Class 1 English Notes Chapter 4 (Once I Saw a Little Bird; Mittu and the Yellow Mango) – Marigold Book

Okay, here are the detailed notes for NCERT Class 1 English Marigold Book, Chapter 4, focusing on aspects relevant for government exam preparation.

Chapter 4: Once I Saw a Little Bird (Poem) & Mittu and the Yellow Mango (Story)

Unit Focus: Observation of nature (birds), simple interaction, problem-solving, colours, basic vocabulary related to birds and fruits.

Part 1: Once I Saw a Little Bird (Poem)

1. Poem Text:

Once I saw a little bird
Come hop, hop, hop;
I cried, "Little bird,
Will you stop, stop, stop?"
I was going to the window
To say, "How do you do?"
But he shook his little tail,
And away he flew.

2. Summary:
The poem describes a child's observation of a small bird hopping. The child attempts to interact with the bird, asking it to stop. Before the child can greet the bird properly from the window, the bird shakes its tail and flies away.

3. Key Concepts & Themes:

• Observation of Nature: Focuses on watching a common creature (bird) and its actions (hopping, shaking tail, flying).
• Interaction (Attempted): Shows a child's desire to connect with nature.
• Animal Behaviour: Depicts natural bird behaviour – quick movement, easily startled, flight response.
• Sequence of Events: Simple chronological order of actions.

4. Vocabulary Introduced:

• Nouns: bird, window, tail
• Adjectives: little
• Verbs: saw, come, hop, cried, stop, going, say, shook, flew
• Adverbs/Prepositions: once, away
• Interjection/Greeting: How do you do?
• Sound/Action Words: hop, stop, shook, flew

5. Rhyming Words:

• hop / stop
• do / flew (Note: This is a common pairing in children's rhymes, though not a perfect rhyme phonetically)

6. Potential Pedagogical Objectives (Relevant for Teaching Exams):

• Developing listening skills and auditory discrimination (rhyme).
• Encouraging observation of the immediate environment.
• Introducing simple action words and vocabulary related to birds.
• Developing recitation skills and rhythm.
• Understanding a simple sequence of events.

7. Potential Exam Questions (Based on this section):

• Identify rhyming words from the poem.
• Meaning of specific words (e.g., 'hop', 'shook').
• Comprehension: What did the bird do? What did the child say? Why did the bird fly away?
• Sequence the events in the poem.
• Identify action words used in the poem.

Part 2: Mittu and the Yellow Mango (Story)

1. Story Summary:
Mittu, a green parrot with a red beak, loves mangoes. He sees a big, yellow mango on a tree but is warned away by a loud, scary crow living in the same tree. Mittu flies away, sees a red balloon under the tree, and gets an idea. He picks up the balloon, flies back to the mango tree, and pecks the balloon behind the tree. The loud 'burst' sound scares the crow, who flies away and never returns. Mittu then happily eats the sweet, yellow mango.

2. Characters:

• Mittu: A parrot (green body, red beak). He is observant, initially fearful, but clever and resourceful. (Protagonist)
• Crow: A black crow. He is territorial, loud, and intimidating. (Antagonist)

3. Key Concepts & Themes:

• Problem-Solving: Mittu faces a problem (crow guarding the mango) and finds a clever solution (using the balloon).
• Cleverness over Strength: Mittu uses intelligence, not force, to overcome the larger, scarier crow.
• Observation: Mittu observes the mango and later the balloon, which leads to his idea.
• Colours: Explicit mention of colours – Yellow (mango), Green (parrot's body), Red (parrot's beak, balloon), Black (crow).
• Cause and Effect: Pecking the balloon (cause) -> Loud burst (effect) -> Crow gets scared and flies away (effect).

4. Vocabulary Introduced:

• Nouns: parrot, beak, mango, tree, crow, voice, balloon, idea
• Adjectives: green, red, yellow, big, black, loud, afraid, happy, sweet
• Verbs: loved, fly, saw, wanted, eat, go, lived, heard, came, shouted, picked, pecked, burst, scared, ate
• Adverbs/Prepositions: down, under, near, behind, away

5. Moral/Learning:

• Intelligence and quick thinking can help overcome difficult situations or bullies.
• Don't give up easily when faced with a challenge.

6. Potential Pedagogical Objectives (Relevant for Teaching Exams):

• Developing reading comprehension skills.
• Enhancing vocabulary (colours, animals, fruits, action words, feeling words like 'afraid', 'happy').
• Understanding story structure (beginning, middle, end; problem and solution).
• Identifying characters and their traits (Mittu - clever; Crow - scary).
• Reinforcing colour recognition.
• Developing sequencing skills.
• Understanding cause and effect relationships.

7. Potential Exam Questions (Based on this section):

• Identify the main characters in the story.
• What colour was the mango/parrot/beak/balloon/crow?
• What problem did Mittu face?
• How did Mittu solve the problem? / How did Mittu scare the crow?
• Meaning of words like 'pecked', 'burst', 'afraid'.
• Sequence the main events of the story.
• What lesson does the story teach? (Focus on cleverness, problem-solving).
• True/False statements about the story events or characters.

Overall Chapter Focus for Exam Preparation:

• Vocabulary Building: Focus on action words, colours, names of birds/fruits, simple adjectives and prepositions.
• Comprehension: Ability to understand simple narratives and poems, identify key details, sequence events, and understand cause-effect relationships.
• Observation Skills: Both the poem and story encourage noticing details about animals and objects.
• Basic Literary Elements: Introduction to rhyme (poem), characters, plot (story), theme/moral (story).
• Language Skills Integration: Connects reading, listening (if read aloud), and potentially speaking (recitation/retelling) and writing (simple answers).

These notes cover the core content and potential areas of focus for government exams assessing knowledge of NCERT Class 1 English curriculum. Remember that questions related to pedagogy (how to teach this chapter) might also be asked in teaching-specific exams.