
neighbours. Harbours and arbours are the safest. Words like favours and vapours are
near rhymes — they sound close but not exact. Say them aloud and you will hear the
difference.

What makes two words rhyme: not the spelling but the sound from the last
stressed vowel onwards. Well and shell are spelt differently yet rhyme perfectly; love
and move look alike yet do not rhyme at all.

I (b) Now, complete a new stanza with rhyming words at the end of each line: 'I fly high
and I fly low, / But one thing I surely k __ __ __, / Whenever I wish to rest, / My little
nest is the __ __ __t.'

The completed stanza:

I fly high and I fly low,

But one thing I surely know,

Whenever I wish to rest,

My little nest is the best.

BLANK CLUE GIVEN MUST RHYME WITH ANSWER

Line 2 k __ __ __ low know

Line 4 __ __ __ t rest best

Try one of your own on the same pattern:
I hop about from tree to tree,
The wide blue sky belongs to me,
But when the evening shadows fall,
My mother's call is best of all.

Page 31 of 68

Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

II The poet uses words like 'pale', 'blue', 'round', 'straw' and 'little' to describe the
bird's nest. Read a few more describing words: pointed, green, thin, brown, small,
wooden, hanging, round. Now, use the describing words given in the box to create
six sentences based on the given picture.

The picture on page 90, redrawn.

The picture (page 90): a small wooden birdhouse with a pointed red roof and a round hole in
front, hanging by a string from a thin branch with green leaves; a brown bird is perched at its
doorway.
Six sentences using the describing words:

1. A small wooden birdhouse hangs from the branch of a tree.
2. Its roof is pointed and painted red.
3. There is a round hole in the front through which the bird goes in and out.
4. A brown bird with a long tail is sitting at the door of the house.

Page 32 of 68

Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

5. The birdhouse is hanging from a thin branch by a string.
6. Fresh green leaves grow on the branch above the little house.

DESCRIBING WORD WHAT IT DESCRIBES IN THE PICTURE

pointed the roof

green the leaves

thin the branch

brown the bird

small the birdhouse

wooden the birdhouse

hanging the birdhouse on its string

round the entrance hole

What a describing word does: Words like these are adjectives. They stand before a
noun and tell us which one, what kind, what colour, what shape. Remove them and the
sentence becomes flat: “A house hangs from a branch” tells you almost nothing.

Let us listen — Page 90
What a Bird Thought — 'Paro the parrot' (transcript on page 102)

LISTENING

1 You will listen to a short poem. As you listen, fill in the missing words. I'm a parrot,
my name is Paro, / My feathers are __ __ __ g __ __ and they glow. / In the morning, I
spread my wings, / ___ ___ ___ around and see wonderful things. / Come with me
through the skies so ___ l ___ ___, / To places old and places new. / Among the ___ ___ e
___ ___, where the breeze is light, / Many new s t __ __ __ ___ s, oh, what a sight!

The completed poem:

Page 33 of 68

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Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature
a g l AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

co m
em.
I'm a parrot, my name is Paro,
m l as
.co
My feathers are bright and they glow.
m a g
l a se
g
In the morning, I spread my wings,
aFly around and see wonderful things.

co m
. ag
Come with me through the skies so blue,
em
To places old and places new.
g l as
Among the trees, where the breeze is light, a

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m.
Many new stories, oh, what a sight!

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. c o a g l
CLUEm
a s e IN THE WORD HOW YOU CAN CHECK IT

agl
BOOK

s
__ __ __ g __ __ bright Six letters with g fourth, and it must go with ‘they glow’ — feathers
m a
.co agl
that glow are bright.

se m
___ ___ ___ Fly
g l a
Three letters; the bird has just spread its wings.
a
___ l ___ ___ blue Four letters with l second, and it rhymes with ‘new’.

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m .
e
___ ___ e ___ ___ trees Five letters with e third; a breeze blows among them.

m l as
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Seven letters beginning with st and ending in s; it rhymes with nothing

se
s t __ __ __ ___ s stories

l a
but fits ‘many new …’.

ag
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comat a time instead of writing the whole poem. a
Listening tip: Read all the blanks before the recording starts and count the letters.
. a g l
em
Then you only have to catch one word

a s
agl
Let us speak — Pages 90 & 91
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a

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Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

What a Bird Thought

SPEAKING

1 Speak about which bird you would like to be. Include the following points. • Which
bird are you? [I am ….] • What do you look like? [I am …. in colour. I am a big/small
bird. I have ….] • Where do you live? [I live in …. It is (where) ….] • What do you do
during the day? [I …. I also ….] • Do you have any message for humans? [I want to
tell the humans ….]

