If I Were an Apple: NCERT Class 1 English Poem (Marigold Unit 6)

etmantra13 Jun 20209 min read

A short, funny poem that makes children giggle. A child imagines being an apple and decides it would not hang on the tree doing nothing. It is a playful way to talk about sharing.

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From the NCERT English book Marigold for Class 1, unit 6. NCERT’s newer Class 1 book is Mridang, but many schools still teach Marigold.

Watch: If I Were an Apple

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

Imagining with “If I were…”
Fruit and tree words: apple, tree, grew
Words for time and feeling: at once, joy
Saying a short, funny poem aloud with actions

What the poem is about

The child in the poem imagines being an apple growing on a tree. Instead of staying up there and making nobody happy, the apple would drop down at once to a nice child.

When it lands, the apple would say “eat me”. The poem is about sharing and giving joy, told in a playful, upside-down way: the apple wants to be eaten.

New words, with Hindi meanings

apple: a round red or green fruit that grows on a tree (हिंदी: सेब)
tree: a tall plant with a trunk, branches and leaves (हिंदी: पेड़)
grew: came up and got bigger (past of grow) (हिंदी: उगा)
drop down: fall from up high (हिंदी: नीचे गिरना)
nice: good and kind (हिंदी: अच्छा)
joy: happiness (हिंदी: खुशी)
at once: right away, without waiting (हिंदी: तुरंत)

Sing and dance

Once your child knows the poem, sing it together with actions. Children who can’t sing yet can still do the moves.

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.

Where does the apple grow?
Would the apple stay on the tree? What would it do?
What would the apple say when it falls down?
If you were a fruit, which fruit would you be? Why?

Answers for parents

The apple grows on a tree.
No, it would not stay on the tree. It would drop down at once to a nice child.
It would say, “Eat me.”
For example: I would be a mango, because everyone loves mangoes in summer.

Grammar corner: Imagining with “If I were…”

We say “If I were…” when we pretend to be something we are not. After it, we say what we would do, often with “I would” or the short form “I'd”. It is a fun way to imagine.

If I were a banana, I would jump into your lunch box.
If I were a tree, I would give shade to everyone.
If I were a bird, I'd fly over the apple tree.

Practice at home

Fill in the blank: If I ___ an apple, I would drop down.
Choose the right word: The apple would fall down (at once / never).
Say aloud: “If I were a ___, I would ___.” Use your favourite fruit.

Answers: 1. were · 2. at once · 3. For example: If I were a grape, I would roll into your hand.

Try this

Hold a ball or a real apple high up and say the poem together. On “drop down”, let it fall gently into your child's hands. Then swap: your child is the tree and you catch the apple. Try it with other fruits your child likes: “If I were a mango…”

Tip for parents

First ask in Hindi: “अगर तुम सेब होते, तो क्या करते?” Let your child answer in Hindi or in a mix, then help them say it in English: “If I were an apple, I would…”. Clap for every try; the idea matters more than perfect words.

Questions parents ask

What is the poem If I Were an Apple about?

A child imagines being an apple on a tree. The apple would not stay up there giving no joy; it would drop down to a nice child and say “eat me”.

What is the message of If I Were an Apple?

The poem playfully shows the joy of giving and sharing: the apple wants to make a child happy instead of doing nothing.

Which book is If I Were an Apple from?

It is from NCERT's older Marigold book for Class 1 (Unit 6). 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 →