Here is a new blog post in Class 7th English. “The Tiny Teacher” is Chapter 1 taken from the newly introduced textbook Let’s Read English textbook for students of Class 7th of JKBOSE and An Alien Hand English for NCERT students. This post concerns The Tiny Teacher Chapter 1 Summary and Question Answers. In my previous post, you read about The Pandemic Poem 10 Summary and Question Answers taken from your Melody English. So, let’s not waste any more time and get started with today’s post.
The Tiny Teacher Chapter 1 Summary and Question Answers
Introduction
The chapter ‘Tiny Teachers’ is about the smallest teacher human beings can have i.e. ants. Ants are said to be the most hardworking creatures. The chapter is about their routine, work, dedication, discipline, etc., which humans must learn from these tiny creatures and apply these lessons in our daily lives.
The Tiny Teacher Chapter 1 Word Meanings
| Word | English Meaning | Hindi Meaning | Urdu Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wisest | most experienced, | बुद्धिमान | عقلمند |
| Airing | to get air for refreshment | ताज़गी के लिए हवा पाने के लिए | تازگی کے لیے ہوا حاصل کرنے کے لیے |
| Barracks | a large building or group of buildings used to house soldiers | सैनिकों के लिए बने घर | فوجیوں کے لیے بنائے گئے گھر |
| Beetles | type of insect | झींगुर | بهنورا |
| Cocoons | a silky case spun by the larvae of many insects for protection as pupae | कोकून | کوکونز |
| Feelers | to feel, here it refers to the antennae of the ant which helps it detect other ants | महसूस करने वाले | محسوس کرنے والے |
| Firm | determined | अटल | اٹل |
| Grub | the larvae or young ones of ants | कीड़े का बच्चा | کیڑے کا بچہ |
| Loyalty | a feeling of strong support for someone or something | निष्ठा | وفاداری |
| Mosquito | a small flying insect that bites the skin of people and animals and sucks their blood | मच्छर | مچھر |
| Pets | a domestic or tamed animal kept for companionship or pleasure | पालतू जानवर | پالتو جانور |
| Worm | a soft, elongated, soft-bodied parasitic animal | कीड़ा | کیڑا |
The Tiny Teacher Chapter 1 Summary English
Ants, the tiniest creatures, have an incredible life story. Living in comfortable homes, they create intricate colonies with hundreds of rooms and passages. Within these colonies, the queen ant lays eggs in some rooms, while others serve as nurseries for the young ants. Workers have their designated areas, and there are separate quarters for soldiers and storage for food.
Surprisingly, ants live harmoniously, devoid of quarrels. Each ant diligently performs its tasks with intelligence and bravery, contributing to the peaceful coexistence within the colony. People have even kept ants as pets, closely observing their daily behaviours. Ants communicate using their feelers or antennae, and among the many types of ants, the black and red ones are the most common.
The queen ant, the mother of the colony, initially has wings. After a mating flight, it sheds its wings and focuses solely on laying eggs. The eggs hatch into grubs, taking two to three weeks to transform into cocoons. Another three weeks pass before the perfect ant emerges. This entire process, from egg to complete ant, takes around five to six weeks.
Soldiers guard the ant eggs, while worker ants ensure the grubs receive fresh air, exercise, and sunshine. As the new ants grow, they undergo training for various roles such as soldiers, builders, and cleaners. Creatures other than ants also inhabit the anthill, including beetles, smaller ants, and greenflies. Some emit pleasant scents, others provide juices, and some act as pets. Remarkably, ants even train greenflies to produce honeydew, which they harvest like human milk cows.
From ants, humans can learn valuable lessons – hard work, a sense of duty, discipline, cleanliness, and care for the young. Most importantly, ants exhibit unwavering loyalty to their homeland, serving as tiny teachers to inspire these virtues in us.
Comprehension Check Page No.
1. The story of an ant’s life sounds almost untrue.
The italicised phrase means
(i) highly exaggerated.
(ii) too remarkable to be true.
(iii) not based on facts.
Ans. (i) highly exaggerated.
2. Complete the following sentences.
- An ant is the smallest, ____________
- We know several facts about an ant’s life because______________
Ans.
- An ant is the smallest, wisest and most common insect we have seen.
- We know several facts about an ant’s life because some people have kept the ants as pets and have watched their behaviour closely.
3. In what ways is an ant’s life peaceful?
Ans. The ants live in peace because each one does its share of work honestly, wisely and intelligently. They don’t interfere in the work given to others. They never fight in their group.
Comprehension Check Page No. 5
1. How long does it take for a grub to become a complete ant?
Ans. The grubs takes two to three weeks for the grub to become cocoons and then another three weeks to be complete ants.
2. Why do the worker ants carry the grubs about?
Ans. The grubs are carried about daily by the worker ants for airing, exercise and sunshine.
3. What jobs are new ants trained for?
Ans. The new ants are trained by the old ants on the jobs of workers, soldiers, builders, cleaners, etc.
4. Name some other creatures that live in anthills.
Ans. The other creatures that live in anthills are beetles, lesser breeds of ants and the open fly.
5. Mention three things we can learn from the ‘tiny teacher’. Give reasons for choosing these items.
Ans. We can learn from the tiny teacher the lessons of hard work, a sense of duty and discipline, cleanliness, loyalty and care for the young ones.
Textual Exercises Page No. 5
Discuss the following topics in groups
- (i) What problems are you likely to face if you keep ants as pets?
Ans. Keeping ants as pets is very uncommon or rare. There might be several problems if we keep ants as pets. They would start eating our food and other eatables. They bite. They won’t listen to our orders.
(ii) When a group of bees finds nectar, it informs other bees of its location, quantity, etc. through dancing. Can you guess what ants communicate to their fellow ants by touching one another’s feelers?
Ans. By touching one another’s feelers, the ants give a message to others about new-found food.
- Complete the following poem with words from the box below. Then recite the poem.
| hole, kennel, nests, anthill, stable |
Soldiers live in barracks
And birds in (a)_________
Much like a snake that rests
In a (b)_________.No horse is able
To sleep except in a (c)__________
And a dog lives well,
Mind you, only in a (d)____________
To say ‘hi’ to an ant if you will,
You may have to climb an (e)__________
Ans.
Soldiers live in barracks
And birds in (a) nests
Much like a snake that rests
In a (b) hole No horse is able
To sleep except in a (c) stable
And a dog lives well,
Mind you, only in a (d) kennel
To say ‘hi’ to an ant if you will,
You may have to climb an (e) anthill
That’s it about The Tiny Teacher Chapter 1 Summary and Question Answers. Hope it helped. Do share your views about this post in the comment section below.
Leave a Reply