Paper Boats English - Paper Boats

What symbolizes the child’s dreams in the poem?

What is the mood of the poem?

What does the poet bury at night?

What does the poet call the shiuli flowers?

Where does the poet float his paper boats?

Sai’s father suggests making a paper bookmark next time.

The art of origami is about enjoying the process.

There is a belief that if you make a thousand paper cranes, your wish will come true.

People have been making paper cranes for’ thousands of years.

Paper was very expensive so it was used only for special occasions.

The poet uses imagery like ___________ and ___________ to create a clear picture in the minds of the readers.

The repetition of words ___________ and ___________ emphasises the passage of time.

The repetition of “day by day” shows the ___________ of time.

The poet hopes his boats reach a ___________ land.

He dreams of fairies salling with ___________ full of dreams.

Read the title of the poem ‘Paper Boats’ and predict what the poem might be about.

What do you think someone might hope for when they send a paper boat down a stream?

What is the significance of the “midnight stars” in the poem?

What happens in the poet’s dream at night?

How does the poet describe the clouds in the poem?

How does the poet bring together imagination and reality to make the poem more interesting?

The poet talks about the imagination of a child. Support this view with examples from the poem.

Why do you think the poet writes his personal details on the paper boats?

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.

(ii) What can be inferred about the speaker’s feelings when night comes?
(iii) What kind of beings are the ‘fairies of sleep’ imagined as? Select the most appropriate option.
A. Mischievous
B. Gentle
C. Fearsome
D. Playful
(iv) Fill in the blank by selecting the correct option from those given in the brackets.
The phrase “lading is their baskets full of dreams’ suggests that the speaker imagines the fairies of sleep carefully __________ (carrying his dreams/collecting his wishes) in their baskets.

Find out names of some more trees or plants in your locality which have fragrant flowers. Write their names in your language and English language. Draw any two flowers and colour them.

Choose the correct words from the brackets to complete the summary of the poem given below.
The poet sends paper boats down a 1. __________ (stream/river) each day, writing his name and the name of his 2. __________ (school/ village) on them. He hopes that someone in a 3. __________ (strange/familiar) land will find them and know who he is. The poet fils his boats with 4. __________ (rose/shiuli) flwers from his garden, hoping they will be safely carried to another land at 5. __________ (night/morning). As he launches his boats, he imagines that the 6. __________ (clouds/birds) in the sky are like friends, racing with his boats. At night, he dreams that his paper boats continue to 7. __________ (swim/flat) under the midnight stars, with the fairies of sleep sailing in them, their baskets full of 8. __________ (dreams/fruits).

Explain how the poem reflects a child’s perspective.

Discuss the symbolism of the paper boats in the poem.

How does the poet blend reality and imagination in “Paper Boats”?

Day by day I float my paper boats one by one down the running stream. In big black letters, I write my name on them and the name of the village where I live.
Q.1. What does the poet write on the paper boats?
Q.2. Why does the poet float paper boats daily?
(a) To play with friends
(b) To send a message
(c) To decorate the stream
(d) To race with clouds
Q.3. The poet floats his paper boats down the ____________ stream.
Q.4. The poet writes in small red letters on the boats. (True/False)

solve the riddles and give the answers
I have a bed, but I do not sleep.
I have a bank, but no money I keep.
I carry stories, old and new,
High mountains to the oceans blue.
I journey far to meet the sea,
Can you guess, who I can be? v

solve the riddles and give the answers
I gently travel through valleys deep,
My soft murmur can make you sleep.
Little paper boats float on me in rain,
The merry laughter of the kids I gain.
You may sit beside me without any fear,
Who am I who skips along, crystal clear?

solve the riddles and give the answers
I sit in stillness, but move with the wind,
My surface mirrors the world you are in.
The trees around me live happily,
In me, you can take a dip daily.
Home to ducks, frogs, fish, and all,
Can you guess what I am, after all?

solve the riddles and give the answers
I have water that you cannot drink,
People come to see how in me the Sun sinks.
I can be rough, I can be calm,
I hold within myself plenty of charm.
My depths tell a never-ending tale.
Who am I with dolphins and the whale?

Complete the sentence
The tone is __________ (sad and serious/gentle and wishful) and the mood is __________ (thoughtful / boring).