A Watering Rhyme: NCERT Class 4 English Poem (Marigold Unit 7)

etmantra5 May 20216 min read

A short, useful rhyme that teaches children two real gardening tips. After reading it, your child can go and water plants the right way.

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From the NCERT English book Marigold for Class 4, unit 7. NCERT’s newer Class 4 book is Santoor, but many schools still teach Marigold.

Watch: A Watering Rhyme

Play the video three or four times. The first time, just listen. Then point at the pictures, and from the third time, say the lines along with the video. Short, repeated listening is how CALP builds a child’s English.

What your child learns

When to water plants: morning and evening, not noon
Plant words: roots, earth, soak
Giving instructions: 'Water the roots'
A fun way of picturing how plants drink

What the poem is about

The poem says the best times to water flowers are early in the morning or in the evening. Watering at noon, when the sun is high, does not help the flowers. It can even make them die.

It also says to pour the water at the roots, not on top. In a funny line, the poem says flowers keep their 'mouths' where we wear our boots, down at their feet. If we soak the soil around them, the flowers will have water to drink all through the hot day.

New words, with Hindi meanings

noonday: the middle of the day, when the sun is high (हिंदी: दोपहर)
roots: the parts of a plant under the soil that take in water (हिंदी: जड़ें)
soak: make something completely wet (हिंदी: भिगोना)
earth: here, the soil that plants grow in (हिंदी: मिट्टी)
heat: the hotness of the day (हिंदी: गर्मी)
thirsty: needing a drink of water (हिंदी: प्यासा)

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.

When are the best times to water flowers?
What happens if we water flowers at noon?
Where should we pour the water: on the flowers or at the roots? Why?
Who waters the plants at your home or school? When do they do it?

Answers for parents

Early in the morning or in the evening.
It does not help them, and it can even make them die.
At the roots, because that is where flowers take in water, like their mouths.
For example: My mother waters our tulsi plant every morning.

Grammar corner: Giving instructions

When we tell someone what to do, we often start the sentence with the action word, like 'Water' or 'Pour'. This rhyme is full of advice like this. To say what not to do, we start with 'Don't'.

Water the plant in the evening.
Pour the water near the roots.
Don't water the flowers at noon.

Practice at home

Choose the right time to water flowers: (noon / evening)
Fill in the blank: Plants drink water through their ___.
Make an instruction for looking after a plant, starting with an action word.

Answers: 1. evening · 2. roots · 3. For example: Keep the plant in the sunlight.

Try this

Be gardeners for a week. In the evening, let your child water one plant at its roots, soaking the soil around it. Ask them to touch the soil the next morning and tell you if it is still wet. Say the rhyme together while you water.

Tip for parents

While watering a plant together, ask in Hindi: 'पौधे को पानी कब देना चाहिए, और कहाँ डालें?' Then teach the English words 'roots' and 'evening' as you point to them. If your child mixes Hindi and English, that is fine; praise them and say the English once more.

Questions parents ask

What is A Watering Rhyme about?

It gives two tips for watering flowers: water them in the morning or evening, not at noon, and pour the water at the roots instead of on top.

Why should we not water plants at noon?

The poem says watering flowers at noon, when the sun is high, does not help them and can even make them die.

Which book is A Watering Rhyme from?

It is from NCERT's older Marigold book for Class 4 (Unit 7). The newer NCERT books are Mridang for Class 1–2 and Santoor for Class 3–5.

Learn every Class 4 chapter with CALP

Every chapter of Santoor, NCERT’s new book, with notes in English and Hindi, say-it-aloud practice with a score, grammar, speaking and writing practice. ₹1,299 for the whole year.

See the free lessons and enrol →