NCERT Solutions for Class 5th English Chapter 3 B. The spinning circle — Let us Learn

Book page 29 Updated on2026-09-19

Q1.

Work in pairs. One of you moves a finger around in the circle. When your partner says ‘Stop’, perform the action indicated by the segment that the finger lands on. Segment: Provide a new title for the poem.

Answer

How the game works: The circle on page 29 is cut into five slices. One partner moves a finger round and round. The other says “Stop”. Whichever slice the finger is on, you do that task. Then you swap.

This slice asks for a new title. A good title must do two things: it must fit the whole poem, not just one line, and it must make somebody want to read it.

Sample answers — any one of these works:

The Bow that Bridges Heaven — taken straight from the poem’s best line.
A Road from Earth to Sky — this one tells you what the rainbow looks like.
Prettier Far — these two words come twice in the poem, so they hold it together.
The Sky’s Own Bridge — short, and it gives away the surprise nicely.
Boats, Bridges and a Rainbow — this one lists the three pictures in the poem.

How to judge your title: Read your title, then read the poem. If somebody who has never seen the poem could guess what it is about, your title is a good one.

Q2.

Segment: Find two pairs of words from the poem that rhyme.

Answer

Two easy pairs are: seas — these and please — trees.

Rhyming words are words that end in the same sound.

Pair	The two lines	The sound they share
seas — these	“And ships sail on the seas;” / “Are prettier far than these.”	both end in “-eez”
please — trees	“As pretty as you please;” / “And overtops the trees,”	both end in “-eez”
trees — these	“And overtops the trees,” / “Is prettier far than these.”	both end in “-eez”
please — these	“As pretty as you please;” / “Is prettier far than these.”	both end in “-eez”

Why they all rhyme with one another: Every one of these four words ends in the same “-eez” sound, even though they are spelt in three different ways — eas, ease, ees. That is the big lesson of rhyme: your ear decides, not your eye.

Which lines rhyme? In stanza one, lines 2 and 4 rhyme. In stanza two, lines 2, 4 and 6 rhyme. Lines 1, 3 and 5 do not rhyme with anything — and that is fine.

Q3.

Segment: Share the images that come to your mind while reading the poem.

Answer

An image here means a picture that the words paint in your head. Say what you see, and say which words made you see it.

Sample answer:

A small wooden boat on a river. The words “Boats sail on the rivers” put me on a river bank, watching a boatman push off with a long pole.
A tall ship on the open sea. “Ships sail on the seas” makes me see white sails and blue water all round, with no land anywhere.
White clouds moving slowly across a blue sky. The word sail is used for the clouds too, so I see the sky as a huge sea and the clouds as boats floating on it.
A stone bridge over a river. “There are bridges on the rivers” makes me picture the red bridge in the book’s own painting, with children rowing underneath.
A rainbow arching over the trees. “Overtops the trees” makes me look up, above the treetops, at a coloured arch.
A wide coloured road going up into the sky. This is the strongest picture of all — “builds a road from earth to sky”.

How to answer this well: Do not just say “I see a rainbow”. Name the words that made you see it. That shows you have really read the poem.

Q4.

Segment: Find those words from the poem which have been repeated.

Answer

The poem is only ten lines long, but several words come back more than once.

Word	How many times	Where
sail	3	“Boats sail”, “ships sail”, “clouds that sail”
and	3	“And ships”, “And overtops”, “And builds”
on	3	“on the rivers” (twice), “on the seas”
rivers	2	“Boats sail on the rivers”, “bridges on the rivers”
bridges	2	“There are bridges”, “the bow that bridges heaven”
sky	2	“across the sky”, “from earth to sky”
but	2	“But clouds”, “But the bow”
prettier · far · than · these	2 each	“Are prettier far than these.” and “Is prettier far than these.”

Why the poet repeats them — this is the real answer:

“sail” three times ties boats, ships and clouds together. Because of that one word, the sky starts to feel like a sea.
“But” at the start of the third line of each stanza is the turning point. Both times it means, “now here is something better”.
“prettier far than these” at the end of both stanzas is the poem’s message, said twice so you cannot miss it.

Repeating a word in a poem is not carelessness. It is the poet holding the poem together.

Q5.

Segment: Name a musical instrument that you will use if you have to sing the poem.

Answer

Sample answer: I would use the santoor — the very instrument our book is named after.

A santoor is a flat wooden box with many metal strings across it. You strike the strings with two light wooden hammers. The sound is soft and shining, like drops of water falling one after another. That suits a poem about rain, rivers and a rainbow.

Other good choices, and why:

Instrument	Why it suits this poem
Santoor	Its sound is like falling water drops — and a rainbow is made of water drops.
Bansuri (flute)	Long, smooth notes, like clouds sailing slowly across the sky.
Sitar	Its notes slide up and down, the way a rainbow curves.
Harmonium	Easy to sing along with, so the whole class can join in.
Tabla or dholak	Keeps a slow, steady beat, so nobody rushes the lines.
Guitar	Simple chords under a simple tune.

How to answer: Name one instrument, and then give one reason in one sentence. “I would use the flute, because its sound is soft and slow, like the clouds in the poem.” That is a complete answer.

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