Speak in the first person — you are the bird, so every sentence begins with ‘I’. Use the five
sentence-starters in order; that is your whole speech.

Sample answer (peacock):
“I am a peacock, the national bird of India. I am blue and green in colour. I am a big
bird, and I have a long tail of shining feathers with eye-shaped spots on them. I live
in the forest near the fields, close to the village where the trees are thick. During the
day I walk about looking for grain and insects, and when the clouds gather I spread
my tail and dance. I also call loudly before the rain comes. I want to tell the humans
that they should not pull out my feathers or cut down the trees where I sleep at
night — I look beautiful only when I am free.”

Sample answer (sparrow):
“I am a house sparrow. I am small and brown, with a short beak and a black patch on
my throat. I live in a hole in the wall of an old house, right above a window. All day I
hop in the courtyard, pick up grains and tiny insects and chirp with my friends. I
want to tell the humans to leave a little water and grain on their balconies, and to
keep a few holes and corners in their new buildings, because we are slowly
disappearing from the cities.”

What makes such a speech good: exact details (a black patch, eye-shaped spots),
the present tense throughout, and a message that comes out of the bird's own life.
Do not simply list facts — sound like the bird.

Let us write — Page 91

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Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

What a Bird Thought

WRITING

I Read how the bird perceived its world. 'My world was small, round and light blue at
first. After that my world was warm and comfortable. It was made of straw. In this
world I could only see leaves whenever I stepped out. In the end, my world became
big. It had the sky and the earth as a part of it.'

Read the model aloud and notice how it is built — one stage of life per sentence, in time
order, with the linking words at first, after that, in this world, in the end.

STAGE STANZA OF THE SENTENCE IN THE MODEL
POEM

Inside the egg Stanza 1 “My world was small, round and light blue at first.”

In the nest Stanza 2 “After that my world was warm and comfortable. It was made of
straw.”

On the branch Stanza 3 “In this world I could only see leaves whenever I stepped out.”

Beyond the Stanza 4 “In the end, my world became big. It had the sky and the earth as a
tree part of it.”

Copy the plan, not the words. When you write your own five sentences in part III,
keep this shape: begin small, add one new thing at each step, and end with the
widest view.

II Now, discuss with your teacher and classmates how you think the world would look
to the following: 1. a baby 2. a fish

In the discussion, keep asking one question: what can this creature actually see, hear and
touch? Whatever it cannot reach is simply not part of its world.

Page 36 of 68

Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

A BABY A FISH

Size of its The cradle, the mother's arms, one The pond or the river it swims in
world room

What it sees Big faces bending over it, a fan going Green water, waving weeds, stones, other fish, a
round, light and shadow wobbling sky above

What it hears / Voices, a lullaby, warm hands, hunger Cool water pushing against it, the current, ripples
feels when someone throws a stone

What it does That there is a street, a school, a That there is air, dry land and a whole world
not know country outside the room above the surface

The link with the poem: Like the bird in its shell, both the baby and the fish believe
that their small world is the whole world — and both are in for a surprise.

III Now, write five sentences each, for both 1 and 2, in your notebooks. You can take
help from the example given in I.

Sample answer — 1. A baby
My world is warm and soft, and it is only as big as my cradle. Above me I can see a
white ceiling and a fan that goes round and round. Big faces come near me, smile at
me and go away again. When I am hungry I cry, and my mother's arms become my
whole world. I do not know that there is a street outside the window, or a sky above
the roof.

Sample answer — 2. A fish
My world is cool and green, and everything in it moves slowly. Long weeds wave
above my head, and smooth stones lie on the floor of my world. The sun looks like a
shaking yellow patch far above me. Whenever a shadow falls on the water, I dart
away and hide among the plants. I do not know what lies beyond the shining roof of
my world, and I have never once wanted to go there.

Page 37 of 68

Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

What earns marks here: the sentences must be written as the baby or the fish (‘My
world is…’), must stay in one tense, and must contain details that only that creature
would notice — the fan going round, the shaking yellow sun. Facts about babies or
fish written from outside will not do.

Let us explore — Pages 91 & 92
What a Bird Thought

PROJECT

I (a) The bird's first home was made of a shell. Later its home was among leaves and
made of straw. Look at your home carefully and make a list of all the materials it is
made of.

Walk through your home once with a pencil and note the material of every part — floor, walls,
roof, doors, windows, kitchen.

