TOPIC 10 OF 16
Before You Read — North, South, East, West
🎓 Class 7
English
CBSE
Theory
Ch 3 — My Brother’s Great Invention
⏱ ~26 min
🌐 Language: [gtranslate]
📖 English Passage Assessment
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This CBSE English Passage Assessment will be based on: Before You Read — North, South, East, West
Assessment Format:
• 2 Short Answer Questions (2 marks each) = 4 marks
• 2 Fill in the Blanks Questions (1 mark each) = 2 marks
• 2 Short Answer Questions (1 mark each) = 2 marks
• 2 Multiple Choice Questions (1 mark each) = 2 marks
Total: 8 Questions, 10 Marks
📖 English Grammar Assessment
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This CBSE English Grammar Assessment will be based on: Before You Read — North, South, East, West
Assessment Format:
• 10 Randomized Grammar Questions (1 mark each)
• Question Types: Fill in the Blanks, MCQs, Error Identification, Reported Speech, Sentence Completion
Total: 10 Questions, 10 Marks
📖 English Vocabulary Assessment
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This English Vocabulary assessment will be based on: Before You Read — North, South, East, West
Targeting Vocabulary & Usage with Intermediate difficulty.
Before You Read — North, South, East, West
Shaana is about to take you on a journey across the length and breadth of India!
Activity 1 — Know Your India
Which State or Union Territory do you live in? Can you name these details about it?
Direction
North / South / East / West / Northeast / Centre?
Capital
What is the capital city of your state?
Language
What are the main languages spoken?
Famous For
A tourist spot, food, or natural feature?
Activity 2 — Travel Prediction
The text is a series of postcards from a girl named Shaana who travels across India. Predict — which places do you think she might visit?
Shaana's Journey
Shaana visits: Kashmir → Himachal Pradesh → Arunachal Pradesh → Sundarbans (West Bengal) → Gujarat → Narmada River → Goa → Chennai / Puducherry → Olaikaadu Beach → Rameswaram (home). A complete loop of India — from the icy north to the tropical south!
Shaana's Postcards — Let Us Read
Context
Shaana lives in Rameswaram island in Tamil Nadu. She is travelling the length and breadth of the country with her parents, exploring India's many landscapes, people, and cultures. She shares her experiences through postcards written to her friends at school.
30 April 20XX
📍 Thajiwas Glacier, Kashmir — Far North
Shaana writes with shaking hands from the Thajiwas glacier🔑 in Kashmir. The glaciers are white and blue, and everyone must wear four layers of clothes to stay warm. Imagery Appa and Amma are delightfully throwing snowballs at each other. But they mention there was far more snow the previous year — a quiet note about climate change.
— Love, Shaana
10 May 20XX
📍 Himachal Pradesh — North
From Himachal Pradesh, Shaana describes a mountain cabin surrounded by colourful birds whose chirping🔑 wakes her at sunrise. Imagery At night she imagines she hears bears growling in the west — but Amma assures her it is only Appa snoring🔑. Irony
— With love from your best friend, Shaana
17 May 20XX
📍 Arunachal Pradesh — Northeast
Shaana is surprised to discover that Arunachal Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh are nowhere near each other — one is in the north, the other in the far northeast. She has a new appreciation for how large India is. They walk through a forest so dense that blinking or stopping to tie your shoelaces could get you lost🔑. Imagery Shaana declares this her favourite stop so far and hopes to spot red pandas.
— With love, Shaana
24 May 20XX
📍 Sundarbans, West Bengal — East
At the Sundarbans🔑, Amma takes Shaana out onto the river in a small boat. Shaana learns for the first time about wetlands🔑 and is astonished that mangroves🔑 can grow in salt water. They spot crocodiles and a lone snake. Amma is saddened by how frequently this place floods today — an environmental concern.
— Love, Shaana
30 May 20XX
📍 Gujarat — West
Crossing from West Bengal to Gujarat takes two and a half days — a reminder of India's vast size. Shaana finds herself in the middle of the desert, hot and dry, with sand everywhere. She calls it "a beach without the sea." But she is enchanted by the colourful, vibrant clothing of the region. She also reports passing a surprise test set by Amma — scoring 88 per cent!
— Love, Shaana
7 June 20XX
📍 Narmada River — Central India
Shaana goes white-water rafting🔑 on the Narmada — and is thrilled. She had always imagined rivers as calm; up close, they are fast and wild. Imagery Appa, however, is so frightened that he vows never to go rafting again. Shaana is soaked and exhilarated. Appa mentions there used to be far more water — another quiet reference to environmental change.
