Fit Body, Fit Mind, Fit Nation: NCERT Class 4 Poem (Santoor Chapter 7)

etmantra3 Nov 20264 min read

Every child has a favourite game or hobby. This happy poem introduces a group of children, each with a special talent, and celebrates the joy of being active.

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From NCERT’s new English book Santoor for Class 4, unit “Fun with Games”. Chapter 7.

What your child learns

Describing words: active, graceful, swift, cheerful
Rhyming words: hockey and rocky, race and pace
Names of games and musical instruments
Learning from mistakes

What the poem is about

The poem describes children doing what they love. Active Anant plays hockey even on rocky ground. Graceful Geeta practises skating and learns from her mistakes. Little Lhamo plays the guitar while a friend joins in on the sitar. Swift Shabana wins a cycle race. The speaker, musical Meena, sings in rhythm.

The feeling is cheerful and full of energy. The poem says that playing is a joy for every girl and boy, and the title reminds us that a fit body and a fit mind make a strong nation.

New words, with Hindi meanings

active: always moving and doing things (हिंदी: फुर्तीला)
rocky: full of stones; uneven (हिंदी: पथरीला)
graceful: moving in a smooth, beautiful way (हिंदी: सुंदर ढंग से चलने वाला)
mistakes: things done wrong (हिंदी: ग़लतियाँ)
proudly: feeling happy about what you did (हिंदी: गर्व से)
swift: very fast (हिंदी: तेज़)
pace: speed (हिंदी: रफ़्तार)
rhythm: a regular beat in music (हिंदी: ताल, लय)

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.

Which game does Anant play?
What musical instruments are in the poem?
Who learns from her mistakes every day?
Which game or hobby do you enjoy the most?

Answers for parents

Anant plays hockey.
The guitar and the sitar.
Geeta, who practises skating.
For example: I enjoy playing kho-kho with my friends after school.

Grammar corner: Describing words (adjectives)

A describing word tells us more about a naming word. In the poem, 'swift' tells us about Shabana and 'graceful' tells us about Geeta. Describing words make our sentences colourful.

Anant is a hardworking hockey player.
Meena has a sweet voice.
Shabana rode a red bicycle in the race.

Practice at home

Find the rhyming word from the poem: race - ___
Choose the describing word: The swift girl won the race.
Make your own name line like 'Active Anant': choose a quality that starts with your name's first letter.

Answers: 1. pace · 2. swift · 3. For example: Kind Kavya / Smart Sohan

Try this

Play 'Name and Quality'. Sit in a circle. Each person says a good quality that starts with the same letter as their name, like 'Happy Harsh', and acts it out. Everyone repeats it. Go round twice and see who remembers all the names.

Tip for parents

Ask in Hindi, 'Tumhe kaunsa khel sabse achha lagta hai?' Then help your child say it in English: 'I like to play ___.' Let them use the Hindi name of a game if they do not know the English; praise them warmly.

Questions parents ask

What is the poem Fit Body, Fit Mind, Fit Nation about?

It describes children enjoying games, skating, music and cycling, and says playing is a joy for every girl and boy.

Which words rhyme in Fit Body, Fit Mind, Fit Nation?

Hockey and rocky, skates and mistakes, guitar and sitar, race and pace, joy and boy.

Who are the children in Fit Body, Fit Mind, Fit Nation?

Anant, Geeta, Lhamo, Shabana and Meena, who speaks in the poem.

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 →