NCERT Solutions for Class 6 English Chapter 5 A Different Kind of School

Chapter 5 A Different Kind Of School

by Ev Lucas

The Chapter ‘A Different Kind Of School’ Has Been Written By Ev Lucas. It Is A Simple Version Of The Story School For Sympathy. The Story Tells About A Different School That Teaches And Develops Thoughtfulness In Students Apart From The Teaching Syllabus.

Every Student Has To Experience A Day As A Differently-Abled Person. Such An Education Seems To Have A Great Impact On The Students And The Author.

The School Of Miss Beam

The author had heard a lot about Miss Beam’s school. When he finally had the chance to visit the school, he saw a twelve-year-old girl with a bandage covering her eyes.

She was being led around the flower beds by a little boy who was four years younger than her. She had stopped walking and to the author, it seemed that she was asking the boy about him. After the boy described the appearance of the author to her, they moved on.

Then, the author got a chance to meet Miss Beam. She was a kind, authoritative,understanding, middle-aged lady with a plump figure and grey hair.

Read And Learn More NCERT Solutions for Class 6 English Literature

The Teaching Methods of Miss Beam

The author asked Miss Beam about her teaching methods which he had heard were simple. Miss Beam told him that the children were only taught important things such as simple spelling, adding, subtracting, multiplying, writing, reading, and having interesting talks.

She told the author that the real aim of the school was to teach students to be thoughtful, kind, and responsible. Then, she asked the author to look outside the window. The View Outside the Window

When the writer looked outside the window from Miss Beam’s office, he saw a large garden and playgrounds along with many happy children. Though the children were cheerful, he was sad to notice that some of the children were not healthy or active.

He remarked about seeing the blindfolded girl and added that he could see two more girls with sarne problems in their eyes. He also noticed a girl with a crutch watching others play.

NCERT Solutions for Class 6 English Chapter 5

Miss Beam’s Learning Methods

Miss Beam Informed The Author That The Girl With The Crutch Was Not Lame And That It Was Her Lame Day. Neither Were The Other Children Blind, Deaf Or Dumb.

The Author Was Surprised. So, Miss Beam Explained The System Of Her School In Which Every Child Had A Blind Day, a Deaf Day, A Dumb Day, A Lame Day, And A Injured Day In Every Term.

This Helped The Children Learn About The Misfortune Of The Differently-Abled People. On Their Blind Day, The Children Were Blindfolded During The Night So They Would Wake Up Blind And Need The Help Of Their Friends In Every Small Task.

She Added That Other Children Are Given The Duty Of Helping Them And Leading Them About.

The Most Difficult Days

Miss Beam Assured The Author That The Children Were Kind To Each Other And Treated These Activities As A Game. As A Result Of This, Even The Most Careless Child Would Realise The misfortunes of Differently-Abled People At The End Of The Day.

She Further Remarked That Although The Blind Day Was The Most Difficult, For Some Children The Dumb Day Was The Hardest Because Their Mouths Could Not Be Covered.

So, They Had To Control Their Desire To Speak. It Was A Difficult Test Of Will-Power.

The Author Talked To The Students

Miss Beam Told The Author To Talk To The Students Himself And Led Hirn To See The Girl With A Bandage Over Her Eyes. He Asked If She Ever Looked Secretly From Under Her Blindfold.

The Girl Strongly Disagreed And Said That Peeping Would Mean Cheating.

She Told The Author That Being Blind Was The Worst Because She Was Always Worried That She Would Hit Something. She Was Always Relieved To Be Able To Just Sit Down.

She Said That Although The Helpers Were Kind, She Was Going To Be A Better Helper Because She Would Be Even More Careful. The Children Who Had Already Been Blind Were The Best Helpers.

A Walk In The Garden

The Author Led The Blindfolded Girl On A Walk Through The Garden. The Girl Told The Author That He Has To Tell Her About Things And That She Would Be Very Happy When The Day Is Over.

She Added That Jumping Around On A Crutch Would Be Fun, But Having An Arm Tied Up Would Make It Difficult To Eat. She Feels That She Would Not Find It Difficult When She Would Be Deaf.

However, She Found Being Blind Very Scary As She Would Get A Headache Thinking That She Would Get Hurt.

Then, The Author Described The Playground And The People He Could See There. She Recognised The Head Girl Millie By The Colour Of Her Hair, Her Blue Skirt, And Her Pink Blouse.

She Also Recognised The Gardener Peter Because The Author Told Her That He Was Tying Up Roses. The Girl On Crutches With Curly Red Hair Was Recognised As Anita.

The Visit Inspired The Author

After The Visit, The Author Discovered That He Was Already Feeling More Thoughtful Than He Had Been Before. He Realised That Describing Things To People Made Them More Interesting.

