Class 5 English Chapter 2: Gone with the Scooter

A hot afternoon

It was a summer afternoon. Gopi sat in the veranda with a book. The air was hot and still. Nothing much was happening. Then a sound broke the quiet. Something rushed past the veranda. It landed in the garden with a heavy thump. What could it be? Gopi shut his book at once and ran out to look.

What made that sound?

Gopi first thought of a mango. Mangoes ripen in summer and drop from the tree. A falling mango would make a soft, heavy sound. The word for that sound is thud. A thud is dull and low. It is not a ring or a crash. Say the word aloud. It even sounds like the thing it names.

The hunt in the garden

Gopi searched carefully. He looked in the thick grass by the fence. He found nothing there. He parted the bushes and looked again. Still nothing. Then he noticed a pile of dry leaves. Something white was sitting on top of it.

A hockey ball, not a mango

Gopi picked the white thing up. It was hard and round. It was a hockey ball, not a mango. A hockey ball is much heavier than a rubber ball. That is why it fell with a thud. Gopi looked around and peeped out of the gate. There was nobody to be seen.

Come inside, it is hot

Just then his mother called him. The afternoon sun was too strong for the garden. Gopi went in and had a long, cool drink. He stretched out on the mat and thought about the ball. He decided he could not keep it. He would ask around instead.

An honest plan

This is the kindest part of the story. Gopi found the ball first. Nobody saw him pick it up. He could have slipped it into his box. Instead he chose to look for its owner. Being honest is a choice, and Gopi made it.

At the playground

In the evening, Gopi went to the playground nearby. His friends met there every day to play hockey. Gopi told them about his find. Then he asked one simple question. Had anyone lost a ball lately?

Three friends, three answers

Manoj said he had lost a ball four months ago. That was far too long ago. Ramani said the ball was his. So Gopi asked him its colour. Ramani smiled and asked to see the ball first! Deepak boasted about a new football from his father. But this was a hockey ball.

Everybody laughs

The friends burst out laughing. Nobody could prove the ball was theirs. Manoj snatched the ball and tossed it to Deepak. Gopi shouted loudly at them. He told them to stop and to play before dark.

The match begins

Manoj went to the goalpost, because he liked keeping goal. Gopi stood in the centre with his stick. He passed to Deepak, who drove it on to Ramani. Ramani dribbled the ball with small taps. Then he sent it across to Jay.

Gone with the scooter

Jay gripped his stick tightly. He turned the flat side towards the ball. Then he hit it very hard. The ball flew past the playground gate. It landed right inside a scooter basket as the scooter went by. The rider knew nothing about it and drove on.

Why everyone laughed

The children raced to the gate. The scooter had gone, and the ball with it. Nobody had found the owner. Now nobody had the ball either! They looked at one another and laughed. A story that starts with a lost ball ends with a lost ball.

Scenario:

Meera and Arjun disagree about Gopi. Meera says a ball that lands in your garden is yours. Arjun says somebody lost it, and losing a ball feels bad. Gopi went from house to house until he found the owner. Their teacher turns the argument into a task. How many houses would that take? The children count the houses on one lane near the school. There are fourteen. Asking at every one means fourteen knocks. Sana suggests a faster way. Ask at the ground first, because whoever lost a hockey ball was playing. The class agrees that thinking about where a thing came from saves a great many steps.

Analysis:

Gopi searched house by house. Sana searched by asking where the thing belonged. One is fourteen knocks and the other is one.

Activity:

Count the houses or shops on the road outside your school. Work out how long it would take to ask at every one, at two minutes each.

A hockey ball is hard and heavy. It weighs about as much as a big potato.

India has won eight Olympic gold medals in hockey, more than any other country.

The order of the story — Four beats: Sound, Search, Share, Scooter — Sound: a thud. Search: grass, bushes, leaves. Share: he asks his friends. Scooter: the ball rides away.

Riya's two little sentences

Riya writes in her diary. She writes: I missed the bus. I walked to school. Both sentences are correct. Still, they sound like two taps that never join. A reader wants to know how the two ideas fit. Small joining words do that job. With one word, the two sentences become one smooth idea.

because: the reason word

Because answers the question why. Riya writes: I walked to school because I missed the bus. Now the reader knows the reason. Because always sits between the two ideas. Put the happening first and the reason after it.

since: the other reason word

Since also gives a reason. It likes to start the sentence. Since I missed the bus, I walked to school. Notice the comma in the middle. Since and because mean nearly the same thing here. Since simply lets you put the reason first.

when: the time word

When tells us the time of something. We cheered when the ball went in. First the ball went in, then the cheer. Swap the halves and the meaning stays: When the ball went in, we cheered. Use when to link two things that happen close together.

however: the surprise word

However shows a change or a surprise. It often begins a new sentence. The afternoon was very hot. However, the friends played on. Put a comma right after however. It warns the reader that the idea is about to turn.

Gopi's evening, joined up

Read this and notice the four joining words. Gopi finished his work because he wanted to play. However, nobody was at the playground. Since his friends had not come, he took a walk. They chose hopscotch when they heard that Ramani was away. Four small words, one clear story.

Adverbs help the verb

A verb is a doing word: run, write, eat. An adverb tells us more about the verb. Gopi ran immediately. Shama writes often. The adverb is the extra bit of news. In this lesson we meet two kinds of adverbs.

How many times?

The first kind tells us how many times something happens. Always, usually, often, sometimes, never. His friends regularly gathered to play. How many times? Regularly. Ask the question how many times and listen for the answer.

When did it happen?

The second kind tells us the time of the action. Now, today, yesterday, tomorrow, immediately. Yesterday I ate an ice cream. When did I eat it? Yesterday. Ask the question when and listen for the answer.

