NCERT Solutions for Class 6 English Unit 4 Sports and Wellness Chapter 02 The Winner

Let Us Do These Activities Before We Read

Question 1. Look at this picture.
(a) What are these children doing?
(b) Where do you think they are?
(c) What is the time of the day?
Answer: Here are my observations:

(a) The kids are having fun outdoors. One girl is running around, two boys are running after soap bubbles, and another boy is sitting down blowing those bubbles.
(b) They look like they are in a park or a green garden, since we can see grass, colorful flowers, and plenty of open space.
(c) It appears to be late afternoon or early evening because we can see long shadows on the ground, which means the sun is setting.
In simple words: The picture shows kids playing with bubbles in a park during the evening when the sun is going down.

Exam Tip: When describing a picture, look for clues like shadows to tell the time of day, and details like flowers to identify the place.

Question 2. Discuss the given questions with your classmates and teacher. You may begin your sentences with—
I go to ...
I play with ...
The place I go to for playing ...
I like playing ...
Sometimes I come back ...
(a) When do you go to play after school?
(b) Who do you play with?
(c) Where do you go to play in the evening?
(d) Which games do you like playing?
(e) When do you come back home?
Answer: Here are my personal answers:

(a) I go to play outside at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, or sometimes as soon as I complete my homework.
(b) I play with the kids living in my neighborhood, or with my brothers and sisters in our backyard.
(c) The place I go to for playing is the nearby playground or the open park close to our building.
(d) I like playing football, and I also love games like hide-and-seek with my friends.
(e) Sometimes I come back home around 6 PM, or when the streetlights turn on as it gets dark.
In simple words: This helps us talk about our daily routine of playing outdoors, including the times, places, friends, and games we enjoy.

Exam Tip: Use the sentence starters provided in the question to structure your spoken and written answers smoothly.

Let Us Read

Let Us Discuss

Question 1. Read the given lines from the poem. Write the meaning of the lines by identifying the words/expressions in them.
Answer: Here is the completed table showing the meanings:

In simple words: These rows explain poetic lines about a child playing by a stream, running fast, watching night fall, and seeing shadows grow.

Exam Tip: Use the clues in brackets to help you explain poetic descriptions in simple, plain language.

Question 2. Read the poem. Complete the following based on the poem.
Answer: The filled words are: ball, evening, field, fast, black, aching, and playing.

The completed paragraph is:
The children play ball in the evening in the neighbour's field. They run so fast that they run out of breath. They continue to play till the evening when the blue sky turns black, and the trees are not clearly visible. They can feel their feet aching, now that it is cold. Finally, they stop playing and go home as it is night.
In simple words: This paragraph summarizes the poem about children playing with a ball in a field until it gets cold and dark at night.

Exam Tip: Keep the sequence of the poem in mind to fill in the missing nouns, adjectives, and action words correctly.

Let Us Think and Reflect

Question. Read the given lines and answer the questions that follow.
(a) We run so fast
I
can't
even
catch
my
breath.
(i) Complete the sentence given below with the correct option.
The speaker needs to catch her breath because _________.
a. everyone decides to walk | b. all the friends wish to go home | c. running fast results in being breathless | d. they need to do breathing exercises
(ii) Is the speaker alone? Why do you say so?
(iii) What does the pattern in the lines tell us?
(b) When blue dark turns to black,
cold grass aches our feet,
trees creep close —
game's over.
Night wins!
(i) Give one reason why the grass is cold.
(ii) Complete the sentence suitably.
The children's feet are aching because _________.
(iii) Why does 'Night' win?
Answer:
(a)
(i) c. running fast results in being breathless.
(ii) No, the speaker has friends with them. We can tell because the poem uses words like 'we' and 'our', which means there is a group playing together.
(iii) Writing each word on a new line makes the poem look like someone taking short, gasping breaths. It shows how out of breath the child feels after running.
(b)
(i) The grass is cold because the sun has gone down, and the night air has made the ground chilly.
(ii) the grass is cold and they have been running around for a very long time.
(iii) Night wins because it has become completely dark, which forces the children to stop playing and go inside.
In simple words: The children are out of breath from running together, and they have to go home because the cold, dark night has ended their game.

