NCERT Solutions for Class 5 English Chapter 7 Gilli Danda (PDF) – 2027

The poem in short: Children gather in the playground with a long stick (danda) and a small gilli. They swing, hit and never give up. The gilli flies high under the bright blue sky, and they laugh and play in the golden sunshine.

The poem mentions the game of Gilli Danda. To play it we need two things — a long stick called the danda and a small piece of wood called the gilli (“With a stick and a small gilli to throw”).

The players feel very happy and free. They play “with joy”, they “feel so free” with every swing, and they laugh and have fun. They never give up — “we never quit!”

The tiny gilli flies high up into the air, under the bright blue sky. The poem says, “The small gilli, up high it flies, / Underneath the bright blue skies.”

These lines tell us that the children are playing outside:

1. “In the playground, we gather around,”
2. “Underneath the bright blue skies.”
3. “Under the golden rays of the sun!”

It means “our game is a really good, fine game”. Here sound does not mean a noise. It means good and strong, as in “a sound sleep”. The children are proud of their game.

The word is “joy”. It comes in the fourth line: “We play with joy, watch it go!” Joy means great happiness.

Yes, I enjoy playing outdoors very much. Running in the fresh air makes me strong and fresh. I play kho-kho and cricket with my friends, so I learn to take turns and help my team. I feel free and happy outside, away from screens.

Five outdoor games I enjoy playing with my friends are kabaddi, kho-kho, cricket, Gilli Danda and hide and seek.

I am the small gilli. When the danda hits me, I fly up, up, up! Below me the children look smaller and smaller. I can see the whole playground, the trees and the school roof. Birds and kites fly past me. Above me is the wide blue sky and the golden sun. Then I fall back down.

un- means not; re- means again. The completed table:

Encircle these eighteen words. Each one is a thing you can see, taste, touch or smell:

leaf, mountain, sun, shirt, toffee, rose, ice cube, sugar, hat, chessboard, football, deer, tree, cat, spoon, river, cup, tiger.

Leave these six words alone. They are the abstract nouns:

joy, anger, truth, lie, happiness, fear.

Here is the whole table, marked. A tick means encircle it; a cross means leave it.

love, sadness, hope, honesty, courage, kindness, friendship, freedom, peace, beauty. Each one names a feeling, a quality or an idea that we cannot see, taste, touch or smell.

These are mine.

Why: The crayons belong to me, and the word that means “belonging to me” is mine.

The toy train is his.

Why: Mudit is a boy, so we use the boy’s word — his. This is the only word in the list that stays the same whether the thing is named or not. We can say “his toy train” and also “the toy train is his”.

The house is theirs.

Why: Cousins means more than one person, and they are not me and not you. For a group of other people we use theirs. Do not write “their” here — their must have a naming word after it, as in “their house”. When the naming word is gone, we use theirs.

The bowls are hers.

Why: The bowls belong to one girl. The girl’s word is hers. Again, her needs a naming word after it (“her bowls”), but hers stands alone at the end of the sentence.

The cow is ours.

Why: The sentence begins with We. The word for a thing belonging to us is ours. We say “our cow”, but “the cow is ours”.

The things are yours.

Why: The sentence says the things belong to you, so we use yours.

How Gilli Danda is played:

1. It is an outdoor game played with two sticks — a short one called the gilli and a long one called the danda.
2. One player hits the gilli with the danda to make it fly in the air.
3. The other players try to catch the gilli before it lands.

My group game is kho-kho. It is an outdoor game. Each team has nine players on the ground. We need no material, only two poles. Rules: chasers sit in a line; the chaser touches a sitting teammate and says “Kho!” to pass the chase; a runner who is touched is out. Safety: play on soft ground and never push.

Action: Hold both hands together at your side, as if you are gripping a long stick. Turn your body a little, then swing your arms across in front of you in a wide arc. Say “tak!” at the moment the invisible danda meets the invisible gilli.

Where it comes from in the poem: “One, two, three, swing and hit,”

Action: Finish your swing, then let both arms rise up high. Lift your chin and follow an imaginary gilli with your eyes, moving your head slowly from low to high and then far away. Keep still for two seconds while you “watch”.