PART OF THE HOME WHAT IT IS MADE OF

Foundation and walls Bricks, cement, sand, stone; some village homes use mud and cow dung

Roof Concrete slab, or tiles, tin sheets or thatch

Floor Cement, stone slabs, tiles or polished mud

Doors and windows Wood, iron or aluminium, with glass panes

Inside the walls Electric wires, water pipes of plastic or copper

Finish Plaster, whitewash or paint

Tip: Homes differ from place to place. A house in Rajasthan may be of stone, one in
Assam of bamboo and thatch, one in Kerala of laterite and tiles. Write what your
home is actually made of.

Page 38 of 68

as e
Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature
a g l AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

co m
m.
Why do you think our homes are not made of straw?
e
I (b)

m l as
.co a g
a
s em
agl straw cannot do the work a human home has to do.
Because

It is weak. A straw wall cannot carry a roof, a fan, a cupboard or a second floor.

com
.
It burns easily. One spark from a stove or a lamp could destroy the whole house.
m ag
l a se
It does not last. Rain rots it, wind blows it away, and insects and rats eat into it.
It is not safe or private. Strawa g hold a lock, a door or a window.
cannot
We need more. A bird needs only a bowl to hold eggs. We need space for cooking, sleeping,

co m
m.
studying, water and electricity.

m as e
.co
But do not laugh at straw: thatched roofs of straw are still used in many Indian
a g l
a s em because they are cheap, and they keep a house wonderfully cool in summer.
gl Straw is a poor wall, not a poor material.
villages
a
m a s
m .co agl
l a se
g
If you had to own a home of your choice, what would it look like and what
a
I (c)
materials would you like to use?

co m
m .
as e
om
chose.cthose materials. g l
Describe your home in three parts — what it looks like, what it is made of, and why you
a
a s em
agl Sample answer: My home would be a small two-room house with a sloping tiled
se m
m
roof and a wide veranda in front. The walls would be of mud bricks with a coat of
o
lime, because mud walls stay cool.cin summer and warm in winter and cost very little. g l a
m a
l a sewould be of neem wood, since termites do not eat
agof clay tiles, with two glass tiles to let the sunlight in so that
The doors and window frames
neem. The roof would be

m
we need no lamp during the day. There would be a rainwater tank behind the
kitchen and a neem tree in the courtyard for shade — a house that is comfortable
. co
em
m l as
.co
without harming anything around it.
a g
se m
g l a
a What makes this answer strong: every material comes with a reason. ‘I want a big
c
m .
e
house with marble floors’ describes a wish; ‘mud brick because it stays cool’
m a s
co agl
describes a choice.
m .
ase
a g l

co m
m .
m ase
.co


a g l Page 39 of 68

Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

I (d) How is a home different from a house? Discuss with your classmates and teacher.

A house is a building. A home is the life inside it.

HOUSE HOME

What it is A structure of bricks, wood and A place where a family lives together and feels it
cement belongs

What it gives Shelter from sun, rain and cold Love, safety, memories, a sense of ‘mine’

Can it be empty? Yes — an empty house is still a No — without people it stops being a home
house

How we speak of ‘They are building a house.’ ‘I am going home.’ / ‘Make yourself at home.’
it

That is why a tent, a boat or a straw nest can be a home, while a big empty building is only a
house. In the poem, the little straw nest was truly the bird's home, because its mother was
there.

Proverb to remember: ‘A house is made of bricks and stones; a home is made of
love alone.’

II (a) Look at the different kinds of nests and homes the birds make. Have you seen
any? Discuss these type of nests with your teacher and classmates.

Four kinds of nests are pictured on page 92:

Page 40 of 68

Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

PICTURE WHAT KIND OF NEST IT IS WHICH BIRDS BUILD IT

Top left A cup-shaped nest of twigs and grass, resting in Sparrow, bulbul, crow, myna
the fork of a branch, with white eggs in it

Top right Long bottle-shaped nests woven of grass, hanging Baya, the weaver bird — the male weaves it
from a branch strand by strand

Bottom left A hollow inside a tree trunk Owl, woodpecker, barbet, parrot

Bottom A pouch made by stitching two big green leaves The tailorbird, which sews the leaves with
right together plant fibre using its beak as a needle

For the discussion: Which of these have you seen near your home? A baya colony
hangs over water or over a field; a tailorbird's nest is hidden low down in a garden
bush; you can find a hollow-nest bird by watching a dead tree for a few minutes.

Why the shapes differ: Each nest suits its builder. Hanging nests keep snakes and
squirrels away; a tree hollow is safe from rain and hawks; stitched leaves hide the
nest so well that you may walk past it a hundred times. Never touch a nest you find
— the parents may abandon it.

