Spices that Heal Us: NCERT Class 6 English Lesson (Poorvi)

etmantra3 Nov 20266 min read

Every Indian kitchen has a box of spices, and many grandmothers know a cure that uses them. In this chapter, Daadi writes a warm letter to her grandchildren about how haldi, adrak, elaichi and other spices help our bodies. Children learn the English names of spices they see every day, and the helping verbs we use to give advice.

Open now: the CALP Class 6 English course (Poorvi)
Every chapter of Poorvi, NCERT’s new Class 6 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 6, unit “Nurturing Nature”. Unit 3.

What your child learns

English names of common spices: turmeric, fenugreek, cumin, asafoetida, cinnamon, clove, cardamom
Modal verbs and their jobs: should for advice, must for a rule, can for ability, used to for a past habit
Reading a friendly letter: greeting, body and closing
Listening for facts and writing a short paragraph from a fact sheet

What the lesson is about

The chapter is a letter from Daadi to her grandchildren, Vikram and Vaibhavi, who have just got better after an illness. She is glad her natural cures helped them. She learnt these cures as a child from her own grandmother, and she asks the children to remember them and share them with friends. She then goes through the spices in the kitchen one by one: turmeric for energy, digestion and body pain; methi water for keeping sugar level and weight in control; cumin, black pepper, fennel and carom seeds for digestion; heeng, ginger and others for cough and cold; cinnamon and clove for toothache until you can see a dentist; and cardamom for bad breath.

At the end, Daadi asks the children to go into the kitchen and find these spices, and gives them one firm piece of advice: always ask an elder before using them. The letter shows how home knowledge passes from one generation to the next, and the exercises teach modal verbs such as may, should, can, must, need to and used to.

New words, with Hindi meanings

remedy: a cure or treatment for an illness (हिंदी: इलाज, नुस्ख़ा)
digestion: the way our stomach breaks down the food we eat (हिंदी: पाचन)
relief: the feeling when pain or trouble becomes less (हिंदी: आराम, राहत)
soak: to keep something in water for a long time (हिंदी: भिगोना)
overnight: for the whole night, until morning (हिंदी: रात भर)
sleeplessness: not being able to sleep (हिंदी: नींद न आना)
consult: to ask someone who knows, like an elder or a doctor, for advice (हिंदी: सलाह लेना)
toothache: pain in a tooth (हिंदी: दाँत का दर्द)
respiratory: to do with breathing (हिंदी: साँस से जुड़ा)
affectionately: with love and care (हिंदी: प्यार से)

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.

Who wrote the letter, and to whom?
From whom did Daadi learn her natural cures?
Which two spices does Daadi say give relief from toothache?
What was Daadi's final advice to the children?
Which spice does your family use most, and what does an elder at home say it is good for?

Answers for parents

Daadi wrote the letter to her grandchildren, Vikram and Vaibhavi.
She learnt them from her own grandmother when she was a child.
Cinnamon (dalchini) and clove (laung) give relief from toothache until we can see a dentist.
She told them to find the spices in the kitchen, but always to ask an elder before using them.
For example: We use haldi every day. My grandmother says haldi milk is good when we have body pain.

Grammar corner: Modal verbs: may, should, can, must, need to, used to

Modals are helping verbs that come before a main verb and change its meaning. 'Should' gives advice, 'must' shows a rule that cannot be skipped, 'can' shows ability, 'may' gives a suggestion or choice, 'need to' shows necessity, and 'used to' tells about a habit in the past. The main verb after a modal stays in its simple form: 'can help', not 'can helps'.

You should drink warm water when you have a cold.
My grandfather used to grow tulsi in a pot on the roof.
You must wash the leaves before you eat them.

Practice at home

Fill in the blank with 'should' or 'used to': When I was small, my mother ___ put haldi in my milk.
Match the Hindi name with the English name: laung, elaichi, saunf (cardamom, fennel seeds, clove).
Make a sentence about a spice using 'can'.

Answers: 1. used to · 2. laung = clove, elaichi = cardamom, saunf = fennel seeds · 3. For example: Ginger can help us when we have a cough.

Try this

Play a spice guessing game in the kitchen. One person picks a spice from the box and keeps it hidden. The others ask yes-or-no questions such as 'Is it a seed?', 'Is it yellow?' or 'Is it sweet?' until they guess it. The winner then says the spice's name in Hindi and English and one thing it is used for.

Tip for parents

Open your spice box with your child and point to each spice. Say its Hindi name first, like 'yeh laung hai', and let your child say the English name, 'clove'. Then ask in Hindi what it is used for and let them answer in English or a mix of both, and praise every try.

Questions parents ask

What is the chapter Spices that Heal Us about?

It is a letter from Daadi to her grandchildren, Vikram and Vaibhavi, about how common kitchen spices like turmeric, ginger, clove and cardamom can help with small illnesses. She ends by telling them to always ask an elder before using any spice.

Is Spices that Heal Us in the new NCERT book?

Yes. It is in NCERT's new Poorvi book for Class 6, Unit 3 (Nurturing Nature).

Which grammar point does Spices that Heal Us teach?

The chapter teaches modal verbs: may, should, can, must, need to and used to. Each one has a different job, such as advice, ability, compulsion or a past habit.

Learn every Class 6 chapter with CALP

Every chapter of Poorvi, NCERT’s new Class 6 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 →