NCERT Class 5 English Santoor Chapter 03 The Rainbow PDF Download

Chapter 3: The Rainbow

Let us Recite

Boats sail on the rivers,
And ships sail on the seas;
But clouds that sail across the sky
Are prettier far than these.
There are bridges on the rivers,
As pretty as you please;
But the bow that bridges heaven,
And overtops the trees,
And builds a road from earth to sky,
Is prettier far than these.
- Christina Rossetti

New Words

overtops   bridges   bow

Let us Think

A. Answer the following

1. Explain the meaning of the word 'bow' used in the poem.
2. Which bridge does the poet like more and why?
3. The word 'these' is used for different things in stanzas one and two. What are the things for which 'these' has been used in each stanza?
4. State whether the following are True or False.
   1. Ships sail on the river.
   2. Boats sail on the sea.
   3. Bridges are built on the river.
   4. A road is built from earth to the sky.

B. Think and discuss

1. What are the ways in which you can cross a river?
2. Have you ever seen a rainbow in real life or in pictures? How did you feel?
3. If you could walk on a rainbow, where do you think it would take you?

Teacher's Note

In the poem, the word 'bow' refers to a rainbow - an arc of light in the sky. Notice that the poet compares three types of bridges: bridges on rivers, bridges on rivers made by humans, and the rainbow as a natural bridge from earth to sky. Pay attention to how the poet repeats the phrase "prettier far than these" to emphasize which bridge is most beautiful.

Let us Learn

A. Rearrange the letters of each word to form a meaningful word from the poem. Write them in the space provided.

1. sial - S A I L
2. vierr
3. sae
4. oduscl
5. risebgd
6. nhveea
7. eoptvros
8. owb
9. droa

B. Work in pairs. One of you moves a finger around in the circle. When your partner says 'Stop', perform the action indicated by the segment that the finger lands on.

[Figure: A circle divided into segments with the following actions: Provide a new title for the poem. Find those words from the poem which have been repeated. Share the images that come to your mind while reading the poem. Name a musical instrument that you will use if you have to sing the poem. Find two pairs of words from the poem that rhyme, See in your textbook]

Let us Listen

Note to the Teacher

Draw learners' attention to the aspect of sound. The focus should be on the sound and not on the spelling. You may select more words according to the level of your learners.

Sit in a circle and listen to the words read aloud by your teacher. Give five rhyming words for each word as indicated.

• Ship - chip, trip, ..............., ..............., ...............
• Tree - ..............., ..............., ..............., ..............., ...............
• Bow - ..............., ..............., ..............., ..............., ...............
• Rain - ..............., ..............., ..............., ..............., ...............
• Sun - ..............., ..............., ..............., ..............., ...............
• Sea - ..............., ..............., ..............., ..............., ...............
• Sail - ..............., ..............., ..............., ..............., ...............
• And - ..............., ..............., ..............., ..............., ...............
• Sky - ..............., ..............., ..............., ..............., ...............
• Far - ..............., ..............., ..............., ..............., ...............

Teacher's Note

When you hear a word aloud, focus on its ending sound, not how it is spelled. Words that rhyme have the same ending sound. For example, 'ship' ends with the sound 'ip', so 'chip' and 'trip' rhyme with it because they also end with 'ip'. Practice saying the words out loud slowly to hear the rhyming sounds clearly.

Let us Speak

Recite the poem given below in three ways:

1. In a happy voice
2. In an angry voice
3. In a surprised voice

1. Colours

You have a few crayons,
Red, yellow and blue.
Green, purple and black,
I have some too
I need the red
and you need the black.
If we share our crayons,
we have a full pack!
- Santoor, Grade 3

Key Points

• A rainbow is described by the poet as a beautiful natural bridge that stretches from earth to sky, more beautiful than human-made bridges or regular bridges built over rivers.
• Poets use repetition and rhyming words to make their poems memorable and pleasant to read aloud; "Boats sail" and "ships sail" both repeat the word "sail" to create a musical effect.
• Reading a poem aloud with different emotions - happy, angry, or surprised - changes how the words sound and feel, even though the words stay the same.
• Rhyming words are words that end with the same sound; focusing on how words sound when spoken aloud helps you find rhymes better than just looking at their spelling.

This is a preview of the first 5 pages. To get the complete chapter, click below.