Page 41 of 68

Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

II (b) Look at the list of some workers who build houses. Find out the work they do and
write, as shown in the example. You can think of other workers and add them too.
(Example: mason — lays bricks and stones; 1. painter 2. electrician 3. plumber 4.
carpenter 5. architect 6. ___ 7. ___)

WORKERS THEIR WORK

Example: mason lays bricks and stones

1. painter

2. electrician

3. plumber

4. carpenter

5. architect

6.

7.

The table on page 92, reproduced with the example the book has already filled in.

WORKERS THEIR WORK

Example: mason lays bricks and stones

1. painter paints the walls, doors and windows

2. electrician fits the wires, switches, fans and lights

3. plumber fits the water pipes, taps and drains

4. carpenter makes the doors, windows and furniture out of wood

5. architect designs the building and draws its plan

6. welder joins iron rods, grills and gates with heat

7. tile-layer fixes the tiles on the floors and bathroom walls

Page 42 of 68

Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Other workers you may add: labourer (carries bricks, sand and cement), engineer
(checks that the building is strong and safe), glazier (fits the glass panes), roofer
(puts up the roof), blacksmith (makes iron fittings), contractor (arranges the workers
and the material).

Something to notice: A bird builds its whole home alone, with only its beak. A
human house needs a dozen different people, each with a special skill — and that is
why we should respect every one of them.

Let us do these activities before we read — Pages 93 & 94
Spices that Heal Us

BEFORE YOU READ

I A spice is any seed, fruit, root, bark, leaf or any other part of a plant used to give
taste and colour to our food. Try to recall the names of three spices that are used
for cooking in your home. Write them below and share your answers with your
teacher.

Open the masala box in your kitchen and name any three. Almost every Indian kitchen has
these.

SPICE WHAT PART OF THE PLANT WHAT IT DOES TO THE FOOD
IT IS

1. Haldi (turmeric) root gives a yellow colour and an earthy
taste

2. Jeera (cumin seeds) seeds gives a warm smell when put in hot
oil

3. Kali mirch (black dried fruit makes the food hot and sharp
pepper)

Other names you could write: dhania (coriander), mirchi (chilli), rai/sarson
(mustard seeds), elaichi (cardamom), laung (clove), dalchini (cinnamon), heeng
(asafoetida), methi (fenugreek), ajwain (carom seeds), saunf (fennel).

Page 43 of 68

as e
Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature
a g l AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

co m
m.
Given below are pictures of some spices. Work in pairs and write what you call them
se
II

o m l a
in your language. Their names in English are given in the last column. (Turmeric,

m .c Cumin seeds, Asafoetida, Cinnamon, Clove, Ginger,agBlack pepper, Fennel
Fenugreek,

l a se Cardamom)
seeds,
a g

co m
e m . ag
g l as
a

co m
em.
m l as
m .co a g
l a se
a g
m a s
m .co agl
l a se
a g

co m
m .
m as e
.co a g l
se m
g l a
a
se m
com g l a
m . a
ase
agl

co m
m .
m as e
.co a g l
se m
g l a
a c
m .
m a s e
e m . co agl
g l as
a

co m
m .
m ase
.co


a g l Page 44 of 68

Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

S.NO. SPICE (THE PHOTOGRAPH, NAME IN NAME IN
DESCRIBED) YOUR ENGLISH
LANGUAGE

1. Two or three whole fresh turmeric Turmeric
rhizomes lying together; the cut ends
are bright orange-yellow inside, the skin
dull fawn.

2. A pale blue bowl heaped with small, Fenugreek
hard, mustard-yellow fenugreek (methi)
seeds.

3. A loose heap of small, ridged, greyish- Cumin seeds
brown cumin (jeera) seeds.

4. Two little white dishes side by side — Asafoetida
one with dark brown lumps of solid
asafoetida (heeng) resin, the other with
a mound of pale cream asafoetida
powder.

5. Three rolled quills of reddish-brown Cinnamon
cinnamon bark lying across one another,
with a small heap of cinnamon powder
in front of them.

6. A pile of dried cloves — each a hard Clove
brown nail-shaped bud with a round
head at one end.

7. One knobbly hand of fresh ginger with Ginger
pale fawn skin and short thick fingers.

8. A heap of small, round, wrinkled black Black
peppercorns. pepper

9. A heap of slender, ridged, pale-green Fennel
fennel (saunf) seeds. seeds

10. Four or five plump green cardamom Cardamom
pods, one of them split open so that the
small black seeds inside can be seen.

