JK Academy Std 6 English Balbharathi Lesson 2.5 The Silver House
Pointers
1. What do the following words in the poem mean ?
(a) crown: a silver coin that was used in England in the past.
(b) round: shaped like a circle
(c) draw: pull
(d) blind: a covering to stop the light from passing
Do these words have other meanings? List them.
(a) crown: a circular headdress worn by a monarch.
(b) round: to move around a place
(c) draw: make markings of lines and shapes to convert into a picture or diagram.
(d) blind: unable to see
2. Find four pairs of rhyming words from the poem.
crown – down, way – say, blind – find, bare – there
3. In each of the following line, spot the sound that is used repeatedly –
There’s a silver house in the lovely sky.
Ans. The sound of the letter ‘s’ is repeated.
As round as a silver crown.
Ans. The sound of the letter ‘s’ is repeated.
It takes two weeks to build it up. And two to pull it down.
Ans. The sound of the letter ‘t’ is repeated.
4. What is implied in the following phrases or lines?
(a) A silver house in the lovely sky
Ans. The moon
(b) It takes two weeks to build it up
Ans. The fortnight of the waxing moon.
(c) And two to pull it down.
Ans. The fortnight of the waning moon.
5. Make a ‘pair presentation’ of the poem, in the class.
6. The man in the moon is mentioned in many nursery rhymes and stories. When people see the spots on the surface of the moon, they imagine that it’s a human face, or the figure of a man who lives on the moon. Sometimes, other characters like rabbits are also imagined to live with the man. Here are two nursery rhymes about the man in the moon.
1
The man in the moon
Came down too soon
To ask the way
to Norwich.
He went by the South
And burnt his month
With eating cold
pease porridge. –
2
The man in the moon
Looked out of the moon,
And this is what he said,
‘Tis time that
Now I am getting up,
All babies went to bed.’
7. Are there any stories/legends about the moon or special names for the moon in your language? Talk to your friends and family members and collect this information.
(the following information is taken from https://en.wikipedia.org/
In Norse mythology, Máni is the male personification of the Moon who crosses the sky in a horse-drawn carriage. He is continually pursued by the Great Wolf Hati who catches him at Ragnarök. Máni simply means “Moon”.
In Chinese mythology, the goddess Chang’e is stranded upon the Moon after foolishly consuming a double dose of an immortality potion. In some versions of the myth she is accompanied by Yu Tu, a Moon rabbit.
In Haida mythology, the figure represents a boy gathering sticks. The boy’s father had told him the Moon’s light would brighten the night, allowing the chore to be completed. Not wanting to gather sticks, the boy complained and ridiculed the Moon. As punishment for his disrespect, the boy was taken from Earth and trapped on the Moon.
In Japanese mythology, it is said that a tribe of human-like spiritual beings live on the Moon. This is especially explored in The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter.
In Vietnamese mythology, the Man in the Moon is named Cuội. He was originally a woodcutter on Earth who owned a magical banyan. Once day, when his wife ignorantly watered the tree with unclean water and caused it uproot itself to fly to away, Cuội grabbed its roots and was taken to the Moon. There, he eternally accompanied the Moon Lady and the Jade Rabbit. The trio has become the personifications of the Mid-Autumn Festival, when they descend to the mortal world and give out cellophane lanterns, mooncakes and gifts to children.
8. Do you know any poem or song about the moon in your own language ? Sing it in the class.
“चाँद”
रात का जब है घनघोर साया
तब आकाश में चाँद जगमगाया
टिमटिमाते तारों के आँगन में
गोल चकोर मन को भाया
चाँद की शीतल चांदनी ने
दबी आकाँक्षाओं को जगाया
चाँद कहता है सबसे रोज़
इंसान तू हार से क्यों घबराया
देख मुझे मेरे दाग देख
मुझपर बहुतों ने आरोप लगाया
मैं निडर सफ़ेद चादर ओढ़
आज फिर दोबारा यहीं आया
—- अनुष्का सूरी
9. Form pairs. Write a poem with rhyming lines on at least one of the following : the moon, stars, a tree, a flower, a river/lake, rain, the wind, clouds.