The Zigzag Boy: NCERT Class 2 English Poem (Marigold Unit 6)

etmantra22 Feb 20217 min read

Every home has a child who cannot find a shoe in the morning. This little poem laughs gently at a 'zigzag boy' and teaches children, with a smile, why it helps to put things back in their place.

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From the NCERT English book Marigold for Class 2, unit 6. NCERT’s newer Class 2 book is Mridang, but many schools still teach Marigold.

Watch: The Zigzag Boy

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

Keeping things in their proper place
Words for clothes: coat, shoes, hat
Past tense: forget becomes forgot
The meaning of zigzag and 'this way and that'

What the poem is about

The poem talks about a little boy who goes this way and that. He moves about so much that he never remembers where he left his coat, his shoes or his hat.

Then the poem speaks to the child who is listening. If you are not a zigzag child, you will always know where your things are kept, so you will never need to say 'I forgot'. The message is simple and kind: keep your things in their place and you will find them easily.

New words, with Hindi meanings

zigzag: going one way, then another way, not in a straight line (हिंदी: टेढ़ा-मेढ़ा)
this way and that: in many different directions (हिंदी: इधर-उधर)
coat: a warm piece of clothing worn over other clothes (हिंदी: कोट)
hat: something you wear on your head (हिंदी: टोपी)
cause: a reason to do or say something (हिंदी: कारण)
forgot: did not remember (हिंदी: भूल गया)
put away: kept back in the right place (हिंदी: सँभालकर रखना)

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 three things does the zigzag boy lose?
Why can't the zigzag boy find his things?
What will a child who is not a zigzag child never have to say?
Where do you keep your shoes and your school bag at home?

Answers for parents

He loses his coat, his shoes and his hat.
He goes this way and that, so he never remembers where he puts them.
That child will never have to say 'I forgot'.
For example: I keep my shoes in the shoe rack and my school bag on my table.

Grammar corner: Past tense: forget becomes forgot

We use the past tense for things that already happened. Many words add -ed, but some change in a new way. Forget becomes forgot, not 'forgetted'.

Yesterday I forgot my water bottle at school.
My brother forgot where he put his cap.
Mummy never forgot her keys, because she kept them on the hook.

Practice at home

Choose the right word: Last week I (forget / forgot) my pencil box.
Fill in the blank: I put my shoes ___ in the rack, so I can find them.
Make a sentence with the word 'zigzag'.

Answers: 1. forgot · 2. away · 3. For example: The ant walked in a zigzag line across the floor.

Try this

Play a 'zigzag walk' game. Your child walks in a zigzag line across the room while saying the poem. Then hide a shoe, a cap and a sock in the room and let your child find them. After the game, ask your child to put each thing back in its proper place, so they are not a zigzag child.

Tip for parents

Ask in Hindi first, 'tumhare joote kahan hain?', and then in English, 'Where are your shoes?' Let your child answer in Hindi or English or both, then help them say 'My shoes are in the rack.' Praise them each time they put something back in its place.

Questions parents ask

What is the moral of The Zigzag Boy?

Keep your things in their proper place. Then you will always know where they are and will never need to say 'I forgot'.

What does zigzag mean in the poem?

Zigzag means going one way and then another, not in a straight line. The zigzag boy moves about this way and that, so he loses track of his things.

Which NCERT book is The Zigzag Boy from?

The Zigzag Boy is Unit 6 of NCERT's older Marigold book for Class 2. The newer NCERT English 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 →