The table on page 93. The ten pictures there are photographs of real spices, so each one
is described here in words rather than redrawn; see the textbook for the photographs
themselves.

Page 45 of 68

Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

The pictures on page 93 show, in order: yellow turmeric fingers, a bowl of fenugreek seeds,
cumin seeds, lumps and powder of asafoetida, rolled sticks of cinnamon, dried cloves, fresh
ginger, black peppercorns, fennel seeds and green cardamom pods.
The lesson itself gives you the Hindi name of every one of them, so the Hindi column can be
filled straight from the letter.

S.NO. NAME IN ENGLISH NAME IN HINDI (FROM THE LETTER)

1. Turmeric haldi

2. Fenugreek methi

3. Cumin seeds jeera

4. Asafoetida heeng

5. Cinnamon dalchini

6. Clove laung

7. Ginger adrak

8. Black pepper kali mirch

9. Fennel seeds saunf

10. Cardamom elaichi

Now do the real task: write the names in your own language beside these — for
example, turmeric is manjal in Tamil, pasupu in Telugu, halad in Marathi, halud in
Bengali, arisina in Kannada and haladhi in Odia. Ask at home for the ones you do not
know.

III Do you know if these spices can be used for something else other than cooking? Let
us find out by reading the letter given below.

Yes — every spice in that list is also a medicine. That is exactly what Daadi's letter goes on to
prove.

Page 46 of 68

Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

SPICE ITS USE BESIDES COOKING (FROM THE LETTER)

Haldi (turmeric) improves energy level and digestion; reduces body pain

Methi (fenugreek) seeds soaked overnight help control sugar level and body weight

Jeera (cumin) soaked in water overnight, improves digestion and helps cure sleeplessness

Heeng (asafoetida) heeng water on the tummy gives relief from gas; controls cough and cold

Dalchini and laung give relief from toothache till a dentist can be consulted

Adrak (ginger) helps in cough and cold; gives relief from pain

Kali mirch (black pepper) helps digestion; relieves body pain

Saunf and ajwain served after a meal because they help in digesting food

Elaichi (cardamom) helps digestion and respiratory troubles; cures bad breath

Read the letter with a pencil and underline one benefit for each spice. Your table
will then be complete before you reach the exercises.

Let us think and reflect — Page 95
Spices that Heal Us

COMPREHENSION

I1 Read the given lines and answer: 'When I was a child, I learnt them from my
grandmother. She used to find cures for most of the weather-related common
illnesses in the kitchen.' — Where exactly in the kitchen did her grandmother find
the cures?

She found them in the ordinary spices kept on the kitchen shelf — in the masala box, not in a
medicine cupboard.
The whole letter is the proof: haldi, methi, jeera, heeng, dalchini, laung, adrak, kali mirch, saunf,
ajwain and elaichi. As Daadi puts it, “Let me share some of the benefits of the spices that most
of us have in our kitchen.”

Page 47 of 68

Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Why the question says ‘exactly’: ‘In the kitchen’ is not a full answer. The examiner
wants you to name where in the kitchen — among the spices — and it is worth
naming three or four of them.

I2 Give one example of weather-related common illnesses.

Cough and cold is the clearest example — the illness that comes with a change of weather, and
the one Daadi mentions most often.
She names two cures for it: “Heeng can also help in controlling cough and cold,” and “Adrak
(ginger) is another herb that can help us when we have cough and cold.”

Other acceptable examples: fever, sore throat, body pain in the cold season, and
stomach trouble in the rainy season.

I3 What kind of relationship did the speaker have with her grandmother?

She had a close, loving relationship with her grandmother, in which the grandmother was also
her teacher.
Three things show it. She spent enough time with her to learn her remedies as a child — “When
I was a child, I learnt them from my grandmother.” She still remembers and uses them many
years later. And she is now doing for Vikram and Vaibhavi exactly what her grandmother did for
her — passing the same knowledge on with the same affection, signing off with “My love and
aashirwaad to both of you!”

Read between the lines: The question does not ask what the grandmother taught
her, but what kind of relationship they had. The answer must be about warmth, trust
and time spent together — proved by the fact that the learning has lasted a lifetime.