Where it comes from in the poem: “We play with joy, watch it go!”

Action: Laugh out loud, or clap your hands three or four times, and let your face show that you are enjoying yourself.

Where it comes from in the poem: “Laughing, playing, having fun,”

Action: Place one flat hand just above your eyebrows, like the peak of a cap, and look upwards into the “sky”. Screw up your eyes a little, as you really do in bright sunshine.

Where it comes from in the poem: “Under the golden rays of the sun!”

Quit (verb) — to stop doing something, or to give up.

My own sentence: Our team was losing by six runs, but we did not quit.

Gather (verb) — to come together in one place. It can also mean to collect things and bring them together.

My own sentence: The whole village will gather near the temple for the fair.

Swing (verb) — to move something backwards and forwards, or in a curve, through the air. As a naming word, a swing is also the seat that hangs on two ropes in a park.

My own sentence: He had to swing the bat hard to send the ball over the boundary.

Underneath (preposition) — below something; under it.

My own sentence: The kitten was hiding underneath the wooden bench.

Golden (adjective) — having the bright yellow colour of gold. It can also mean very valuable or very special, as in “a golden chance”.

My own sentence: The wheat fields turned golden in the evening light.

Where are the cows?

Order: Where + are + the cows — question word first; capital letter at the start, question mark at the end.

Which is your house?

Order: Which + is + your house — question word first; capital letter at the start, question mark at the end.

What time is it?

Order: What time + is + it — question word first; capital letter at the start, question mark at the end.

Why is the sky blue?

Order: Why + is + the sky + blue — question word first; capital letter at the start, question mark at the end.

How many birds are on the tree?

Order: How many birds + are + on the tree — question word first; capital letter at the start, question mark at the end.

When will you return my book?

Order: When + will + you + return + my book — question word first; capital letter at the start, question mark at the end.

Do you walk to school?

Order: Do + you + walk + to school — a yes-or-no question, so the helping verb comes first; capital letter at the start, question mark at the end.

Can you fly a kite?

Order: Can + you + fly + a kite — a yes-or-no question, so the helping verb comes first; capital letter at the start, question mark at the end.

Three words for each pair of double letters (the double letters are in bold):

Circle cheap.

Why: Expensive means costing a lot of money. Cheap means costing very little — the opposite. Precious and costly are close to expensive.

Circle remembered.

Why: Forgot means it went out of their minds. Remembered means it stayed in their minds — the exact opposite.

Circle stopped.

Why: Continued means kept on going. Stopped means came to an end — the opposite.

Circle never.

Why: Always means every single time. Never means not even once — the opposite.

Circle boredom.

Why: Excitement is a happy, eager feeling. Boredom is the feeling of having nothing interesting to do — the opposite. Interest and enjoyment are close to excitement.

Circle confidently.

Why: Nervously means in a frightened, unsure way. Confidently means in a bold, sure way — the opposite.

Circle dull.

Why: Vibrant means very bright and full of life. Dull means faded and without shine — the opposite. Bright and shiny are close to vibrant.

Circle common.

Why: Unique means the only one of its kind. Common means found everywhere — the opposite. Different and unusual are close to unique.

Sample answer (what I did): I took a thick, firm twig about as long as my arm for the danda, and a small twig 3–4 inches long for the gilli. I rubbed both smooth with a rough stone and shaped both ends of the gilli narrow. I coloured them, then tested that they were sturdy and easy to handle.

First, list the letters you are allowed to use. The wheel has six letters around the rim and one in the middle:

A · C · E · E · H · R · T

Notice that E appears twice, so you may use E twice in a word. Every other letter may be used only once.

Here are 51 words. Any twenty of them is already a very good score.

Yes. The seven-letter word is TEACHER.

Check it letter by letter against the wheel:

All seven letters are used, and each one exactly as many times as it appears in the wheel. The two Es of teacher use the two Es of the wheel.

Sample answer — my wheel uses the word PAINTER.

Rule: One letter can be used as many times as it appears in the wheel.

For example: Ten, Paint.

The answer is your name. It belongs to you, but your friends, family and teachers say it far more often than you do.