Exam Tip: When analyzing unique poetic structures (like vertical single-word lines), think about how they match the physical feelings of the character.

Let Us Learn

Question 1. Read the information given in the table and see what the poet has done in the poem 'The Winner'. Now, try to write some examples of your own for both. Use your imagination when creating these examples.
Answer: Here are creative examples of both poetic styles:

1. Repeating words to show continuous movement or effort:
* The heavy rain poured, poured, poured from the dark clouds.
* The little frog jumped, jumped, jumped across the muddy path.

2. Using human qualities for non-human things (Personification):
* The cold winter wind whistled and sang through the tall trees.
* The friendly clock ticked and whispered all through the quiet night.
In simple words: We can repeat words to show actions happening over and over, or give human qualities to things like the wind or stars to write creative poetry.

Exam Tip: To write personification, think of a human action (like singing, dancing, or playing) and apply it to a natural object like the sun, wind, or flowers.

Question 2. The poet has talked about a creek in the poem. You now know that creek is a water body. Complete the word web given below by writing which other water bodies you can think of. Discuss with your teacher.
Answer: Other water bodies we can include are: River, Sea, Lake, Pond, Ocean, and Bay.
In simple words: Water bodies are different natural places where water is found, ranging from small ponds to giant oceans.

Exam Tip: Think of water sources in order of size, from a small pond to a vast ocean, to help you complete word webs easily.

Let Us Listen

Question. Listen to the riddles and write which sport is being referred to in the table below.
Try to create a riddle about your favourite game/sport/activity. Share your riddles with your classmates. Let's see who all are able to guess it right.
Answer: Here are the answers to the sports riddles:

1. Football
2. Kabaddi
3. Swimming
4. Yoga

Here are some new, creative riddles you can share with your class:

Riddle 1:
I use a light racquet and a feathery shuttlecock,
We hit it back and forth over a net in a block.
If it drops on your side, I score a neat point,
Playing indoor or outdoor, we move every joint.
What sport am I? (Answer: Badminton)

Riddle 2:
We bounce a big orange ball on a wooden floor,
Dribbling past defenders, we aim to score.
Throwing it high through a circular net,
It is a fast, fun team sport, you can bet!
What sport am I? (Answer: Basketball)
In simple words: The matching sports are football, kabaddi, swimming, and yoga. We can write our own riddles about badminton and basketball for our friends to guess.

Exam Tip: Look for key equipment words (like 'wickets', 'shuttlecock', or 'pool') in a riddle to identify the sport instantly.

Let Us Speak

Question. Enact the roles of a parent and a child.
Situation 1: Coming home late after play. (Parent upset/Child explaining)
Situation 2: Sharing details of the games you played. (Child excited/Parent asking details with interest)
Situation 3: Bring a new friend home after playtime. (Child introducing/Parent welcoming)
Answer: Here are three simple dialogue drafts for roleplay in class:

Situation 1: Coming home late after play
* Parent (worried and cross): 'Where have you been? You were supposed to be home before sunset!'
* Child (apologetic): 'I am so sorry, Mom. We were having a football match and completely forgot to check the time. It was a really exciting game. I promise to watch the clock next time!'

Situation 2: Sharing details of the games played
* Child (jumping with joy): 'Dad! I had the best time today! We played hide-and-seek, and I found a perfect hiding spot where nobody could see me!'
* Parent (smiling): 'Wow, that sounds great! Where did you hide, and who was looking for you?'
* Child (excited): 'I squeezed right behind the thick bushes near the gate. Rahul was looking, and he walked past me three times without seeing me!'