Page 48 of 68

as e
Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature
a g l AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

co m
m.
Fill in the blanks to complete the sentence: Daadi soaked methi seeds overnight
e
II

com
and drank the water in the morning to manage _____________________ and
g l as
. a
em
_____________________.

a s
a gl

m
Daadi soaked methi seeds overnight and drank the water in the morning to manage her sugar
. co ag
m
level and her body weight.

l a se
agdrink the water in the morning.”
Her own words: “it helps me in keeping my sugar level and my body weight in control. I need to
soak the methi seeds overnight and

co m
e m.
com 2. Fennel seeds 3. Ginger 4. Black pepper g l
Circle the spice that is not useful for body pain according to Daadi's letter. 1.as
. a
III

sem
Turmeric

la
agANSWER
m a s
.co agl
2. Fennel seeds (saunf)

se m
SPICE WHAT THE LETTER SAYS
g l a BODY PAIN?
a
1. Turmeric “It helps in reducing body pain too.” Yes

. coNom— digestion
“saunf and ajwain are served… they help in the digestion of
e m
as
2. Fennel seeds

m l
.co g
food.” only

e3.mGinger a
a s
gl
“It also gives relief from pain.” Yes

a
se m
4. Black “can give us relief from body pain.” Yes
pepper
com g l a
m . a
gl ase
a
Tip: For an ‘odd one out’ question, do not hunt for the odd one first. Tick the three
that do fit, and the fourth is your answer.

co m
m .
o m l a se
m .c Why did Daadi ask Vikram and Vaibhavi to share theagnatural cures with their
se
IV

a
agl
friends?

.c
s e m
m a

e m . co
Because these cures are useful to everybody and cost almost nothing — and because agl
l as
knowledge like this stays alive only when it is passed on.
g
a

co m
m .
m ase
.co


a g l Page 49 of 68

Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Daadi says, “You should try to remember these cures and may share them with your friends.”
She herself received them free from her grandmother, and she has seen them work — the
children have just written to say they are better. If they share them, other families will get the
same simple relief for a cough, a toothache or a stomach ache from things already lying in their
kitchens.

The deeper reason: Traditional knowledge is not written down anywhere in these
families. If one generation keeps it to itself, the next generation loses it altogether.
Sharing is the only way to save it.

V What was Daadi's final advice to Vikram and Vaibhavi?

Her final advice was: “go into the kitchen and try to identify these herbs and spices. And
remember, you must consult an elder before you use them.”
So the advice has two halves — first learn the spices by looking at them and handling them
yourself, and second, never use them on your own. The word she chooses is must, the
strongest modal of all, because this part is not a suggestion but a rule.

Why the warning matters: A spice is a medicine, and a medicine taken in the
wrong quantity can harm. This is the same caution that Neem Baba gives Amber
earlier in the unit: “these remedies are to be used only by people who are well
trained and have a lot of experience.”

VI How do we know that natural cures are passed from one generation to another?

Because this very letter shows the same knowledge travelling through three generations, and
being sent on to a fourth.

1. Daadi's grandmother found cures for weather-related illnesses in her kitchen.
2. Daadi learnt them from her as a child — “When I was a child, I learnt them from my
grandmother.”
3. Vikram and Vaibhavi receive them now, and the letter says the earlier cures had already
helped them.
4. And Daadi asks the children to pass them on again — “you… may share them with your
friends.”

Page 50 of 68

Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Notice how they travel: not through books or shops, but by word of mouth, inside
a family, from an elder to a child — which is why a letter like this one is so precious.

VII Why do you think we should know about the healing properties of spices?

Because the first help for a small illness is usually sitting in our own kitchen.

They are always at hand. A toothache at midnight, gas in a baby's tummy, a cough on a
village bus route — dalchini, heeng and adrak are there when a chemist's shop is not.
They cost almost nothing and no prescription is needed.
They are gentle. Used in the small quantities we eat every day, they rarely harm the body.
It saves a very old knowledge. If our generation does not learn it, it will be lost with our
grandparents.
It makes us understand our own food. Once you know why saunf is served after a meal,
you eat more thoughtfully.

But be clear about the limit: spices help with common complaints. For anything
serious, or anything that does not get better, a doctor must be seen — and, as Daadi
insists, a child must always consult an elder first.

Let us learn — Pages 96 & 97

Page 51 of 68

Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Spices that Heal Us — Spice Table and Modal Verbs

GRAMMAR

I You have read the uses of spices in the letter. Complete the following table with the
help of your teacher. You may use the words from the box given below. (Part of the
plant: root/bark/leaves/flower buds/fruit/seeds; Texture: rough/soft/silky; Taste:
bitter/sweet/sour/salty/spicy) — Turmeric, Fenugreek, Cinnamon, Clove, Black
pepper, Cardamom

Part of the plant: root/bark/leaves/flower buds/fruit/seeds
Texture: rough/soft/silky
Taste: bitter/sweet/sour/salty/spicy

Page 52 of 68

Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

SPICE (THE NAME PART COLOUR TEXTURE TASTE
PHOTOGRAPH, OF THE
DESCRIBED) PLANT

Two or three whole Turmeric
fresh turmeric
rhizomes lying
together; the cut
ends are bright
orange-yellow inside,
the skin dull fawn.

