Paper Boats: NCERT Class 7 English Poem (Poorvi)

etmantra3 Nov 20266 min read

Almost every Indian child has floated a paper boat in rainwater. In this short, dreamy poem, Rabindranath Tagore shows a child who sends his boats out into the world, hoping someone far away will find them. Children enjoy its pictures of flowers, clouds and fairies, and learn how a poet builds a picture with words.

Open now: the CALP Class 7 English course (Poorvi)
Every chapter of Poorvi, NCERT’s new Class 7 book, with notes in English and Hindi, say-it-aloud practice with a score, listening, grammar, speaking and writing with feedback. ₹1,599 for the whole year, and “Start here” and the first chapter’s notes are free to try.
See the free lessons and enrol →

From NCERT’s new English book Poorvi for Class 7, unit “Dreams and Discoveries”. Unit 3.

What your child learns

Reading a poem aloud slowly, with a gentle and wishful tone
Making phrases with 'of', like 'blooms of the dawn' and 'fairies of sleep'
Words for times of day (dawn, noon, dusk, midnight) and opposites (float and sink)
Writing a diary entry about a day that made them happy

What the poem is about

A child floats his paper boats down a running stream every day, one by one. He writes his name and the name of his village on them in big black letters, hoping that someone in a faraway land will find them and know who he is. He fills the boats with shiuli flowers from his garden and hopes these morning flowers will reach land safely at night. When he looks up, the little white clouds look like sails, and he imagines that some playmate in the sky is sending them down to race with his boats.

At night, he hides his face in his arms and dreams that his boats keep floating under the stars. In his dream, the fairies of sleep are sailing in them, carrying baskets full of dreams. The poem is gentle and full of hope. It shows a child's innocence, imagination and wish to reach out to the wide world, and it mixes real things (a stream, flowers, clouds) with make-believe ones (a sky playmate, sleep fairies).

New words, with Hindi meanings

stream: a small, narrow river (हिंदी: धारा, नाला)
strange: unknown, not seen before (हिंदी: अनजान, अजनबी)
shiuli: a small, sweet-smelling white flower with an orange stem (हिंदी: हरसिंगार, पारिजात)
bloom: a flower (हिंदी: फूल, खिला हुआ फूल)
dawn: the early morning, when the sun begins to rise (हिंदी: भोर, सुबह)
launch: to put a boat into the water so it starts moving (हिंदी: पानी में उतारना)
bulging: swelling out, puffed and round (हिंदी: फूला हुआ)
playmate: a friend you play with (हिंदी: खेल का साथी)
fairies: small magical beings in stories (हिंदी: परियाँ)
lading: the load or goods a boat carries (हिंदी: लदा हुआ सामान)

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 does the child write on his paper boats, and why?
What does he put in his boats, and what does he hope for them?
What do the clouds in the sky look like to him?
What does the child dream about at night?
If you sent a paper boat down a stream, what would you write or put in it?

Answers for parents

He writes his name and the name of his village in big black letters. He hopes someone in a faraway land will find the boats and know who he is.
He fills them with shiuli flowers from his garden. He hopes the flowers will be carried safely to land at night.
The little white clouds look like bulging sails. He imagines a playmate in the sky is sending them down to race with his boats.
He dreams that his boats keep floating under the midnight stars, with the fairies of sleep sailing in them and carrying baskets full of dreams.
For example: I would write my name and 'Please be my friend' on it, and put a marigold flower inside.

Grammar corner: Making phrases with 'of'

We can join two nouns with 'of' to make a short, beautiful phrase, like the poem's 'fairies of sleep'. The first noun is the main thing, and the part after 'of' tells us whose it is or where it comes from. Poets use such phrases to paint a picture in a few words.

We heard the songs of the birds near the stream.
The roars of the thunder woke the whole village.
The shadows of the evening fell across the garden.

Practice at home

Join the words with 'of' to make a phrase: tears / the clouds.
Choose the opposite: A paper boat can float, but a stone will ___ (sink / sail).
Put these in order from morning to night: dusk, dawn, midnight, noon.

Answers: 1. tears of the clouds · 2. sink · 3. dawn, noon, dusk, midnight

Try this

Fold a simple paper boat from an old newspaper or notebook page. On it, write your name, your town or village, and one wish in English. Float it in a bucket, a tub or a puddle after rain. As it floats, take turns making 'of' phrases about what you see: 'the dance of the water', 'the colours of the sky'. The most beautiful phrase wins.

Tip for parents

Ask your child in Hindi first: 'अगर तुम काग़ज़ की नाव पर कोई संदेश लिखकर बहाओ, तो क्या लिखोगे? और तुम चाहोगे कि उसे कौन पाए?' Let them answer in Hindi or a mix, then help them say it in English, such as 'I would write my name. I hope a child in another country finds it.' Praise every try, and let your older child correct you if you get an English word wrong; it builds their confidence.

Questions parents ask

What is the poem Paper Boats about?

It is about a child who floats paper boats down a stream every day, with his name and village written on them and shiuli flowers inside. He hopes someone in a faraway land will find them, and at night he dreams the boats sail on under the stars with the fairies of sleep.

Who wrote the poem Paper Boats?

The poem is by Rabindranath Tagore.

Is Paper Boats in the new NCERT book?

Yes. It is Chapter 8 of NCERT's new Poorvi book for Class 7, in Unit 3 (Dreams and Discoveries).

Learn every Class 7 chapter with CALP

Every chapter of Poorvi, NCERT’s new Class 7 book, with notes in English and Hindi, say-it-aloud practice with a score, listening, grammar, speaking and writing with feedback. ₹1,599 for the whole year.

See the free lessons and enrol →