Gilli Danda Class 5 English Chapter 7 CBSE Notes 2025-26

The chapter "Gilli Danda" from CBSE Class 5 English introduces students to one of India's traditional outdoor games, celebrated through a lively poem and a series of engaging activities.

The poem describes children gathering in the playground with a stick (danda) and a small wooden piece (gilli), filling the scene with excitement, teamwork, and joy beneath the open sky and sunlight. Playing Gilli Danda brings a sense of freedom and fun, reflecting the happiness and energy of children at play.

Comprehension and Thinking Skills

Students are encouraged to closely read the poem and answer questions related to its content. The questions cover the requirements to play Gilli Danda, how the players feel while playing, what happens when the gilli is hit, and recognising lines that describe the outdoor setting.

Learners also reflect on the meaning of phrases like “our game is so sound” and identify words from the poem that express happiness. This section also promotes self-expression by asking students if they enjoy playing outside and to imagine themselves as the gilli soaring up into the sky.

Vocabulary: Prefixes

The chapter introduces students to prefixes, especially "un-" (meaning "not") and "re-" (meaning "again"), showing how they change the meaning of root words. Students practise adding 'un-' to words like “common”, “write”, “aware”, “comfortable”, “arrange”, and “think” to create new words such as "uncommon" and understand their meanings. Example: "uncomfortable" means not comfortable, and "unaware" means not aware.

Nouns: Concrete and Abstract

A table helps learners distinguish between concrete nouns, which can be seen, touched, tasted, or smelled (like "leaf", "shirt", "ice cube"), and abstract nouns, which refer to feelings, ideas, or qualities that cannot be physically sensed (like "joy", "anger", "happiness", "truth"). The difference between "rose" (a concrete object) and "happiness" (an emotion) is explained, emphasizing how some nouns represent things we experience with our senses, while others represent thoughts or feelings.

Grammar: Possessive Pronouns

This section guides students to use possessive pronouns such as "mine", "yours", "his", "hers", "ours", and "theirs" in sentences to show ownership or belonging. Sample fill-in-the-blank questions are given, like: "These crayons belong to me. These are mine." It also clarifies how such words simplify referring to things that belong to someone.

Speaking, Listening and Dictionary Skills

The chapter encourages group discussions about outdoor and indoor games. Children are prompted to describe games, including the number of players, materials needed, and rules or safety tips. Listening exercises involve following teacher cues, responding physically (e.g., pretending to swing the danda or shading eyes from the sun), and practising question formation by rearranging words. Students are also encouraged to use a dictionary to find the meanings of key words such as "quit", "gather", and "underneath" and frame sentences with them.

Word Building: Double Letters

The word "gilli" contains a double "l", and students are challenged to list other words with double letters (like “tt”, “pp”, “ee”, etc.), three for each set. This helps improve spelling and word recognition through fun activity.

Vocabulary Practice: Choosing the Odd One Out

In this section, students practise vocabulary by circling the word that does NOT match the meaning of an underlined word in a sentence. For example, for the word “expensive”, they must identify that “cheap” is different from “precious” and “costly”. This builds their ability to distinguish synonyms and antonyms in context.

Let Us Do: Making Gilli Danda

Students learn to make their own Gilli Danda set using simple materials: a thick stick or twig (for the danda), a small twig (for the gilli), a rough stone for smoothing, and colours or papers for decoration. Steps for making both the stick and the gilli are given, emphasizing safety and creativity. After shaping and decorating their equipment, children are encouraged to test whether their gilli and danda are sturdy and safe to use.

Fun Activities and Riddles

The chapter includes an amusing riddle: “It belongs to you. But, your friends use it more than you. What is it?” (Answer: Your name.) There’s also a “Spellathon” challenge, where students must create as many words as possible from a provided set of letters and try to spot a seven-letter word. These tasks encourage creativity and critical thinking.

Key Takeaways

This chapter blends language learning with life skills, traditional play, and teamwork. It helps students build vocabulary (prefixes, double-letter words), strengthens grammar (possessive pronouns, abstract/concrete nouns), and boosts comprehension and communication skills. Activities are designed for active participation both in and outside the classroom, making the process of learning English enjoyable and relatable.

Teacher notes throughout the chapter remind instructors to use examples from everyday life, encourage creativity and correct grammar usage, promote safety during activities, and guide students toward independent dictionary use and sharing of new ideas. This holistic approach ensures balanced development of reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills.

Class 5 English Chapter 7 Notes – Gilli Danda: Important Revision Key Points

These revision notes for Class 5 English Chapter 7 provide a clear summary of the poem and activities about Gilli Danda, making learning interactive and comprehensive. Key concepts like prefixes, possessive pronouns, and abstract nouns are explained with easy examples. Students can quickly recap all main topics and questions from the chapter.

With these notes, children will be able to revise the essential grammar and vocabulary sections, along with the fun exercises and practical tasks included. Using these CBSE class 5 English notes helps learners build confidence for exams and deepen understanding of language skills in engaging ways.