A pale blue bowl Fenugreek
heaped with small,
hard, mustard-yellow
fenugreek (methi)
seeds.

Three rolled quills of Cinnamon
reddish-brown
cinnamon bark lying
across one another,
with a small heap of
cinnamon powder in
front of them.

A pile of dried cloves Clove
— each a hard brown
nail-shaped bud with
a round head at one
end.

A heap of small, Black
round, wrinkled black pepper
peppercorns.

Four or five plump Cardamom
green cardamom
pods, one of them
split open so that the
small black seeds
inside can be seen.

The word box and the table on page 96, reproduced blank. The pictures in the first
column are photographs of real spices, described here in words; see the textbook for the
photographs themselves.

Page 53 of 68

as e
Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature
a g l AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

co m
m.

m as e
.co
Look at each spice, feel it and smell it before you write. Here is the completed table.
a g l
se m PART OF THE
g l
SPICEa COLOUR TEXTURE TASTE
a PLANT

Turmeric root
fresh) .c
om
yellow (orange-yellow when rough (soft when bitter
ag
s em
powdered)

a
Fenugreek seeds
aglbrownish-yellow rough bitter

com
Cinnamon bark brown rough sweet

m .
com gl ase
Clove flower buds dark brown rough spicy

m . a
as e
l
Black fruit (dried berry) black rough spicy

a g pepper

a s
com
Cardamom fruit (a pod holding the green (the seeds inside are rough sweet

. agl
seeds) black)
m
ase
agl
Notice how many different parts of a plant we eat: a root (turmeric), a bark

m
(cinnamon), a flower bud (clove), a fruit (pepper, cardamom) and seeds (fenugreek).

. co
m
That is exactly the definition of a spice given on page 93.

m as e
.co a g l
s m Colour and taste may be argued about — a fresh turmeric finger is orange
eTip:
a
gl outside, and cinnamon tastes sweet-and-hot together. Write what you actually see
a
and taste, and be ready to explain your answer.
se m
com g l a
m . a
ase
agl

co m
m .
m ase
.co a g l
se m
g l a
a c
m .
m a s e
e m . co agl
g l as
a

co m
m .
m as e
.co


a g l Page 54 of 68

Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

II 1 The words given in Column A are helping verbs. Match the helping verbs in Column
A with their functions in Column B. (Column A: (i) may (ii) should (iii) can (iv) must
(v) need to (vi) used to — Column B: a. past habit b. suggestion c. compulsion d.
advice e. ability f. necessity)

COLUMN A — COLUMN B — THE SENTENCE FROM THE LETTER
MODAL FUNCTION

(i) may b. suggestion “You may share them with your friends.”

(ii) should d. advice “You should try to remember these cures.”

(iii) can e. ability “It can help control cough and cold.”

(iv) must c. compulsion “You must consult an elder before you use
them.”

(v) need to f. necessity “I need to soak the methi seeds overnight.”

(vi) used to a. past habit “I used to put heeng water on your tummy.”

How to tell ‘should’ from ‘must’: Should leaves you a choice — it is advice. Must
leaves you none — it is compulsion. That is why Daadi advises the children to
remember the cures, but compels them to ask an elder before using one.

Answer key in short: (i)–b, (ii)–d, (iii)–e, (iv)–c, (v)–f, (vi)–a.

Page 55 of 68

Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

II 2 Complete the following dialogues with any four modals from the table given above.
(Use a modal only once.) Ajay: Anand had fever last week. He (i) _____ take good rest.
/ Suman: Yes, he (ii) _____ or he will fall ill again. / Ajay: He (iii) _____ take
grandmother's natural cures. / Suman: Yes, we (iv) _____ remember how effective
they are.

COLUMN A COLUMN B
HELPING VERBS FUNCTIONS

(i) may A. past habit

(ii) should B. suggestion

(iii) can C. compulsion

(iv) must D. advice

(v) need to E. ability

(vi) used to F. necessity

The table on page 97 — the six modals in Column A are the ones you may choose from.

The completed dialogue:

Ajay : Anand had fever last week. He (i) should take good rest.

Suman : Yes, he (ii) must, or he will fall ill again.

Ajay : He (iii) may take grandmother's natural cures.

Suman : Yes, we (iv) need to remember how effective they are.

BLANK MODAL WHY IT FITS

(i) should Ajay is giving advice about what would be good for Anand.