Sorting the two kinds

Try these. Monika never eats junk food: how many times, so it is the first kind. Now they are going to sing: when, so it is the second kind. I always finish my homework: how many times. Gopi immediately got up: when. One question sorts them.

Words from the story

Four words from this lesson are worth keeping. To rustle is to make a soft crackling sound. To grab is to take something suddenly. To boast is to speak too proudly. To dribble is to move a ball with small taps.

Say it your way

Now use the words yourself. Say one sentence about your week with always, often or never. Say one about today with now or yesterday. Then join two ideas with because. Speaking a new word once makes it yours.

Scenario:

Rehan writes a note about missing cricket practice. His first note is four short lines. I did not come. The bus was late. I waited. I went home. His teacher reads it twice and still cannot follow it. Rehan writes it again with joining words. Since the rain was heavy, the bus reached school late. However, I waited at the ground for twenty minutes. Because nobody came back, I walked home. Now the teacher understands at once. The class notices something else that month. Practice is called off whenever the rain is heavy. They keep a chart for thirty days. Rain stopped play on nine of them.

Analysis:

The facts were the same in both notes. The joining words carried the reason from one line to the next, and without them the reader had to guess.

Activity:

Keep a weather chart for two weeks. Then write three sentences about it using because, however and when.

Title:

Tigers and Goats, with adverbs

Safety:

Ask an adult to help with the paint and to wash the pebbles first. Keep small pebbles away from younger children.

What You Notice:

The sentences with always, never and now make the game easier to follow. A move without words is quickly forgotten.

Many adverbs end in ly, such as quickly and loudly. Never and now do not.

The word however is built from two words, how and ever, joined long ago.

Telling the two adverbs apart — Ask two questions: How many times? When? — If the answer is often or never, it is frequency. If the answer is now or yesterday, it is time.

The four joining words — Why, why, when, but: because, since, when, however — Two give reasons, one gives the time, and the last one turns the idea around.

Nisha's turn to speak

Nisha's class is making a story together. The teacher says one line. Each child must add one line of their own. Nisha's turn comes closer. Her hands feel cold. What should she add? She listens hard to the line before hers. Then she adds a small step forward. The class claps. Speaking is easier when you listen first.

The chain story game

This is a game you can play anywhere. One person starts with a single sentence. The next person adds one sentence only. Nobody may end the story early. Keep the same characters and the same place. The fun is in the surprise turns.

Two sounds of oo

Say the word book. Now say the word Santoor. Both words have the letters oo. The sounds are not the same. In book the sound is short and quick. In Santoor the sound is long and held. Your ears do the sorting, not your eyes.

The short oo family

These words hold the short sound: book, foot, look, hood, shook, took. Say each one aloud. The sound is over almost at once. Put your hand on your throat and feel how brief it is. Short oo is like a quick tap.

The long oo family

These words hold the long sound: school, maroon, scooter, bloom, food, moon. Say each one aloud, slowly. The sound stretches out. Scooter is the word from our story. Long oo is like a train whistle far away.

Listening and drawing

Listening well is a skill you can practise. Your teacher reads a set of drawing steps. You may not ask to see the picture. Draw a heap of big dry leaves, packed tight. Put a ball right in the middle of them. Scatter a few twigs around the heap. Use yellow and brown for the leaves.

Writing what people say

Now for writing. When you write what somebody said, use quotation marks. Put them around the exact words only. Start the spoken words with a capital letter. Name the speaker outside the marks. A comma or a question mark goes inside.

Gopi and his friends talk

Try writing the talk after the ball flew away. Set out each speaker on a new line. Write the name, then a colon, then the words. Gopi: That shot went straight into the basket! Ramani: My throat hurts from laughing. Five short lines make a whole scene.

Two words, one new word

English loves joining words together. Sun and rise make sunrise. Foot and ball make football. A word made from two words is called a compound word. Read the new word aloud. You can usually hear both parts.

More compounds to build

Try these pairs: sun and set, sun and shine, sun and flower. Try basket and ball, volley and ball, base and ball. Write each new word. Then use it in a sentence of your own. Sunflower, basketball and baseball are all compound words.

The ai family

Scooter keeps oo in the middle. Many other words keep ai in the middle. Rain, train and chair all do. Say them aloud and listen for the long a sound. The two letters work as a team.

Ten clues, ten ai words

Here is a puzzle from the lesson. Something with four legs to sit on: chair. Water from the clouds: rain. It runs on tracks: train. You use it on walls: paint. It helps you think: brain. Slow, with a shell: snail. Letters you post: mail. Steps between floors: stairs.

Scenario:

Meher is in Class 5 in Nagpur. Her father rides a scooter to the market every Sunday, and she sits behind him. Her father always wears a helmet. For a long time, Meher did not wear one. One day her class read about a boy whose ball flew into a scooter basket. The teacher asked a simple question: what if something had hit the rider? The class talked about it for a long while. Meher went home and asked for a helmet of her own. Her father was pleased. Now both of them buckle their straps before the scooter starts. Meher also checks that the basket in front is shut.

Analysis:

A helmet protects the head, the part we cannot mend easily. Road safety is a habit for every rider, in front and behind.

Activity:

Watch the road outside your home for ten minutes. Count how many riders wear helmets. Make a small bar chart of what you find.

English has only five vowel letters, but they make more than fifteen different sounds.

Quotation marks are also called inverted commas in many Indian classrooms.

Short and long oo — Book is quick, moon is long — Hold each sound and count. Book ends before one. Moon lasts past one.

Where the marks go — Mouth open, mouth shut — The first mark opens when the speaker opens their mouth. The second closes when they stop.