Once I Saw a Little Bird Class 1 NCERT Study Guide

Poem Summary and Meaning

This delightful poem describes a happy moment between a young child and a tiny bird. The child is inside the house and notices a little bird landing right outside the window. The bird is hopping around, moving happily up and down. The child wants to be friends with the bird and runs up to the window to ask, "How do you do?" However, birds are easily startled by sudden movements. As soon as the child reaches the window, the little bird shakes its tiny tail and flies away into the sky. The poem helps us understand that animals are sensitive, beautiful creatures that we should observe quietly without scaring them.

New Words and Meaning

Bird

A small animal with feathers and wings that can fly in the sky.

Hop

To jump on one foot or to make short, quick jumps like a bird or a frog.

Stop

To end an action or to stand still without moving.

Tail

The back part of an animal's body that it can shake or wag.

Window

An opening in a wall covered with glass that lets us look outside.

YoLearn Exam & Reading Tips

When reciting this poem in your Class 1 English class, try to make hopping actions with your hands to show how the bird moves! Remember to group rhyming words together. Rhyming words are words that sound the same at the end, like hop and stop, or bird and third. Keeping these sound patterns in mind will help you memorize the lines of the poem very quickly for your school assessments!

Practice Questions with Solutions

• Q: What did the child see outside the window? A: Step 1: Look at the title and first line of the poem: "Once I saw a little bird...". Step 2: Write down what the child noticed. Final answer: The child saw a little bird.
• Q: How was the little bird moving in the poem? A: Step 1: Find the line where the child says, "Come hop, hop, hop". Step 2: Understand that "hop" is a quick jumping action. Final answer: The little bird was hopping.
• Q: What did the child want to say to the bird? A: Step 1: Read the second stanza of the poem where the child goes to the window. Step 2: Locate the question the child wants to ask: "How do you do?". Final answer: The child wanted to ask the bird, "How do you do?".
• Q: What did the bird do in the end when the child went close? A: Step 1: Read the last lines of the poem. Step 2: Identify the actions: "But he shook his little tail, and away he flew." Final answer: The little bird shook its tail and flew away.

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