Our Tree: NCERT Class 1 English Poem (Marigold Unit 6)

etmantra13 Jun 20207 min read

This poem tells the whole life of a tree, from a tiny seed to a big home for many creatures. Children enjoy spotting the birds, ants, squirrels and monkeys, and they learn how much a tree gives us.

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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: Our Tree

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

How a seed grows into a tree
Names of creatures: crows, ants, spiders, caterpillars, squirrels, monkeys
Naming words for more than one: branches, ants, swings
Caring for the trees around us

What the poem is about

A little bird eats a tasty berry from a tree, and as it flies, a seed falls to the ground. The rains come, and with rain and sun, a little plant is born.

The plant grows into a tree with long branches. Crows, singing birds, ants, spiders and caterpillars live on it. The tree has fruit, big and small, and the children are told to pick them without falling. Squirrels run and monkeys play, and there are swings on the strong branches. The poem shows that a tree is full of life and gives many gifts.

New words, with Hindi meanings

ripe: ready to eat (हिंदी: पका हुआ)
berry: a small, soft, juicy fruit (हिंदी: बेर)
seed: the small part of a fruit from which a new plant grows (हिंदी: बीज)
branches: the arms of a tree that grow from the trunk (हिंदी: डालियाँ)
caterpillars: small crawling insects that later become butterflies (हिंदी: इल्लियाँ)
webs: thin nets that spiders make (हिंदी: जाले)
perch: sit on a branch, as birds do (हिंदी: डाल पर बैठना)
swings: seats hung from ropes that move back and forth (हिंदी: झूले)

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.

How did the seed fall to the ground?
What helped the little plant to grow?
Name three creatures that live on the tree.
Is there a tree near your home? What lives on it?

Answers for parents

A bird ate a berry from the tree, and as it flew, a seed fell down.
Rain, clouds and sun helped the plant to grow.
Crows, ants and spiders live on the tree. Caterpillars, squirrels and monkeys are there too.
For example: Yes, there is a neem tree near my home. Birds and squirrels live on it.

Grammar corner: One and many (adding -s or -es)

When there is more than one thing, we usually add -s to the naming word: one ant, two ants. Some words add -es, like one branch, many branches. The poem has many such words.

One crow sits on the tree, and then three crows come.
I can see one squirrel and two monkeys.
The big tree has many branches and many leaves.

Practice at home

Fill in the blank: A little bird eats a ripe ___.
Make it more than one: one tree, two ___; one swing, two ___.
Which one is a fruit: seed, berry or branch?

Answers: 1. berry · 2. trees; swings · 3. berry

Try this

Take a short walk to a tree near your home or school. Look for leaves, ants, birds or a spider's web, and count what you find. At home, draw a big tree together and add all the creatures from the poem.

Tip for parents

Stand near a tree with your child and talk about it in Hindi first: 'yeh ped hai, yeh daali hai, wahan chidiya baithi hai'. Then say the English words tree, branch and bird. Let your child mix both languages, and praise every English word they try.

Questions parents ask

What is the poem Our Tree about?

It tells how a seed dropped by a bird grows into a big tree. The tree then becomes a home for birds, insects and animals, and gives fruit and swings.

Which creatures live on the tree in Our Tree?

The poem names crows and singing birds, ants, spiders, caterpillars, squirrels and monkeys.

Which NCERT book is Our Tree from?

Our Tree is Unit 6 of NCERT's older Marigold 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 →