He Was Sad When He Had To Leave Miss Bearn’s School To Which She Replied That Her System Of Teaching Did U, Ork After All

NCERT Class 6 English Chapter 5 A Different Kind Of School  Word Meaning

Ncert Folder Working With The Text

Question 1. Put These Sentences From The Story In The Right Order And Write Them Out In A Paragraph. Don’t Refer To The Text.

1. I Shall Be So Glad When Today Is Over.
2. Having Legtied Upand Hoppingabouton A Crutch Is Almostfun, I Guess.
3. I Don’t Think I Will Mind Being Deaf For A Day – At Least Not Much.
4. But Being Blind Is So Frightening.
5. Only You Must Tell Me About Things.
6. Let’s Go For A Little Walk.
7. 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 Thing. 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.

Question 2. Answer the following questions.

Question 1. Why do you think the writer visited Miss Beam’s school?
Answer: The writer visited Miss Beam’s school to get an overall experience as he had heard a lot about the school. He wanted to personally see the special teaching method that was being taught there.

Question 2. What was the ‘game ‘ that every child in the school had to play?
Answer: Every child in the school had to play the role of being blind, deaf, dumb, lame, and injured once in a term. It was kind of a game to make them aware of misfortune.

Question 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?
Answer: “Each term every child has one blind day, one lame day, one deaf day, one injured day, and one dumb day.”Being blind was the hardest day because the students were afraid that they might fall or hurt themselves.

A Different Kind of School Question Answers

Question 4. What was the purpose of these special days?
Answer: The purpose of these special days was to make the children understand and learn to appreciate misfortune. By this, they learned to help those who suffered such misfortunes.

Working With Language

Question 1. Match the words and phrases with their meanings in the box below.

Answer:

Question 2. 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 have to exercise their willpower.”

Answer:

1. The writer had heard good reviews about the teaching methods at Miss Beam’s school.
2. The writer found Miss Beam to be a middle-aged and authoritative woman.
3. The writer looked out of the window and saw a large garden.
4. On the dumb day, the children are required to not speak at all. And since children’s mouths can not be bandaged they have to learn to keep quiet on their willpower

Question 3. Given below is a page from a dictionary (from Look at it carefully

1. Find a word that means the same as ghastly. Write down the word and its two meanings.
2. Find a word meaning a part of the school year.
3. Find a word that means examination

Answer:

Question 2. Now make lists of

1. All The Words On The Page (Plus Any More That You Can Think Of) That Begin With Teff-
2. Five Words That May Follow The Last Word On The Page, That.
3. Write Down Your Meaning Of The Word Thank. Then Write Down The Meaning Given In The Dictionary.

Answer:

1. Terrace, Terrible, Terror, Territory, Terrain, Terrorist, Terrestrial, Terrifying.
2. Thatch, Thaw, The, Theme, Theatre.
3. Expressing Gratitude, To Saywe Are Grateful To Someone For Any Help.

Class 6 English Chapter 5 Explanation

Question 4. 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
That Hooded Bat
Twirls Softlyby.
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.

Speaking And Writing

Question 1. Make a short list of things you find difficult to do

For example:

Compare your list with the others in the class. Can you explain why you find these things difficult to do?
Answer: Do this activity in your class

Question 2. 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.
Answer:

1. Index finger: to warn somebody and point something
2. Middle finger: to hold things
3. Ring finger: for putting on the ring
4. Little finger: for making a fist
5. Thumb: to press on things (switches)

NCERT Class 6 English Literature Prose Review Exercise Multiple Choice Questions

Question 1. What does paragraph 1 of the story suggest?

1. Miss Beam’s school was well-known.
2. Miss Beam did not allow visitors to her school.
3. The writer was nervous about meeting Miss Beam.
4. The writer had to travel a long distance to reach Miss Beam’s school.

Answer: 1. Miss Beam’s school was well-known.

Question 2. When the writer arrived at Miss Beam’s school, he saw

1. A Girl Who Was Walking On Crutches.
2. A Boy Whose Eyes Were Covered With A Bandage.
3. A Girl Who Could Not Speak.
4. A Girl Whose Eyes Were Covered With A Bandage.

Answer: 4. a girl whose eyes were covered with a bandage

Question 3. What Does Paragraph 3 Of The Story Mainly Discuss? Competency-Based

1. It Discusses How Miss Beam Taught.
2. It Discusses Miss Beamt’s Appearance.
3. It Discusses What Miss Beam Was Like.
4. It Discusses Miss Beam’s Attitude Towards The Writer.

Answer: 3. It Discusses What Miss Beam Was Like.

