The Winner: NCERT Class 6 English Poem (Poorvi)

etmantra3 Nov 20265 min read

Every child knows the feeling: the game is going well, everyone is running, and then it gets dark and the game must stop. This short poem by Georgia Heard captures that moment in just a few lines. Children enjoy guessing who the real winner is, and they learn how poets give human actions to things like the night.

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From NCERT’s new English book Poorvi for Class 6, unit “Sports and Wellness”. Unit 4.

What your child learns

Words about play and evening: creek, field, breath, aches, creep
Personification: giving human actions to things, as in 'Night wins!'
How a pattern of lines (one word per line) can show a feeling
Talking and writing about one's own playtime

What the poem is about

The speaker and friends play ball every evening beside a small stream, in a field that belongs to a neighbour. They run so fast that the speaker runs out of breath. The poet shows this by putting one short word on each line, so the reader also slows down and gasps.

As the sky turns from dark blue to black, the grass becomes cold and the children's feet ache. The trees seem to come closer because they are hard to see in the dark. The game is over, and the poem says that night is the winner. No team wins the match; night ends the game and sends everyone home.

New words, with Hindi meanings

creek: a small stream of water (हिंदी: नाला, छोटी धारा)
neighbour: a person who lives next to or near you (हिंदी: पड़ोसी)
field: an open piece of land with grass (हिंदी: मैदान, खेत)
catch my breath: breathe normally again after running hard (हिंदी: साँस सँभालना)
breath: the air you take in and let out (हिंदी: साँस)
aches: hurts in a dull, steady way (हिंदी: दर्द करना)
creep: move slowly and quietly (हिंदी: धीरे-धीरे सरकना)
winner: the one who wins a game or contest (हिंदी: विजेता)
indigenous: native to a place; from there in the first place (हिंदी: देशी, स्वदेशी)

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 do the children play ball?
Why can't the speaker catch her breath?
Why do the children's feet ache at the end of the game?
Who wins in the poem, and why?
When do you go out to play, and when do you come back home?

Answers for parents

They play next to a creek, in their neighbour's field.
She has been running very fast, so she is out of breath.
It is night, the grass has become cold, and they have been running for a long time.
Night wins, because when it becomes dark the time for play is over and the children must stop.
For example: I go out to play at five o'clock with my cousins. We come back home when the street lights come on.

Grammar corner: Personification

Personification means giving human actions or feelings to things that are not human. The poem says the night wins, as if night were a player. Poets use it to make a picture come alive.

The tired sun went to sleep behind the hills.
The wind pushed our ball into the creek.
The old field waited for the children every evening.

Practice at home

Fill in the blank: After the long race, I sat down to catch my ___.
Which sentence uses personification? (a) The moon smiled at us. (b) The moon is round.
Name three water bodies other than a creek and use one in a sentence.

Answers: 1. breath · 2. (a) The moon smiled at us. Smiling is a human action. · 3. river, pond, lake. For example: We fed the ducks at the pond.

Try this

Play the riddle game. One person thinks of a sport or game, like kabaddi or swimming, and gives three clues without saying its name, for example 'Hold your breath and run'. The others guess. Then make the clues rhyme for an extra challenge. End by saying one sentence where something non-human acts like a person, such as 'The rain stopped our game.'

Tip for parents

Ask your child in Hindi first: 'शाम को खेल कब ख़त्म होता है? कौन जीतता है?' Let them answer in Hindi, then help them say it in English: 'Night wins because it gets dark.' Praise every try, and let them mix Hindi and English while they find the words.

Questions parents ask

What is the poem The Winner about?

It is about children who play ball every evening in a neighbour's field near a creek. They run till they are out of breath, and when it becomes dark the game ends. The poem says that night is the winner.

Who wrote The Winner, and which book is it in?

The poem is by Georgia Heard. It is in NCERT's new Poorvi book for Class 6, Unit 4 (Sports and Wellness).

Why does night win in The Winner?

Night wins because the time for play has ended. When the sky turns black, the children can no longer play and must go home. Calling night the winner is an example of personification.

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 →