Circle: NCERT Class 1 English Story (Marigold Unit 5)

etmantra13 Jun 20209 min read

This gentle story shows how much you can draw with one simple shape. Children watch Mohini learn from her grandmother, and they will want to pick up a pencil and try it straight away.

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From the NCERT English book Marigold for Class 1, unit 5. NCERT’s newer Class 1 book is Mridang, but many schools still teach Marigold.

Watch: Circle

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

Shape and colour words: circle, red, blue, green, yellow
Describing things as big or small
Following simple steps to draw something
Telling a short story in order with 'first', 'then' and 'next'

What the story is about

Mohini is sitting with her grandmother. Grandmother draws a circle and asks Mohini to draw one too, and she does. Then Grandmother adds three lines to make a ball, and Mohini copies her. Next, Grandmother adds a zigzag line to make a balloon, and Mohini claps with joy.

Mohini draws many circles, big and small, in red, blue, green and yellow, and adds zigzag lines to make lots of balloons. When Grandmother asks what else she can draw with a circle, Mohini draws a wheel, a moon, a sun, a rabbit and her own face.

New words, with Hindi meanings

circle: a perfectly round shape (हिंदी: गोला)
grandmother: your father's or mother's mother (हिंदी: दादी / नानी)
lines: long thin marks (हिंदी: लकीरें)
zigzag: a line that goes sharply up and down (हिंदी: टेढ़ी-मेढ़ी)
balloon: a thin rubber bag filled with air (हिंदी: गुब्बारा)
clapped: hit hands together to show joy (हिंदी: ताली बजाई)
joy: a big happy feeling (हिंदी: खुशी)
wheel: a round thing that turns to help vehicles move (हिंदी: पहिया)

Explained in Hindi

If your child finds the English hard, watch this explanation of the story and its word meanings in Hindi, then go back to the English video.

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.

Who was Mohini sitting with?
What did Grandmother add to the circle to make a balloon?
Which things did Mohini draw using circles at the end?
What round things can you see in this room?

Answers for parents

Mohini was sitting with her grandmother.
She added a zigzag line to the circle.
She drew a wheel, a moon, a sun, a rabbit and her own face.
For example: I can see a clock, a plate and a coin. They are all round.

Grammar corner: Describing words: big and small

Some words tell us how something looks. 'Big' and 'small' tell us the size of a thing. We put them just before the thing we are talking about.

Mohini drew a big red balloon.
Grandmother gave her a small pencil.
The sun is a big yellow circle in the sky.

Practice at home

Fill in the blank: Grandmother added a ___ line to make a balloon.
Match: three lines on a circle → ? ; a zigzag line on a circle → ? (ball / balloon)
Say aloud: name two round things at home, like this: 'The ___ is round.'

Answers: 1. zigzag · 2. Three lines make a ball; a zigzag line makes a balloon. · 3. For example: The plate is round. The bangle is round.

Try this

Draw circles together. Start with a plain circle, then turn it into a ball, a balloon, a sun and a face, just like Mohini. Then walk around the house and find round things, such as a plate, a clock, a coin or a bangle.

Tip for parents

Draw a circle and say, “यह गोला है. This is a circle.” Each time you add lines, say what it became in Hindi first, then in English: गेंद, ball; गुब्बारा, balloon. If your child says “red गुब्बारा”, that is fine; smile, repeat “red balloon” and praise the try.

Questions parents ask

Who are the characters in Circle?

The story has two characters: a girl named Mohini and her grandmother, who teaches her to draw with circles.

What does Mohini draw with circles in the story?

With Grandmother's help she draws a ball and many balloons. On her own she then draws a wheel, a moon, a sun, a rabbit and her own face.

Which NCERT book is Circle from?

Circle is Unit 5 of Marigold, NCERT's older English book for Class 1. The newer NCERT English books are Mridang for Class 1–2 and Santoor for Class 3–5.

Learn every Class 1 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 →