Question 1:
Discuss these questions in small groups before you answer them.
When is a grown-up likely
to say this?
Don’t talk with your mouth full.
Answer:
A grown-up is likely to say this when a child talks while eating something.
Question 2:
Discuss these questions in small groups before you answer them.
When are you likely to be
told this?
Say thank you.
Answer:
When somebody helps us or gives us a gift, we are supposed to say thank you.
Question 3:
Discuss these questions in small groups before you answer them.
When do you think an
adult would say this?
No one thinks you are funny.
Answer:
Ans. When we try and crack a joke about something or someone's appearance.
Question 4:
The last two lines of the poem are not prohibitions or instructions. What is the adult now asking the child to do? Do you think the poet is suggesting that this is unreasonable? Why?
Answer:
At the end of it all, the adult asks the child to think himself and to be independent in taking decisions which is unreasonable because they themselves don’t allow the child to take any decision. As is evident in the poem, children are always told what to do or what not to do. So, their asking the child to make up his own mind seems unreasonable.
Question 5:
Why do you think grown-ups say the kind of things mentioned in the poem? Is it important that they teach children good manners, and how to behave in public?
Answer:
The grown-ups say such things to teach children good manners. This is very important because it is essential for children to have pleasing etiquettes and manners in order to become good citizens.
Question 5:
If you had to make some rules for grown-ups to follow, what would you say? Make at least five such rules. Arrange the lines as in a poem.
Answer:
Come back home well in time.
Don’t beat children it’s a crime.
Stop instructing every time.
Don’t lose temper while at home.
Avoid snoring while in bed.
Do your duties as we've said.