A Different Kind of School

AP/ NCERT Solutions for Grade 6 English Honeysuckle Chapter 5
A Different Kind of School

Working with the text

A. Put these sentences from the story in the right order and write them out in a paragraph. Don’t refer to the text.

• I shall be so glad when today is over.
• Having a leg tied up and hopping about on a crutch is almost fun, I guess.
• I don’t think I will mind being deaf for a day – at least not much.
• But being blind is so frightening.
• Only you must tell me about things.
• Let’s go for a little walk.
• The other bad days can’t be half as bad as this.

Answer:

Let’s go for a little walk: Only you must tell me ‘ about things. I shall be so glad when today is over. The other bad days can’t be half as bad as this. Having a leg tied up and hopping about on a crutch is almost fun, I guess. I don’t think I will mind being deaf for a day – at least not much. But being blind is so frightening.

B. Answer the following questions 

1. Why do you think the writer visited Miss Beam’s school?

Curious about Miss Beam's special way of teaching, the writer went to her school to see it for themselves.

2. What was the ‘game’ that every child in the school had to play?

At Miss Beam's school, kids took turns pretending to be blind, deaf, mute, hurt, or limping for a day. It was part of their learning.

3. “Each term every child has one blind day, one lame day…” Complete the line. Which day was the hardest? Why was it the hardest?

Every term, each child had a day when they pretended to be blind, lame, deaf, injured, or mute. The blind day was the toughest, as they had to stay blindfolded, fearing bumps and hits.

4. What was the purpose of these special days?

These special days aimed to help students experience difficulties. Pretending to have a disability for a day made them empathetic and respectful towards people with real challenges, teaching them to be responsible and kind.

Working with Language

A. Match the words and phrases with their meanings in the box below.

Words	Paragraph numbers
1. homesick	3
2. practically	4
3. it pains me	7
4. appreciate	9
5. thoughtless	10
6. exercise	11
7. relief	13
8. ghastly	14

almost	it hurts me	terrible	test the strength of
understanding the difficulties	wanting to be home	a welcome change	not very caring

Answer:

1. homesick	wanting to be home
2. practically	almost
3. it pains me	it hurts me
4. appreciate	understanding the difficulties
5. thoughtless	not very caring
6. exercise	test the strength of
7. relief	a welcome change
8. ghastly	terrible

B. Re-word these lines from the story:

1. I had heard a great deal about Miss Beam’s school.

2. Miss Beam was all that I had expected — middle-aged, full of authority.

3. I went to the window which overlooked a large garden.

4. “We cannot bandage the children’s mouths, so they really have to exercise their will-power.”

Answer:

1. The writer had heard a lot of praise from people about the different teaching methods at Miss Beam’s school.

2. The writer found Miss Beam to be a middle-aged woman full of authority.

3. The writer looked out of the window and saw a large garden.

4. The children had to use their will-power to keep quiet.

C. 1. Given below is a page from a dictionary. Look at it carefully and

(i) find a word which means the same as ghastly. Write down the word and its two meanings.

(ii) find a word meaning a part of the school year.

(iii) find a word that means examination.

Answer:

Ghastly: terrible – causing fear, very bad

Term: a fixed length of time, a part of the school year

Test: to look at something to see if it is correct or will work properly, to ask someone questions

2. Now make lists of

(i) all the words on the page (plus any more that you can think of) that begin with terr-

(ii) five words that may follow the last word on the page, that.

(iii) write down your own meaning of the word thank. Then write down the meaning given in the dictionary.

Answer:

Terr: terrace, terrible, terribly, territory, terrify, terror, terrain

That: boy, house, car, dog, question

Thank: To express gratitude to someone for help or service or show kindness. In the dictionary: To say we are grateful to someone.

D. A poem for you to read

All but Blind

All but blind

In his chambered hole

Gropes for worms

The four-clawed Mole.

All but blind

In the evening sky

The hooded Bat

Twirls softly by.

All but blind

In the burning day

The Barn Owl blunders

On her way.

And blind as are

These three to me,

So, blind to Someone

I must be.

-WALTER DE LA MARE

Answer:

Read the poem carefully.

Speaking and Writing 

A. Make a short list of things you find difficult to do.

For example:

turning a somersault

Compare your list with the others’ in the class. Can you explain why you find these things difficult to do?

Answer:

Activity to be done by yourself.

B. Look at your hands carefully. Now, write down for each finger one action for which that finger is particularly important. For example, the second (or index) finger helps to hold the knife down firmly when cutting.

Thumb: It helps in holding a pen or pencil while writing.

Second finger (Index finger): It helps in holding a knife while cutting vegetables or fruits.

Third finger (Middle finger): It helps in sketching or holding a paintbrush while painting.

Fourth finger (Ring finger): It is used for putting a ring on the finger and supports other fingers too.

Fifth finger (Little finger/Pinky finger): It helps in supporting other fingers and making a fist.