MAK LABS — Class 7 English Ch 8 Paper Boats

IChoose the correct words to complete the summary of the poem.

The poet sends paper boats down a 1. stream each day, writing his name and the name of his 2. village on them. He hopes that someone in a 3. strange land will find them and know who he is. The poet fills his boats with 4. shiuli flowers from his garden, hoping they will be safely carried to another land at 5. night. As he launches his boats, he imagines that the 6. clouds in the sky are like friends, racing with his boats. At night, he dreams that his paper boats continue to 7. float under the midnight stars, with the fairies of sleep sailing in them, their baskets full of 8. dreams.

IIThe theme of the poem is ______.

(iv) 1, 2 and 4 — innocence, imagination and playfulness

IIIThe setting of the poem is a natural, outdoor environment. (True/False)

True

IVComplete the sentence by choosing the correct word.

The tone is gentle and wishful and the mood is thoughtful.

VIdentify the examples of alliteration from the poem.

“big black letters” – /b/ sound
“sky and see” – /s/ sound
“fairies of sleep are sailing” – /s/ sound
“launch my paper boats and look up” – /l/ sound

VIFill in the blanks with suitable words from the poem.

1. The repetition of words ______ and ______ emphasises the passage of time.
“Day by day” and “one by one”

2. The poet uses imagery like ______ and ______ to create a clear picture in the minds of the readers.
“the little clouds setting the white bulging sails” and “paper boats float on and on under the midnight stars”

VIIMatch the descriptions with what they symbolise.

the child’s innocence, dreams, hopes, and messages sent out into the world – (ii) paper boats
purity, beauty, and the start of a new day – (iii) shiuli flowers
the vast universe and the child’s dreams continuing through the night – (i) midnight stars

IRead the extract and answer the questions.

When night comes I bury my face in my arms and dream that my paper boats float on and on under the midnight stars. The fairies of sleep are sailing in them, and the lading is their baskets full of dreams.

(i) Select the option that is most likely to be the speaker as per the extract.
A — the child sleeping with the face buried in the arms

(ii) What can be inferred about the speaker’s feelings when night comes?
The speaker feels calm, hopeful and dreamy. Even in sleep, he imagines that his boats continue their journey.

(iii) What kind of beings are the ‘fairies of sleep’ imagined as?
B. gentle

(iv) The phrase suggests that the speaker imagines the fairies of sleep carefully ______ in their baskets.
carrying his dreams

IIAnswer the following questions.

1. Why do you think the poet writes his personal details on the paper boats?
The poet writes his name and his village’s name so that someone in a faraway land may find the boats. Then that person will know who he is. He wants to connect with people beyond his village.

2. The poet talks about the imagination of a child. Support this view with examples from the poem.
The child imagines that a playmate in the sky sends clouds to race with his boats. He thinks the clouds are like white sails. He dreams that fairies of sleep sail in his boats with baskets full of dreams.

3. How does the poet bring together imagination and reality to make the poem more interesting?
The real part is the child floating paper boats with his name and shiuli flowers on them. The imagined part is the clouds racing his boats and fairies sailing in them at night. This mix of real and dreamy images makes the poem magical.

ICombine words from Column 1 and Column 2 with ‘of’ to make phrases.

wings of the wind, wings of the birds, waves of the ocean, dreams of the children, songs of the birds, songs of the rain, glimmers of the stars, cries of the children, tears of the clouds, tears of the rain, roars of the thunder, roars of the ocean, shadows of the evening, shadows of the clouds

IIWrite the words in the appropriate columns.

Morning	Afternoon	Evening	Night
dawn, sunrise, daybreak, sunup, forenoon	noon, noontime, noonday, midday	twilight, dusk, sunset, sundown	nightfall, midnight, night-time

IIIMatch the words with their opposites.

strange – ordinary
dawn – dusk
launch – halt
bulging – shrinking
float – sink
lading – emptying

Select the true statements from 1–7.

True statements: 2 3 5 6

2. Sai’s father used to do origami as a child.
3. Paper was very expensive so it was used only for special occasions.
5. There is a belief that if you make a thousand paper cranes, your wish will come true.
6. The art of origami is about enjoying the process.

Make a presentation about a craft item made from eco-friendly materials.

This is a craft and speaking activity. Students should make their own item and present it using the phrases given in the textbook.

Write a diary entry expressing your joy at experiencing a rainy day.

Friday, 15 July 20XX 6:30 p.m.

Dear Diary,

It was quite humid today. On my journey back from school, I wished that it would rain. And it did! Dark clouds gathered and big drops began to fall. The smell of wet earth filled the air. I got wet but I did not mind at all.

At home, my brother and I made paper boats and floated them in the stream of water outside our gate. Mother made hot pakodas and tea for everyone. We sat by the window and watched the rain dancing on the leaves.

It was one of the happiest days of this month. I wish it rains like this again tomorrow!

Riya

IShiuli flowers and other fragrant flowers.

Shiuli is also called night-flowering jasmine. It is known as Parijat or Harsingar in many Indian languages.

Other fragrant flowers: jasmine (mogra), tuberose (rajnigandha), champa, rose, night jasmine (raat ki rani), lotus.

IISolve the riddles.

Sea / Ocean
Pond / Lake
Stream
River

Paper Boats

Let us discuss

Let us think and reflect

Let us learn

Let us listen

Let us speak

Let us write

Let us explore