— Your best friend, Shaana
12 June 20XX
📍 Goa — Southwest
Late at night, with Amma and Appa asleep, Shaana looks out of the train window at the Goan plateaus🔑 — hills and beaches visible in the darkness. The train goes through many tunnels. Shaana used to be afraid of tunnels but no longer is. She wishes they could all go on a plateau tour when they reach Class 11.
— Love, Shaana
17 June 20XX
📍 Chennai & Puducherry — South
In Tamil Nadu, Shaana learns to surf🔑 and falls only twice. Amma and Appa splash water at each other like children — Shaana says it is fortunate she was there to control them. Irony The waves here are rougher and the water a deeper brown than the ocean near her home island.
— Your best friend, Shaana
22 June 20XX
📍 Pamban Bridge — Rameswaram
Shaana has just crossed the famous Pamban Bridge — with ocean visible on both sides. She marvels that a train can travel across the sea. She is almost home and plans to give her final letter to her friends in person.
— Love, Shaana
25 June 20XX
📍 Home — Rameswaram
In her final letter, Shaana writes to Amma and Appa. She reflects on everything they have seen — forests, glaciers, deserts, wetlands, plateaus, and mountains. They have heard new languages and met different people. She hopes they will travel this way again and perhaps take friends with them next time.
— With love, Shaana
Let Us Discuss — Shaana's Journey Table
Can you complete this table from Shaana's postcards?
| Place Visited | Interesting Detail / Activity |
|---|---|
| Thajiwas Glacier, Kashmir | White and blue glaciers; throwing snowballs |
| Himachal Pradesh | _______________________________ |
| Arunachal Pradesh | Walking through a thick forest to reach a treehouse |
| Sundarbans, West Bengal | _______________________________ |
| Gujarat | _______________________________ |
| Narmada River | White-water rafting; Appa got scared |
| Goa | _______________________________ |
| Chennai/Puducherry | _______________________________ |
| Olaikaadu Beach | Floating and looking at fish; parents went diving |
Himachal Pradesh → Colourful birds chirping at sunrise; mountains visible from cabin.
Sundarbans → Boating on the river; saw crocodiles and a snake; learned about wetlands and mangroves.
Gujarat → Hot desert; colourful clothes; "beach without the sea".
Goa → Viewing plateaus at night from train window; going through tunnels.
Chennai/Puducherry → Learning to surf; rough waves; Amma and Appa splashing each other.
Sundarbans → Boating on the river; saw crocodiles and a snake; learned about wetlands and mangroves.
Gujarat → Hot desert; colourful clothes; "beach without the sea".
Goa → Viewing plateaus at night from train window; going through tunnels.
Chennai/Puducherry → Learning to surf; rough waves; Amma and Appa splashing each other.
Theme Web — North, South, East, West
Click any theme above to see evidence from Shaana's postcards.
Word Power — Vocabulary from the Text
glacier
noun
A slow-moving mass of ice formed from compacted snow over thousands of years.
"The Thajiwas glacier shone white and blue in the Kashmir sunlight."
chirping
verb/noun (onomatopoeia)
Short, sharp sounds made by birds; also sounds made by crickets and other insects.
"Colourful birds woke her with their chirping when the sun rose."
wetlands
noun (plural)
Areas of land that are covered by water or are saturated with water — such as swamps, marshes, and mangrove forests.
"The Sundarbans is one of the world's largest wetlands."
mangroves
noun (plural)
Trees that grow in coastal saltwater or brackish water. They have distinctive roots that stick out of the water.
"Mangroves protect coastlines from erosion and flooding."
rafting
noun/verb
The sport of travelling down a fast-flowing river on an inflatable rubber raft.
"White-water rafting on the Narmada was wild and exciting."
plateaus
noun (plural)
Large areas of flat land that are raised significantly above the surrounding landscape.
"The Deccan Plateau covers a large part of peninsular India."
surf
verb/noun
To stand on a board and ride ocean waves towards the shore.
"She was proud that she could surf without falling more than twice."
pebbles
noun (plural)
Small, smooth stones, typically found on beaches or riverbeds.
"They collected pebbles from the beach to give to their friends."
CBQ
Extract-Based Questions — CBSE Format
"Amma tells me that places like the Sundarbans are called wetlands. I never knew such a place existed, and that it was possible for trees called mangroves to grow in seawater! But Amma is sad about how much this place floods today."
1. What feeling does Shaana most likely experience when she says "I never knew such a place existed"?
L1 Remember
Answer: D. Wonder. Shaana's exclamation expresses surprise and amazement — she had no idea such a unique ecosystem existed. Wonder is the most fitting emotion.
