English: Class 5 — Chapter 7: Gilli Danda

In the playground, we gather around,
With a stick and a small gilli to throw,
Gilli Danda, our game is so sound!
We play with joy, watch it go!

One, two, three, swing and hit,
With our friends, we never quit!
With every swing, we feel so free,
Oh, what fun it is, you see!

The small gilli, up high it flies,
Underneath the bright blue skies.
Laughing, playing, having fun,
Under the golden rays of the sun!

• gather: To come together in one place.
• gilli: A small, tapered wooden peg used in the game of Gilli Danda.
• quit: To stop doing something; to give up.
• underneath: Directly below or beneath something.

1. Which game does the poem mention? What are the things needed to play this game?
2. According to the poem, how do the players feel while playing Gilli Danda?
3. What happens to the tiny gilli when the stick strikes it?
4. Which lines tell us that the children are playing the game outside?
5. What is the meaning of the line “our game is so sound”?
6. Which word in the poem shows ‘happiness’?

1. Do you enjoy playing outdoors? Why or why not?
2. Name five outdoor games that you enjoy playing with your friends.
3. Imagine you are the small gilli. What would you see while flying up in the sky?

A prefix is a letter or group of letters added to the beginning of a word to change its meaning.

• Un- means not (e.g., Un + happy = unhappy).
• Re- means again (e.g., Re + draw = redraw).

Exercise: Add correct prefixes to create new words and write their meanings:

• common → uncommon (Something that is not easily found)
• write → rewrite (To write again)
• aware → unaware (Not aware)
• comfortable → uncomfortable (Not comfortable)
• arrange → rearrange (To arrange again)
• think → rethink (To think again)

An abstract noun refers to something that has no physical shape and cannot be seen, touched, tasted, heard, or smelt. They represent feelings, thoughts, or ideas.

• Concrete Nouns (Can touch/see): leaf, sun, shirt, toffee, rose, ice cube, sugar, hat, chessboard, football, deer, tree, cat, spoon, river, cup, tiger.
• Abstract Nouns (Cannot touch/see): joy, anger, truth, lie, happiness, fear.

Possessive pronouns indicate ownership or relationship between people and things. Examples include: theirs, mine, yours, his, hers, ours.

1. These crayons belong to me. These are mine.
2. The toy train belongs to Mudit. The toy train is his.
3. The house with the red roof belongs to my cousins. The house is theirs.
4. The little girl has bought a set of bowls to play Jal Tarang. The bowls belong to her. The bowls are hers.
5. We have a cow with large brown eyes. The cow is ours.
6. You should take better care of your things. After all, they belong to you. The things are yours.

• It is played with two sticks—one short (gilli) and one long (danda).
• One of the players hits the gilli with the danda to make it fly in the air.
• Other players try to catch the gilli.

• “Swing and hit”: Pretend to swing an invisible danda.
• “Watch it go!”: Raise your arms as if watching the gilli fly.
• “Laughing, playing”: Giggle or clap hands.
• “Shade your eyes from the sun”: Keep your hands above your eyebrows.

Rearrange the words to form proper questions starting with a capital letter and ending with a question mark:

• are cows where the → Where are the cows?
• is your house which → Which is your house?
• it time is what → What time is it?
• the blue why sky is → Why is the sky blue?
• the many are how birds on tree → How many birds are on the tree?
• you my when return will book → When will you return my book?
• walk you to do school → Do you walk to school?
• a can fly kite you → Can you fly a kite?

Identify words containing double letters:

• tt: kitten, button, butter
• pp: apple, happy, puppy
• ee: green, feet, tree
• mm: summer, hammer, mummy
• bb: bubble, rabbit, cabbage
• rr: parrot, cherry, worry
• nn: funny, dinner, runner
• dd: ladder, puddle, sudden
• ss: glass, grass, class
• gg: egg, giggle, struggle

Identify the word that is different in meaning from the underlined word:

1. Miibi went to the market and bought an expensive toy. (precious, costly, cheap)
2. Anju and Farida forgot to buy popcorn and juice for the picnic. (remembered, revised, ignored)
3. The moon continued to count the stars night after night. (stopped, began, started)
4. I always complete my homework on time. (often, never, sometimes)
5. There was excitement in the shop among the toys. (interest, enjoyment, boredom)
6. Badal nervously told his mother about the dog he found on his way home. (sadly, joyfully, confidently)
7. Everyone liked the vibrant colours of the bangles. (dull, bright, shiny)
8. The fort is known for its unique style of construction. (different, unusual, common)

Things required: A thick firm twig (for danda), a small thick twig (for gilli), a rough stone, and colors/paper for decoration.

Steps:

1. Find a thick, firm twig for the danda.
2. Use a rough stone to smoothen the surface of the stick.
3. Find a small twig (3-4 inches long) and sharpen both ends using a rough stone to shape the gilli.
4. Decorate both pieces with paint or colored paper.

Riddle: It belongs to you. But, your friends use it more than you. What is it?

Answer: Your name!