Question 4. Read The Given Statements And Choose The Correct Answer

1. Statement 1 The Children Were Made To Understand And A Ppreciate Misfortune.
2. Statement 2each Child Had A Blind Day, Dumb Day, Deaf Day, Or Injured Day.
3. Statement 1 Is Correct But Statement 2 is incorrect.
4. Statement 2 Is Correct But Statement 1 Is Incorrect.
5. Both The Statements Are Correct.
6. Both The Statements Are Incorrect.

Answer: 3. Both The Statements Are Correct.

Question 5. Based On Paragraph 4, Which Of These Statements Best Describes Miss Beam’s Teaching Methods?

1. Students Participated In Interesting Activities.
2. Students Were Encouraged To Read Extensively
3. Students could choose what they wanted to study.
4. Students were provided with the right amount of help.

Answer: 1. Students participated in interesting activities.

CBSE Class 6 English Chapter 5 Notes

Question 6. Read the given statements and choose the correct answer.

1. Statement 1 Miss Beam Had A Unique Teaching Style.
2. Statement 2 The Children Didn’t Like Having To Be Lame Or Dumb For A Day.
3. Statement 1 Is Correct But Statement 2 is Incorrect.
4. Statement 2 Is correct But Statement 1 Is Incorrect.
5. Both The Statements Are Correct. Both The Statements Are Incorrect.

Answer: 1. Statement 1 Is Correct But Statement 2 Incorrect

Question 7. Which word best describes Miss Beam’s reaction to the writer’s observation about the school grounds?

1. Surprised
2. Sarcastic
3. Amused
4. Arrogant

Answer: 3. Amused

Question 8. Arrange the following options in the correct sequence.

1. Miss Beam told the author about her different teaching system.
2. The author saw a blindfolded girl being led by a younger boy
3. The author went on a walk with the blindfolded Eirl
4. The author met the kind and authoritative Miss Beam.

Choose The Correct Option 

1. (1), (2), (3), (5)
2. (5), (3), (2), (1)
3. (2), (4), (1), (3)
4. (3), (2), (4), (1)

Answer: 3. (2), (4), (1), (3)

Question 9. According to the bandaged girl, who were the best helpers during the blind day?

1. Miss Beam and the teachers
2. The people who had already been blind
3. The younger children who had already been deaf
4. The older students who had more experience

Answer: 2. The people who had already been blind

Question 2. ‘l’ in the given extract refers to …….

1. Miss Beam’s friend
2. The author
3. One of Miss Beam’s student
4. Miss Beam’s relative

Answer: 2. The author

Question 3. The teaching methods adopted by Miss Beam were

1. Simple
2. Complicated
3. Boring
4. Outdated

Answer: 1. Simple

Question 4. Miss Beam was kindly and understanding. Which word from the options can replace the underlined word in the above line?

1. Kind
2. Unfriendly
3. Sky
4. Friendly

Answer: 1. Kind

Question 5. Which word from the options is a synonym of

1. Round
2. Delicate
3. Plump
4. Fat

Answer: 2. Delicate

Question 4. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.

“l see some very beautiful grounds,” I said, “and a lot of jolly children. It pains me, though, to see that they are not all so healthy and active-looking.

When I came in, I saw one poor little girl being led about. She has some trouble with her eyes. Now I can see two more with the same difficulty. And there’s a girl with a crutch watching the others at play. She seems to be a hopeless cripple.”

Question 1. Where is ‘l’ looking from in the extract?

1. The window
2. The balcony
3. A terra
4. An airplane

Answer: 1. The window

Question 2. How did some of the children look?

1. Unhealthy
2. Inactive
3. Health
4. Both (1) and (2)

Answer: 4. Both (1) and (2)

Class 6 English A Different Kind of School Summary

Question 3. I can see ……….., more girls on the grounds having trouble with their eyes.

1. Three
2. Five
3. Two
4. Four

Answer: 3. Two

Question 4. “And a lot of jolly children” Which of the following words can replace ‘jolly’ in the above line?

1. Unhappy
2. Tired
3. Inactive
4. Happy

Answer: Happy

Question 5. The word ‘Hopeless’ in the extract means the same as

1. Fortunate
2. Unfortunate
3. Lonely
4. Friendly

Answer: 2. Unfortunat

NCERT Class 6 English Literature Prose Very Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1. Write About The Appearance Of Miss Beam.
Answer: Miss Beam Was A Middle-Aged Lady, Full Of Authority Yet Kindty. Her Hair Was Turning Grey And She Was Plump.

Question 2. What Was The Teaching Methodology Followed In Miss Beam’s School? Dlksha
Answer: The Learning Methods Did Not Contain Just Simple Spelling, Adding, Subtracting, Multiplying And Writing. The Children Had To Learn How To Be A Responsible Citizens.