2. Why is Amma sad about the Sundarbans? What does this tell us about the text's deeper message?
L4 Analyse
Answer: Amma is sad because the Sundarbans floods far more frequently today than it used to — a result of climate change and rising sea levels. The text's deeper message is that India's natural wonders are under threat. Even in a cheerful travel narrative, the author includes environmental awareness — urging young readers to appreciate and protect these landscapes.
3. Shaana describes the Gujarat desert as "a beach without the sea." Identify the figure of speech and explain why it is effective.
L4 Analyse
Answer: This is a metaphor. Since Shaana comes from Rameswaram — an island surrounded by the sea — a beach is her reference point for hot sand and open space. Comparing the desert to "a beach without the sea" is clever and relatable: it captures the vast, sandy emptiness of the desert through something familiar to her. It also reveals Shaana's island perspective — she sees India through her own unique lens.
4. What does Shaana's journey teach us about India? Write your view with evidence from the postcards.
L5 Evaluate
Answer: Shaana's journey teaches us that India is a land of extraordinary diversity — in geography (glaciers, forests, deserts, wetlands, beaches), in culture (languages, clothing, food), and in wildlife (leopards, bears, crocodiles, red pandas). Her journey also shows that despite this diversity, India is one connected whole — traversed by a single rail network that links Kashmir to Rameswaram. India's unity in diversity is the central lesson Shaana discovers.
Comprehension — Let Us Think and Reflect
1. What surprises Shaana about Arunachal Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh?
Shaana had assumed that all states with "Pradesh" in their names were close to each other. She is surprised to discover that Himachal Pradesh is in the north and Arunachal Pradesh is in the far northeast — they are very far apart. This teaches her just how large and diverse India is.
2. How does Shaana feel about the desert in Gujarat? What does she like about it?
Shaana finds the desert hot and dry, with sand everywhere. She is not entirely enthusiastic about it, calling it "a beach without the sea." However, she is genuinely enchanted by the colourful and vibrant clothing worn by the people of Gujarat, which she finds very beautiful.
3. What do you learn about Shaana's personality from her postcards?
Shaana is curious, observant, funny, and adventurous. She notices both the beauty and the environmental concerns of the places she visits. She has a great sense of humour — especially about her parents' childlike behaviour. She is also responsible and caring, saying she had to "control" her parents at the beach. Her personality brings warmth and wit to every postcard.
Writing Workshop — My Travel Experience
Your Task
Write a postcard (60–80 words) from an imaginary or real place you have visited. Address it to your classmates. Describe: where you are, what you see, one interesting or funny thing that happened, and how you feel about the place.
Postcard Format:
• Date: e.g., 10 June 20XX
• Greeting: "Hi everyone," / "Dear classmates,"
• Body: Location, description, experience
• Closing: "Love," / "Your best friend," + Name
• Date: e.g., 10 June 20XX
• Greeting: "Hi everyone," / "Dear classmates,"
• Body: Location, description, experience
• Closing: "Love," / "Your best friend," + Name
Useful Phrases
"You won't believe where I am!" | "I never knew such a place existed!" | "The most amazing thing here is…" | "I can't wait to tell you more!"
Frequently Asked Questions
What is North, South, East, West — Class 7 English Poorvi Unit 3 about in NCERT English?
North, South, East, West — Class 7 English Poorvi Unit 3 is a lesson from the NCERT English textbook that covers important literary and language concepts. The lesson includes vocabulary, literary devices, comprehension exercises, and writing tasks aligned to the CBSE curriculum.
What vocabulary is important in North, South, East, West — Class 7 English Poorvi Unit 3?
Key vocabulary words from North, South, East, West — Class 7 English Poorvi Unit 3 are highlighted throughout with contextual meanings, usage examples, and interesting facts. Click any highlighted word to see its full definition and example sentence.
What literary devices are used in North, South, East, West — Class 7 English Poorvi Unit 3?
North, South, East, West — Class 7 English Poorvi Unit 3 uses various literary devices including imagery, symbolism, and figurative language. These are identified with coloured tags throughout the text for easy recognition and understanding by students.
What exercises are included for North, South, East, West — Class 7 English Poorvi Unit 3?
Exercises include extract-based comprehension questions in CBSE board exam format, grammar workshops connected to the passage, vocabulary activities, and creative writing tasks with model answers provided.
How does North, South, East, West — Class 7 English Poorvi Unit 3 help in board exam preparation?
North, South, East, West — Class 7 English Poorvi Unit 3 includes CBSE-format extract-based questions, long answer practice with model responses, and grammar exercises that mirror board exam patterns. All questions follow Bloom's Taxonomy levels L1-L6.
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