A Little Fish Story
There are a great many million fish in the seas, but this story is
about just one of them, and a very small one at
that.
Now this little fish had everything in
the seas to make him contented, but he
was not happy. You will laugh when I
tell you why he was not. He was
unhappy because he was so very small.
“It is very hard to be such a little mite
of a fish!” he would say, over and over
again. “If I were only larger, how much
happier I could be.” And he said it so many
times that I think he believed it.
One day he was swimming along with the rest of his school
and thinking, no doubt, how much more the larger fish had to be
thankful for than he, when suddenly, with no warning, they
found themselves in the meshes of a great net.
There was much floundering and
splashing as the net was drawn
up out of the water into the
sunlight, and just as its
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haul was being emptied into the boat, the smallest fish in the
school wriggled through the mesh and slipped back into the cool
clear water. How good it felt!
He swam here and there and
everywhere, and some of the fish who
knew him well all the rest of his life, said
that they never again heard him say that
he wished to be anything but a little fish.
Enos B. Comstock
New words
million, floundering, meshes, haul,
contented, splashing, emptied,
wriggled, warning
Reading is Fun
1. How many fish are there in the sea?
2. Why was the little fish unhappy?
3. What happened to the fish one day?
4. Why was the fish thankful to be a little fish?
Talk time
1. Imagine you are a little fish. Describe what you might
see around you.
2. In your class, talk about the time you were caught doing
something you were not supposed to do. You can discuss in
your own language as well as in English.
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Word building
1. Look at the pattern and fill in the blanks.
catch caught content _____________
swim _____________ wish _____________
buy _____________ see _____________
teach _____________ fight _____________
2. Fill in the blanks with the right word from the box.
paper flowers water matches cows wolves
a glass of ____________ a bunch of ____________
a box of ____________ a herd of ____________
a sheet of ____________ a pack of ____________
Let’s write
Look at the following sentence.
If I were only larger, how much happier I could be.
Make more sentences like this using the words in the box.
taller thinner smaller cleverer younger older
1. If I were only___________________, how much happier I could be.
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2. If I were only_______________________________,
3. ____________________________________________________________
4. ____________________________________________________________
5. ____________________________________________________________
6. ____________________________________________________________
Say aloud
blunder wonder thunder plunder flounder
Song time
Singing or Crying?
Mahesh sings a little song.
Venkatesh looks at him.
“Why are you crying, Mahesh?” he asks.
Mahesh says, “I’ m not crying.
I’m singing an English song!”
Choose the right words.
1. Mahesh sings a __________ (long/little) song.
2. Venkatesh __________ (looks/shouts) at him.
3. Venkatesh thinks Mahesh is __________ (crying/laughing).
4. Mahesh is __________ (singing/saying) a song.
5. The song is in __________ (Telugu/English).
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Teacher's Page UNIT IV
THEMES
l Water, Sea and Sounds
l The Importance of Water in Our Lives
l Life in the Sea
SUGGESTIONS FOR CLASSROOM TEACHING
l Read the poem aloud.
l Encourage the children to recite the poem with appropriate actions and
gestures.
l Help children to find rhyming words and opposites.
l Explain the difficult words in the text.
l Let the children try to say the tongue twister (She sells sea-shells…) aloud as
clearly as they can. These and some more like Shoes and socks shock Shyam,
Bring back buttons, beans, and buns etc., can be said quite slowly at first and
the speed can be increased later.
l Encourage the children to make different sounds.
l The story can be read aloud with expression and gestures. The children can be
given ideas and opportunities to express themselves. World building can
become an interesting game as children practise correct pronunciation and
build up words.
l You can talk about disaster management as in the case of accidents, floods,
fire and earthquakes. What are the safety measures to be taken? How can we
help victims? Introduce terms like ‘tsunami’. Let them talk about
stories they have heard about the tsunami, earthquakes etc.
l Ask the children whether they eat fish. Tell them about the
different kinds of fish in the sea and other water animals, big and
small, and about their life underwater.
l This unit can introduce the important issue of water pollution by
man and its harmful effects on sea life.
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