UNIT II

Do you think birds find people funny? Let's listen to what the robin and the jay have to say.

Bird Talk

‘Think...’ said the robin,

‘Think...’ said the jay,

sitting in the garden

talking one day.

‘Think about people

the way they grow:

they don’t have feathers

at all, you know.

They don’t eat beetles,

they don’t grow wings,

they don’t like sitting

on wires and things.’

‘Think!’ said the robin.

‘Think!’ said the jay.

‘Aren’t people funny

to be that way?’

Aileen Fisher

New words

beetles, sitting, wires, funny

Reading is fun

1. Name the two birds in the poem.

2. What are the three things that people can't do?

3. What do birds think of people?

Talk time

1. Imagine what two elephants would say to each other about people. Let them talk about

– what people look like

– what they eat

– how they walk

You can say

Look at that man’s nose        

See how small it is!

2. Let’s find two things which you can do and the birds can’t do. Tell the class.

Team time

Activity – Let's make finger puppets.

i. Draw your favourite bird on a sheet of paper, cut and colour it.

ii. Take a strip of cloth or paper.

iii. Paste the picture of the bird you have drawn on it.

iv. Tie the two ends of the strip.

v. Fix it on your fingers.

vi. Your finger puppet is ready to talk. 

vii. Let your puppet fly along with your friends’ puppets.

Let’s write

Listen to the sounds of the birds. Make a list of these words.

Now write four sentences on birds using the followings words.

nest, water, chirp, fly, sky, wings

Write words that rhyme with the words given below.

The first one has been done for you.

Say aloud

NINA AND THE BABY SPARROWS

There was great joy in Nina’s house. Nina's aunt was getting married. Nina, her father, mother and little brother were all going to Delhi for a wedding. Everyone was happy, except Nina.

Her mother took her to the market to buy a new dress.

“What colour would you like?” Mother asked.

“I don't want a new dress, Mother,” said Nina.

“Salwar-kameez then?”

Nina shook her head.

“What about those lovely white shoes you saw last week?”

“I don't want those, either. Thank you, Mother.”

Nina’s mother was upset, but she said nothing. They went back home and had lunch. After lunch mother came and sat near Nina. “What is it, child?” she asked. “Why did you say 'no' to everything?”

 “Mother, I don’t want to go to the wedding.”

“But why?”

Nina said nothing. Instead, two big tears rolled down her cheeks. Mother put her        arms around Nina. “Don’t cry, my pet,” she said. "Why don't you tell me what’s bothering you?”

More tears rolled down Nina’s  cheeks. “ Mother,” she said ,“there’s a sparrow’s nest on the bookshelf in my room. And there are two baby sparrows in the nest.”

“I see...” said mother.

“They’re just beginning to get their feathers. And growing up makes them so hungry. All day long they cry ‘cheep-cheep’, asking for food.”

“I see!” said Mother.

“If we go, the whole place will be locked. And how will papa and mama sparrows feed their babies?”

“Oh Nina,” cried Mother, giving her a big hug. “Is that why you don’t want to go to the wedding? But that’s no problem at all. We’ll leave the window open.”

“Oh, can we, Mother? Can we? Really?”

“Yes, yes. We’ll remove all your things from the room and lock the door on the outside. So the house will be perfectly safe and papa and mama sparrows can come and go freely, too. Just

think, Nina... while you enjoy yourself at the wedding, the baby sparrows will be getting nice and fat in their nest. Good idea, isn’t it?”

It was        a good         idea. When Nina came back from the wedding,        there were two plump little sparrows flying all over the room. And wasn't Nina thrilled!

Pratibha Nath

New words

market, bother, problem, dress, upset, remove, wedding, lovely, plump

Reading is fun

1. Why was there great joy in Nina's house?

2. Why was Nina worried?

3. What did mother suggest?

4. What did Nina find when she came back from the wedding?

Talk time

1. How do baby sparrows eat?

2. What new things would you like to wear for a wedding? You can say “I would like to wear...”

I would also like to wear _____

Picture story

Number the jumbled picture story correctly. Then write the story in proper order.

Mother says, “We will leave the window open.”

Nina is happy again.

Nina is sad.

Nina does not want to leave the baby sparrows alone.    

    

Mother asks why.

Write the story here.

1. _____________________

2. _____________________

3. _____________________

4. _____________________

5. _____________________

Team time

Would you like to have birds visiting you everyday?

Try making a bird-bath and a feeding corner for birds.

You can place a bowl of water in a quiet corner of the school playground.

Leave bread crumbs, grains etc. for your feathered friends.

Let’s draw and colour a bird.

Activity – Let’s make a Bird

Things you need

• Old greeting card

• Dal

• Black bindi/beads for eyes

         

• Scissors

• Gum

• Old newspaper

• Old shoe lace

Steps

i. Make an outline of the bird on a greeting card and cut it out.

ii. Cut a small square from an old newspaper and fold it to make a fan. Keep the fan closed.

iii. Pass the folded fan through the cut on the bird's back and now open the folds of the fan.

iv. Make the eye by sticking a bindi.

v. Paste a string or old shoe lace to hang the bird.

Word building

Write down suitable words describing each picture. Pick up the words from the list given below:

(Beautiful, black, rad, happy, tall, fat)

A _____ woman

        

A ______ rose

A ______ boy

A _____ peacock

A _____ board

A _____ man

Now describe these pictures in your own language.

Say aloud

Teacher's Page _____        UNIT II

THEMES

• Birds
• Differences and disabilities in nature

SUGGESTIONS FOR CLASSROOM TEACHING

• Warm up activity can be done by reading the pre-reading questions aloud to introduce the theme or topic of the poem.
• Read and re-read the poem aloud laying stress on certain words and phrases.
• Take children for a Nature walk outdoors. Point to the birds they may see on the trees or flying about. Encourage them to look for birds and listen attentively to their sounds. Let the children express their thoughts and feelings freely.
• Talk about differences between different kinds of birds, e.g. in size, shape, colour, beaks, sounds etc.
• Discuss how birds are different from us. People can be different from each other too. Talk about differences with special reference to children with special needs, e.g. visually handicapped or physically challenged. Discuss how such children can excel in other fields like music, art etc.
• Read the story aloud to the children. The story may be retold with the help of the pictures. Encourage children to guess the meanings of difficult words, before you explain.
• Read instructions for the bird activity and help children to make a bird-bath and a feeding corner. Show them how to make finger puppets. Explain the position and names of the fingers to children. Encourage theme-based conversation.
• Children could be asked to bring pictures of birds to class. Help them to make small charts and put these up for the class to see.
• Discuss with children how sparrows are becoming fewer in cities and towns. What would this mean for us?