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Pre-reading activities before the story: elderly-care organiser, word-awareness table, and family-memory sharing task.
I.
Complete the graphic organiser: Why should we care for the elderly? What problems do they face? What could be the possible reasons? How can we take care of them?
How to answer:
Answer directly in the first sentence. Then support it with one clear reason or textual clue from the story.
View Answer
Sample organiser:
| Prompt | Sample points |
|---|---|
| Why should we care for the elderly? | They have spent a lifetime working, loving and guiding the family; caring for them in return gives them dignity, security and companionship. |
| What problems do they face? | Failing health and memory, loneliness, loss of independence, and feeling ignored or treated as a burden by busy family members. |
| What could be the possible reasons for these problems? | Family members are occupied with work and have little time; physical ageing limits mobility; moving to a new or cramped home, as Grandpa does, adds to the isolation. |
| How can we take care of them? | Spend time listening to them, respect their independence instead of controlling it, involve them in daily family life, and be patient with their pace and habits. |
Buzurgo ki dekhbhaal isliye zaroori hai kyunki unhone poori zindagi family ke liye di hai. Unki problems hain akelapan, health, aur independence ka chhinna. Solution hai unke saath time bitana aur unhe respect dena, jaise Grandpa ke saath hona chahiye tha.
II.
Fill the word-awareness table for: frail, shuddered, poky, forbid, pottering, winced.
How to answer:
Use the clue in the sentence and the extract. Choose the word or phrase that fits both meaning and grammar.
View Answer
| Word | Meaning | Use in the story |
|---|---|---|
| frail | physically weak or delicate | Grandpa is described as a frail old figure. |
| shuddered | trembled because of an unpleasant memory or fear | Vidya shuddered while remembering the difficult previous month. |
| poky | small, cramped, and uncomfortable | Grandpa calls the city flat a poky little flat. |
| forbid | to order someone not to do something | Vidya forbids Grandpa from going out alone. |
| pottering | moving around slowly doing small tasks | Grandpa was pottering around in the garden when he fell. |
| winced | showed a brief expression of pain, embarrassment, or discomfort | Ravi winced at his mother's over-loud tone. |
III.
Think of a tradition, story, or recipe passed down by grandparents or an elderly relative. What does it mean to you?
How to answer:
Answer directly in the first sentence. Then support it with one clear reason or textual clue from the story.
View Answer
Sample response:
My grandmother makes a pickle recipe every winter that her own mother taught her, using spices measured by hand rather than a cup. She has never written it down; she says a recipe passed only by memory keeps you connected to the person who taught it to you. When she shows me the steps each year, it feels less like cooking and more like she is handing me a small piece of her own childhood. That is what makes it valuable to me: it is not just food, but a story and a relationship that continues each time we make it together.
Grandmother ka pickle recipe jo unki maa ne unhe sikhaya tha, aaj tak likha nahi gaya hai - sirf yaad se banaya jaata hai. Yeh recipe sirf khana nahi, balki ek connection aur memory hai jo har baar banane par zinda ho jaati hai.