(ii) must ‘…or he will fall ill again’ makes it a compulsion, not a choice.

(iii) may A gentle suggestion — he could try them if he likes.

(iv) need to Remembering is a necessity if the cures are to be of use.

Page 56 of 68

Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Other correct fillings are possible (for example must in (i) and should in (ii)), but the
rule of the exercise is strict: each modal only once, and the meaning must match.
Check your four against the function table before you write the final answer.

Let us listen — Page 98
Spices that Heal Us — 'The Wonder Herb' (transcript on page 102)

LISTENING

1 You will listen to the benefits of Tulsi (Holy Basil), a common herb. As you listen,
complete the fact sheet given below. (THE WONDER HERB — 1. Name: Tulsi, Family:
___ 2. First found in ___ 3. Now found everywhere in India 4. Known as The ___ of herbs
5. Can decrease levels of ___ and cholesterol 6. Used to treat disorders of breathing
and ___ 7. Is used to make mouth wash and ___ 8. We can have Tulsi leaves by eating
them ___ or adding them while making ___)

The completed fact sheet:

THE WONDER HERB

1. Name Tulsi — Family: the basil family (Tulsi is a shrub)

2. First found in north central India

3. Now found everywhere in India (given)

4. Known as The Queen of herbs

5. Can decrease levels of glucose and cholesterol

6. Used to treat disorders of breathing and digestion

7. Is used to make mouth wash and toothpaste

8. We can have Tulsi leaves by eating them raw (washed) or adding them while making tea

Two more facts from the recording that are not in the fact sheet but are useful for
the paragraph you must write later: Tulsi has anti-bacterial properties and is used in
herbal hand sanitisers; Tulsi tea calms the mind and helps in dealing with stress; and
Tulsi protects us from a vast range of pollutants.

Page 57 of 68

Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Listening technique: Read the eight rows before the recording begins. Then you
are listening for eight single words — basil, north central India, Queen, glucose,
digestion, toothpaste, raw, tea — instead of trying to write down everything you hear.

Let us speak — Pages 98 & 99
Spices that Heal Us

SPEAKING

1 Daadi told Vikram and Vaibhavi about many spices. Choose one spice and introduce
yourself as that spice to the class.

Choose a spice you can actually see and smell at home, so that your description is true. Then
speak as the spice, in the first person.

Sample answer (Turmeric):
“Namaste! I am Haldi, and in English you call me Turmeric. I am the root of my plant,
and I grow under the ground. I am bright yellow, and I stain every finger and every
dupatta that touches me. When I am dried and ground, I become a soft powder;
before that I am rough and hard like a small finger of ginger. My taste is bitter, so
nobody eats me alone — but no Indian kitchen can cook a single dish without me. I
give your food its golden colour, I improve your energy and your digestion, and I
reduce your body pain. Your grandmother mixes me into hot milk when you fall
down and hurt your knee. That is why they call me the golden spice.”

Structure of a good ‘I am the spice’ talk: greeting → name in both languages →
what part of the plant you are → how you look and feel → how you taste → what you
do for the body → one line that people will remember.

Page 58 of 68

as e
Class 6 English Unit 3 Nurturing Nature
a g l AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

co m
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Before you speak, make a spicy headband for the spice you chose. Follow the steps
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2

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given below. (Cut out strips of a paper 2 inches wide → Join two ends to make a
c can fit your head → Make a small card with a picture
band .that gof a spice. Colour it.
m a
l a seAttach the card on your headband.) Use the headband while introducing yourself
g as the spice.
→
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The four steps shown on page 98:
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1. Cut two strips of thick paper, each 2 inches wide and long enough together to go round your

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head.
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m.
2. Join the two ends with gum or a stapler to make a band that fits your head — measure with

o m
a thread first, and leave a little extra so it is not tight.
l a se
3. Make.ac small card about the size of your palm. Draw the spice you a g chose on it and colour it
se m
g l acarefully — yellow fingers for haldi, brown rolls for dalchini, green pods for elaichi.
a 4. Attach the card to the front of the band so that it stands up above your forehead.
m a s
m .co
Make it neat: use a pencil first and colour afterwards, keep the drawing big and
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simple so the last row of the class can see it, and write nothing on the card — let
your speech do the telling. a g

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3 om • taste • benefits
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Mention the following while speaking: • your name • part of the plant • colour •
a
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.
Six points, six sentences — say them in this order and you cannot go wrong.
m a
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agl

co m
m .
m as e
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se m
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a c
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m a s e
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a g l Page 59 of 68