Question 3. “This Is Only Her Lame Day.” What Does This Mean?
Answer: It Means That The Girl Was Lame Only For That Day As It Was Her Turn To Be Lame For Their Exercise Practice.

Question 4. How Did Children Prepare Themselves For The Blind Day?
Answer: During The Blind Day, The Children’s Eyes Were Bandaged. The Bandage Was Put On Overnight So That They Would Wake Up Blind.

Question 5. Who Are The Helpers In The Story?
Answer: Many Children Are Given the Duty To Help Other Children Who Are Deaf, Dumb, Or Blind For The Day. Such Children Are Called Helpers.

Question 6. Who Is Millie?
Answer: Millie Is The Head Girl Of Miss Beam’s School.

Question 7. Who Was The Tall Girl Walking With Miss Beam? What Was She Wearing? Dlxsha
Answer: Millie Was The Tall Girl Walking With Miss Beam. She Was Wearing A Blue Cotton Skirt And A Pink Blouse’

NCERT Class 6 English Literature Prose Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1. What did the writer see when he arrived at Miss Beam’s school?
Answer: When the writer arrived at Miss Beam’s school, he saw a girl of about 12 years whose eyes were covered with a bandage. She was being led between the flower beds by a little boy.

Question 2. Who was Miss Beam?
Answer: Miss Beam was the owner of the school. She was a middle-aged, woman full of authority, but she was very kind and understanding. Her hair was grey and she had a plump figure. Her school taught students how to become responsible citizens.

Question 3. What did the author see out of the window?
Answer: The author saw beautiful grounds and cheerful children. The children were not looking healthy and active. He saw girls with poor eyesight and other problems.

Question 4. How were the children in Miss Beam’s school made to appreciate and understand misfortune?
Answer: The children in Miss Beam’s school were made to appreciate and understand misfortune by sharing in misfortune. Each term, every child had one blind day, one lame day, one deaf day, one injured day, and one dumb day.

Question 5. What used to happen on a blind day?
Answer: During the blind day, students’ eyes were bandaged completely and they were not allowed to peep. The bandage was put on overnight so they woke up blind.

Question 6. Why was the dumb day the most difficult?
Answer: The dumb day was the most difficult because a bandage could not be put on the children’s mouths. So, they had to exercise their willpower to be silent throughout the day.

Question 7. Who were Peter and Anita?
Answer: Peter was the gardener at Miss Beam’s school. He was hundreds of years old. Anita was a student at the school who had curly red hair and was using crutches that day.

Question 8. Which statement by the girl proves that Miss Beam’s idea was working?
Answer: The statement “That would be cheating. But I had no idea that it was awful to be blind.” by the girl proves that Miss Beam’s idea was working

NCERT Class 6 English Literature Prose Long Answer Type Questions

Question 1. What Was The Theme Of The Education System Followed In Miss Beam’s School?
Answer: The Theme Of Miss Beam’s School Was To Teach Students About The Misfortunes That One Faces In One’s Lives. This Was Done By Introducing Various Days Like Blind Day Where The Children Used To Move Around With Blindfolds And Others Students Used To Help Them.

Similarly, There Were Lame Day, Dumb Day, Injured Day And Deaf Day. This Method Helped To Develop A Sense Of Responsibility In The Students Who Were Helping Each Other. They Became More Caring And Thoughtful After Going Through The Misfortunes.

Question 2. Who Was Ten Times More Thoughtful Than Ever? Give Reasons.
Answer: The Writer, Who Visited Miss Beam’s School, Discovered That He Had Become Ten Times More Thoughtful After Getting First-Hand Experience with the School. He Saw A Girl Whose Eyes Were Covered With A Bandage And She Was Being Led By A Little Boy.

He Was Told That It Was Her Blind Day. The Writer Understood That In The School Every Child Is Made To Undergo Some Kind Of Suffering To Understand Misfortune.

Many Children Were Given The Duty Of Helping The Other Children Who Were Blind, Deaf, Dumb, And Lame For A Day. The Writer Learnt A Lot From Their Experience.

Question 3. Do You Think The Teaching Methods Of Miss Beam’s School Were Correct? Give Reasons To Support Your Answer.
Answer: Yes, The Teaching Methods Of Miss Beams Were Correct And Appropriate. Each Term, Every Child Had One Blind Day, One Lame Day, One Deaf Day, One Injured Day, And One Dumb Day In The School.

This Method Would Make Them Undergo Pain And Suffering And This Is How They Would Understand Misfortune. The Children Needed Help With Everything And Other Children Were Given The Duty Of Helping Them And Leading Them About. All The Children Learned Many Things with this teaching technique. This would make them responsible and better citizens.