Lesson 11

📖 The Blind Boy

—Colley Cibber

Let's start: 🚀

Colley Cibber (1671–1757) was a noted English dramatist, actor and poet. He wrote twenty-five plays and a number of poems.

Let's share: 🗣️

📌 Close your eyes and describe the things that are there in your classroom by touching and feeling them.
💡 Now open your eyes and see if you had been able to identify all the objects.
🤔 How were your feelings different in the two situations?

Let's read: 📝

O say, what is that thing called light, Which I can ne'er enjoy? What is the blessing of the sight? O tell your poor blind boy!

You talk of wondrous things you see, You say the sun shines bright; I feel him warm, but how can he Then make it day or night?

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My day or night myself I make Whene'er I sleep or play; And could I ever keep awake With me 'twere always day.

With heavy sighs I often hear You mourn my hapless woe; But sure with patience I can bear A loss I ne'er know.

Then let not what I cannot have My cheer of mind destroy; Whilst thus I sing, I am a king, Although a poor blind boy.

📝 Word Nest

wondrous: strange, beautiful and impressive
mourn: express grief
hapless: unfortunate
woe: sorrow

Let's do: 🚀

Activity 1

Tick (✔) the correct alternative:

(a) In the poem, 'I' refers to 1. the blind boy 2. the sun 3. the light

(b) The blind boy cannot enjoy the blessings of 1. taste 2. sight 3. speech

(c) The blind boy identifies the sun by its (i) shape (ii) light (iii) warmth (d) The boy is (i) happy (ii) sad (iii) angry

📝 Activity 2

💡 Complete the following sentences with information from the text:

(a) The poor blind boy wants to know
(b) The blind boy feels the difference between day and night by
(c) The boy often hears mournings about
(d) The boy does not want his

❓ Activity 3

🤔 Answer the following question:

Whom do you think the blind boy is speaking to?

📊 Activity 4

📝 Fill in the chart with information from the text. One is done for you:

Blind person	Person with vision
(a) twenty four hours of night	twenty four hours of day and night
(b)	sees the sun and feels its warmth
(c)	plays during day and sleeps at night
(d) doesn't realize the loss of sight

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📝 Activity 5

Answer the following question in complete sentences:

What would happen if the blind boy kept awake?
What does the blind boy bear with patience?
Why does the blind boy think that he is a king?
Quote any two lines from the poem that suggest that the boy has a positive attitude towards life.

✍️ Activity 6 (a)

Fill in the blanks with suitable articles or prepositions:

There was once ______ little girl who lived in ______ middle of ______ deep, dark forest ______ her parents.

📋 Activity 6 (b)

Classify the Nouns given below and place them in the proper columns:

light, day, patience, loss, boy, sight

Common Noun	Abstract Noun

💡 Activity 7 (a)

Add a suitable prefix or suffix to each of the words given in brackets and fill in the blanks accordingly:

(i) My mother spent many ____ (sleep) nights when I was unwell.
(ii) I was ____ (patient) to know the result of my examination.
(iii) It was an ____ (enjoy) moment.
(iv) The ____ (bright) of the day made me happy.

📝 Activity 7 (b)

Write the antonyms of the following words:

(i) poor
(ii) warm
(iii) awake
(iv) destroy

Let's talk : 🗣️

Suppose you are out on a dark, moonless night. Tell the class about your experience. Would you have preferred to travel on a bright, sunny day instead?

Let's do : ✨

🎭 Activity 8 (a)

Complete the following imaginary dialogue between Day and Night. The beginning of the dialogue is given for you:

Day : Dear friend, I must declare I am more important than you.
Night: I don't know how you can say that.
Day : The sun rises during the day. People work and children ____________.
Night: Everyone takes rest ____________.

☀️ Day and 🌙 Night: A Conversation

Day: You bring darkness, I __________

Night: I have the light of the moon. I make the surroundings cool, you__________

Day: Indeed, that's true. We can then say __________

Night: Yes. Mankind needs __________

📝 Activity 8(b)

Develop a story within sixty words based on the following hints. Add a suitable title to it:

An old lady loses vision
Calls in a doctor
Agrees to pay a large fee if cured
Doctor removes some of her furniture daily
Lady is cured
She refuses to pay
Says she cannot see any of her furniture

🤝 Let's Work Together!

📌 Helen Keller was a famous personality who overcame her blindness and became successful in life. Collect her picture and also that of some such famous personalities.
📖 Make a scrapbook and write at least three sentences about each of them.

Academy

BLOSSOMS

Lesson 11 📖 The Blind Boy —Colley Cibber