If You're Happy and You Know It: NCERT Class 2 Poem (Marigold Unit 3)

etmantra13 Jun 20206 min read

This is a song children can do with their whole body. Each verse adds an action, so it builds listening skills and gets everyone moving and laughing.

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From the NCERT English book Marigold for Class 2, unit 3. NCERT’s newer Class 2 book is Mridang, but many schools still teach Marigold.

Watch: If You're Happy and You Know It

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

Action words: clap, nod, stamp
Body words: hands, head, feet
Listening and following instructions
Showing a feeling with your body and voice

What the poem is about

The poem is an action song about showing that you are happy. Each verse tells you to do one thing: clap your hands, nod your head, stamp your feet and say “ha ha”.

In the last verse you do all four actions together. The song is full of fun and energy, and it teaches action words in a way children remember.

New words, with Hindi meanings

happy: feeling good and glad (हिंदी: खुश)
clap: to hit your hands together to make a sound (हिंदी: ताली बजाना)
nod: to move your head up and down (हिंदी: सिर हिलाना)
stamp: to put your foot down hard on the ground (हिंदी: पैर पटकना)
feet: more than one foot (हिंदी: पैर)
show: to let others see something (हिंदी: दिखाना)

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 should you do first if you are happy?
What do you do with your head?
What do you do in the last verse?
What makes you feel happy?

Answers for parents

Clap your hands.
Nod your head.
You do all four actions together: clap your hands, nod your head, stamp your feet and say “ha ha”.
For example: I feel happy when I play with my cousins on Sunday.

Grammar corner: Action words (verbs)

Action words tell us what to do. Clap, nod and stamp are action words. In the song, each action word is followed by the body part that does it.

Clap when your friend wins the race.
Nod if you want more milk.
Stamp your feet to shake off the mud.

Practice at home

Fill in the blank: ___ your hands.
Match the action to the body part: nod, stamp, clap → hands, head, feet.
Make up a new line: “If you’re happy and you know it, ___.”

Answers: 1. Clap · 2. nod – head; stamp – feet; clap – hands · 3. Sample: touch your toes.

Try this

Sing the song together and do every action. Then make up new verses with your child, such as “wave your hand” or “touch your nose”. Let your child be the leader and choose the action for everyone else.

Tip for parents

Sing one verse in Hindi first, like “अगर तुम खुश हो तो ताली बजाओ”, then sing the same verse in English. Doing the action while saying the word helps the English stick. If your child mixes the two languages, keep singing and praise them.

Questions parents ask

What is the poem If You're Happy and You Know It about?

It is an action song about showing that you are happy. Each verse adds an action, and the last verse puts them all together.

What actions are in If You're Happy and You Know It?

There are four: clap your hands, nod your head, stamp your feet and say “ha ha”.

Which book is If You're Happy and You Know It from?

It is Unit 3 of NCERT’s older Marigold book for Class 2. The newer NCERT books are Mridang for Class 1–2 and Santoor for Class 3–5.

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 →