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NCERT Solutions for Class 6th English Chapter 3 What a Bird Thought — Let us explore

Book page 91 & 92 Updated on2026-09-19

Q1.
The bird's first home was made of a shell. Later its home was among leaves and made of straw. Look at your home carefully and make a list of all the materials it is made of.
Answer

Walk through your home once with a pencil and note the material of every part — floor, walls, roof, doors, windows, kitchen.

Part of the homeWhat it is made of
Foundation and wallsBricks, cement, sand, stone; some village homes use mud and cow dung
RoofConcrete slab, or tiles, tin sheets or thatch
FloorCement, stone slabs, tiles or polished mud
Doors and windowsWood, iron or aluminium, with glass panes
Inside the wallsElectric wires, water pipes of plastic or copper
FinishPlaster, whitewash or paint
Tip: Homes differ from place to place. A house in Rajasthan may be of stone, one in Assam of bamboo and thatch, one in Kerala of laterite and tiles. Write what your home is actually made of.
Q2.
Why do you think our homes are not made of straw?
Answer

Because straw cannot do the work a human home has to do.

  • It is weak. A straw wall cannot carry a roof, a fan, a cupboard or a second floor.
  • It burns easily. One spark from a stove or a lamp could destroy the whole house.
  • It does not last. Rain rots it, wind blows it away, and insects and rats eat into it.
  • It is not safe or private. Straw cannot hold a lock, a door or a window.
  • We need more. A bird needs only a bowl to hold eggs. We need space for cooking, sleeping, studying, water and electricity.
But do not laugh at straw: thatched roofs of straw are still used in many Indian villages because they are cheap, and they keep a house wonderfully cool in summer. Straw is a poor wall, not a poor material.
Q3.
If you had to own a home of your choice, what would it look like and what materials would you like to use?
Answer

Describe your home in three parts — what it looks like, what it is made of, and why you chose those materials.

Sample answer: My home would be a small two-room house with a sloping tiled roof and a wide veranda in front. The walls would be of mud bricks with a coat of lime, because mud walls stay cool in summer and warm in winter and cost very little. The doors and window frames would be of neem wood, since termites do not eat neem. The roof would be of clay tiles, with two glass tiles to let the sunlight in so that we need no lamp during the day. There would be a rainwater tank behind the kitchen and a neem tree in the courtyard for shade — a house that is comfortable without harming anything around it.
What makes this answer strong: every material comes with a reason. ‘I want a big house with marble floors’ describes a wish; ‘mud brick because it stays cool’ describes a choice.
Q4.
How is a home different from a house? Discuss with your classmates and teacher.
Answer

A house is a building. A home is the life inside it.

HouseHome
What it isA structure of bricks, wood and cementA place where a family lives together and feels it belongs
What it givesShelter from sun, rain and coldLove, safety, memories, a sense of ‘mine’
Can it be empty?Yes — an empty house is still a houseNo — without people it stops being a home
How we speak of it‘They are building a house.’‘I am going home.’ / ‘Make yourself at home.’

That is why a tent, a boat or a straw nest can be a home, while a big empty building is only a house. In the poem, the little straw nest was truly the bird's home, because its mother was there.

Proverb to remember: ‘A house is made of bricks and stones; a home is made of love alone.’
Q5.
Look at the different kinds of nests and homes the birds make. Have you seen any? Discuss these type of nests with your teacher and classmates.
Answer

Four kinds of nests are pictured on page 92:

PictureWhat kind of nest it isWhich birds build it
Top leftA cup-shaped nest of twigs and grass, resting in the fork of a branch, with white eggs in itSparrow, bulbul, crow, myna
Top rightLong bottle-shaped nests woven of grass, hanging from a branchBaya, the weaver bird — the male weaves it strand by strand
Bottom leftA hollow inside a tree trunkOwl, woodpecker, barbet, parrot
Bottom rightA pouch made by stitching two big green leaves togetherThe tailorbird, which sews the leaves with plant fibre using its beak as a needle
For the discussion: Which of these have you seen near your home? A baya colony hangs over water or over a field; a tailorbird's nest is hidden low down in a garden bush; you can find a hollow-nest bird by watching a dead tree for a few minutes.
Why the shapes differ: Each nest suits its builder. Hanging nests keep snakes and squirrels away; a tree hollow is safe from rain and hawks; stitched leaves hide the nest so well that you may walk past it a hundred times. Never touch a nest you find — the parents may abandon it.
Q6.
Look at the list of some workers who build houses. Find out the work they do and write, as shown in the example. You can think of other workers and add them too. (Example: mason — lays bricks and stones; 1. painter 2. electrician 3. plumber 4. carpenter 5. architect 6. ___ 7. ___)
WorkersTheir work
Example: masonlays bricks and stones
1. painter 
2. electrician 
3. plumber 
4. carpenter 
5. architect 
6. 
7. 
The table on page 92, reproduced with the example the book has already filled in.
Answer
WorkersTheir work
Example: masonlays bricks and stones
1. painterpaints the walls, doors and windows
2. electricianfits the wires, switches, fans and lights
3. plumberfits the water pipes, taps and drains
4. carpentermakes the doors, windows and furniture out of wood
5. architectdesigns the building and draws its plan
6. welderjoins iron rods, grills and gates with heat
7. tile-layerfixes the tiles on the floors and bathroom walls
Other workers you may add: labourer (carries bricks, sand and cement), engineer (checks that the building is strong and safe), glazier (fits the glass panes), roofer (puts up the roof), blacksmith (makes iron fittings), contractor (arranges the workers and the material).
Something to notice: A bird builds its whole home alone, with only its beak. A human house needs a dozen different people, each with a special skill — and that is why we should respect every one of them.
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