Situation 3: Bringing a new friend home
* Child (proudly): 'Mom, meet my new friend, Samir. We played basketball together in the park today.'
* Parent (warmly): 'Hello, Samir! Welcome to our home. I am glad you both had fun. Would you like some biscuits and fruit juice?'
* Samir (politely): 'Yes, thank you so much, Aunty!'
In simple words: These dialogues show how kids can politely apologize to parents, happily share their playtime successes, and introduce new friends.

Exam Tip: When writing dialogues, use simple exclamation marks and brackets with action words (like 'worried' or 'excited') to show feelings.

Let Us Write

Question. Write a paragraph about your playtime, using the clues given below.
• What time do I go out to play?
• Who do I play with?
• What games do we play?
• Which is my favourite game?
• What do we gain from playing together?
• When do we finish playing and go home?
Now, give a title to your paragraph.
Answer: Here is a short paragraph based on the clues:

The Joy of Evening Playtime

Every afternoon around 4 o'clock, I finish my homework and rush outside to play with my neighborhood friends. We always meet at the open playground near my house. We love playing many different games like tag, badminton, and football. My absolute favorite sport is football because I enjoy passing the ball and scoring goals with my team. Playing together keeps us active, healthy, and happy. It also teaches us how to cooperate with others, follow rules, and support each other. When it gets dark around 6 PM and the streetlights turn on, we stop playing and walk back home, excited for another fun day tomorrow.
In simple words: This paragraph is a short story about enjoying outdoor games with neighborhood friends every evening and learning teamwork.

Exam Tip: Always write a short, catchy title at the top of your paragraph and answer all the clue questions in a logical order.

Let Us Explore

Question. There are many indigenous games in India. Kho-kho is an example of an indigenous game. Indigenous games are native to a region. Find out some native games of your state and other parts of India. Learn the rules of one such game and play it with your classmates under the supervision of your teacher.
Answer: Here are some popular native and traditional games played in India:

* Kabaddi (Across India): A highly physical team game where a 'raider' runs into the opponent's area, tags their players, and tries to return safely to their own side without getting caught, all while holding their breath.
* Kho-Kho (Origin: Maharashtra): A fast tag game where one team sits on their knees in a central line in alternating directions, while the 'chasers' run to tag the runners of the other team.
* Gilli-Danda (Across India): An ancient street game played with two sticks - a long one called a 'danda' and a small sharp one called a 'gilli'. The player uses the danda to flip and hit the gilli as far as possible.
* Lagori / Pittu (Across India): A fun outdoor game where a pile of seven flat stones is knocked down with a soft ball. One team tries to rebuild the stone tower while the other team throws the ball to tag them out.
* Mallakhamb (Origin: Maharashtra): A spectacular gymnastic sport where athletes perform complex yoga poses and acrobatics on a vertical wooden pole or a thick hanging rope.
In simple words: India has many traditional outdoor games like Kabaddi, Kho-Kho, Gilli-Danda, and Lagori that require speed, strength, and great team coordination.

Exam Tip: Identify regional sports and understand their basic equipment and gameplay, as they represent the cultural heritage of our country.

Learning the Rules of Kho-Kho

* Objective: To tag as many opposing runners as possible in the shortest time.
* Players: Played between two teams of 12 players each (9 on the field during the match).
* Field: A rectangular field with a center line and two poles at each end.
* Gameplay (Chasers and Runners):
- One team chases while the other team runs.
- Eight chasers sit in a row on the center line, facing opposite directions alternately.
- The runners enter the field in batches of three.
* Tagging: The active chaser tries to tag the runners by touching them with their hand. An active chaser can hand over their turn to a sitting teammate by touching their back and saying "Kho!"
* Rules for Chasers: Chasers must move only in the direction they are facing and cannot change direction once they start running. They can only switch sides by running around the end poles.
* Duration: The game is played in two innings, and each inning has nine minutes of chasing and running.
* Winning: The team that tags the most runners in the shortest time wins the match.