A Show of Clouds: NCERT Class 2 English Poem (Mridang Unit 4)

etmantra3 Nov 20264 min read

Who has not seen a shape in the clouds? This calm poem turns cloud-watching into a game of imagination that children can play any day.

Open now: the CALP Class 2 English course (Mridang)
Every lesson of Mridang, NCERT’s new book, with read-along videos, new words with Hindi meanings, and listen-and-say practice with a score, made for young children with a parent nearby. ₹999 for the whole year, and “Start here” and the first lesson’s notes are free to try.
See the free lessons and enrol →

From NCERT’s new English book Mridang for Class 2, unit “Life Around Us”. Unit 4.

What your child learns

Words for sky and sea: cloud, sky, sailing
Saying 'When I look up, I see ___'
Colour words for clouds
The 'ck' sound as in 'back' and 'duck'

What the poem is about

A child lies on their back and looks up at the sky. In the white clouds, the child sees a big bear looking down, then a ship sailing on a white sea, and then an elephant waving its trunk.

The child finds it great fun to see whatever they wish in the clouds. The poem celebrates imagination and the simple joy of looking at the sky.

New words, with Hindi meanings

lie: to rest flat on your back (हिंदी: लेटना)
cloud: a white or grey shape floating in the sky (हिंदी: बादल)
bear: a big furry wild animal (हिंदी: भालू)
sailing: moving across water (हिंदी: तैरता हुआ)
sea: a very large area of salty water (हिंदी: समुद्र)
waving: moving up and down or side to side (हिंदी: हिलाते हुए)
trunk: the long nose of an elephant (हिंदी: सूंड)

Talk about it

Ask these aloud after reading or watching. Let your child answer in English if they can, or mix in their home language. Both help.

What does the child do in the poem?
Which animals does the child see in the clouds?
What does the elephant do?
What shapes have you seen in the clouds?

Answers for parents

The child lies on their back and looks up at the clouds.
A bear and an elephant.
The elephant waves its trunk.
For example: I once saw a cloud that looked like a rabbit.

Grammar corner: Saying what you see: 'When I look up, I see ___'

This sentence helps us tell others what we notice. We start with 'When I look...' and finish with what we see. We can change 'up' to 'down' or 'around'.

When I look up, I see a cloud like a fish.
When I look down, I see green grass.
When I look around, I see my friends.

Practice at home

Fill in the blank: The elephant waves its ___.
Say aloud and finish: When I look up at night, I see ___.
Spot the 'ck' words: back, sky, duck, sea, truck.

Answers: 1. trunk · 2. Sample: When I look up at night, I see the moon and stars. · 3. back, duck, truck

Try this

Go outside on a cloudy day, or look out of a window. Lie back or sit comfortably and take turns finding shapes in the clouds. Say each shape in English: 'I see a dog!' If there are no clouds, draw cloud shapes with a finger in the air and guess.

Tip for parents

Look at the sky together and ask in Hindi, 'बादल में क्या दिख रहा है?' Then help your child say it in English, 'I see a bear.' Any answer is right in this game, so praise the imagination as much as the English.

Questions parents ask

What is the poem A Show of Clouds about?

A child lies looking at the sky and imagines shapes in the clouds, like a bear, a ship and an elephant.

What shapes does the child see in A Show of Clouds?

A big white bear, a ship sailing on a white sea, and an elephant waving its trunk.

Is A Show of Clouds in the new NCERT book?

Yes. It is the first chapter of Unit 4 in NCERT's new Mridang book for Class 2.

Learn every Class 2 lesson with CALP

Every lesson of Mridang, NCERT’s new book, with read-along videos, new words with Hindi meanings, and listen-and-say practice with a score, made for young children with a parent nearby. ₹999 for the whole year.

See the free lessons and enrol →