Class 7 English Unit 3 NCERT Book - Paper Boats

 Page 1


PaPer Boats Let us do these activities before we read.
 I Read the questions given below. Share your answers with your classmates 
and the teacher.
 1. What comes to mind when you think about ‘paper boats’? 
 2. What do you think someone might hope for when they send a paper 
boat down a stream?
 3. Read the title of the poem ‘Paper Boats’ and predict what the poem 
might be about. 
 II Read the given paragraph and match the highlighted words with their 
meanings given in the box below.
loading speedily flowing swelling putting bouncing
  I love to play beside a 1. running stream at a short distance from my 
grandparent’s house. I love to see it 2. skipping along to join a river. On 
the river, I can see boats with 3. bulging sails moving swiftly. Some of 
them take the people from one shore to the other while in some of them 
people can be seen 4. lading things too. I can spend hours watching the 
busy river and dreaming about them, 5. burying my head in my pillow 
at night.
Unit 3.indd   109 Unit 3.indd   109 06-Mar-25   2:49:02 PM 06-Mar-25   2:49:02 PM
Page 2


PaPer Boats Let us do these activities before we read.
 I Read the questions given below. Share your answers with your classmates 
and the teacher.
 1. What comes to mind when you think about ‘paper boats’? 
 2. What do you think someone might hope for when they send a paper 
boat down a stream?
 3. Read the title of the poem ‘Paper Boats’ and predict what the poem 
might be about. 
 II Read the given paragraph and match the highlighted words with their 
meanings given in the box below.
loading speedily flowing swelling putting bouncing
  I love to play beside a 1. running stream at a short distance from my 
grandparent’s house. I love to see it 2. skipping along to join a river. On 
the river, I can see boats with 3. bulging sails moving swiftly. Some of 
them take the people from one shore to the other while in some of them 
people can be seen 4. lading things too. I can spend hours watching the 
busy river and dreaming about them, 5. burying my head in my pillow 
at night.
Unit 3.indd   109 Unit 3.indd   109 06-Mar-25   2:49:02 PM 06-Mar-25   2:49:02 PM
 Let us read
Day by day I float my paper boats one by one down 
the running stream.
In big black letters I write my name on them and the 
name of the village where I live.
I hope that someone in some strange land will find 
them and know who I am.
I load my little boats with shiuli flower from our 
garden, and hope that these blooms of the dawn will 
be carried safely to land in the night.
I launch my paper boats and look up into the sky and 
see the little clouds setting the white bulging sails.
I know not what playmate of mine in the sky sends 
them down the air to race with my boats!
When night comes I bury my face in my arms and 
dream that my paper boats float on and on under 
the midnight stars.
The fairies of sleep are sailing in them, and the 
lading is their baskets full of dreams.
r aBinDranath t agore Poorvi Unit 3.indd   110 Unit 3.indd   110 06-Mar-25   2:49:02 PM 06-Mar-25   2:49:02 PM
Page 3


PaPer Boats Let us do these activities before we read.
 I Read the questions given below. Share your answers with your classmates 
and the teacher.
 1. What comes to mind when you think about ‘paper boats’? 
 2. What do you think someone might hope for when they send a paper 
boat down a stream?
 3. Read the title of the poem ‘Paper Boats’ and predict what the poem 
might be about. 
 II Read the given paragraph and match the highlighted words with their 
meanings given in the box below.
loading speedily flowing swelling putting bouncing
  I love to play beside a 1. running stream at a short distance from my 
grandparent’s house. I love to see it 2. skipping along to join a river. On 
the river, I can see boats with 3. bulging sails moving swiftly. Some of 
them take the people from one shore to the other while in some of them 
people can be seen 4. lading things too. I can spend hours watching the 
busy river and dreaming about them, 5. burying my head in my pillow 
at night.
Unit 3.indd   109 Unit 3.indd   109 06-Mar-25   2:49:02 PM 06-Mar-25   2:49:02 PM
 Let us read
Day by day I float my paper boats one by one down 
the running stream.
In big black letters I write my name on them and the 
name of the village where I live.
I hope that someone in some strange land will find 
them and know who I am.
I load my little boats with shiuli flower from our 
garden, and hope that these blooms of the dawn will 
be carried safely to land in the night.
I launch my paper boats and look up into the sky and 
see the little clouds setting the white bulging sails.
I know not what playmate of mine in the sky sends 
them down the air to race with my boats!
When night comes I bury my face in my arms and 
dream that my paper boats float on and on under 
the midnight stars.
The fairies of sleep are sailing in them, and the 
lading is their baskets full of dreams.
r aBinDranath t agore Poorvi Unit 3.indd   110 Unit 3.indd   110 06-Mar-25   2:49:02 PM 06-Mar-25   2:49:02 PM
Dreams an D Discoveries 111
Let us discuss
 I Choose the correct words from the brackets to complete the summary of 
the poem given below.
  The poet sends paper boats down a 1. __________ (stream/river) each day, 
writing his name and the name of his 2. __________ (school/ village) on 
them. He hopes that someone in a 3. __________ (strange/familiar) land will 
find them and know who he is. The poet fills his boats with 4. __________ 
(rose/shiuli) flowers from his garden, hoping they will be safely carried 
to another land at 5. __________ (night/morning). As he launches his boats, 
he imagines that the 6. __________ (clouds/birds) in the sky are like friends, 
racing with his boats. At night, he dreams that his paper boats continue 
to 7. __________ (swim/float) under the midnight stars, with the fairies of 
sleep sailing in them, their baskets full of 8. __________ (dreams/fruits).
 II Choose the correct option for the following. 
  The theme of the poem is ________________. 
 1. innocence 2. imagination 3. ignorance
 4. playfulness 5. travel
 (i) 1, 2 and 3  (ii) 3, 4 and 5       (iii) 1, 4 and 5 (iv) 1, 2 and 4 
 III Identify whether the following statement is true or false. 
  The setting of the poem is a natural, outdoor environment. 
 IV Complete the following sentence by choosing the correct word given 
within the brackets. 
  The tone is ____________________ (sad and serious/gentle and wishful) and 
the mood is ____________________ (thoughtful/boring).
 V Identify the examples of alliteration from the poem.
 VI Fill in the blanks with suitable words from the poem. 
 1. The repetition of words ___________ and ___________ emphasises the 
passage of time. 
 2. The poet uses imagery like ___________ and ___________ to create a 
clear picture in the minds of the readers.
Unit 3.indd   111 Unit 3.indd   111 06-Mar-25   2:49:03 PM 06-Mar-25   2:49:03 PM
Page 4


PaPer Boats Let us do these activities before we read.
 I Read the questions given below. Share your answers with your classmates 
and the teacher.
 1. What comes to mind when you think about ‘paper boats’? 
 2. What do you think someone might hope for when they send a paper 
boat down a stream?
 3. Read the title of the poem ‘Paper Boats’ and predict what the poem 
might be about. 
 II Read the given paragraph and match the highlighted words with their 
meanings given in the box below.
loading speedily flowing swelling putting bouncing
  I love to play beside a 1. running stream at a short distance from my 
grandparent’s house. I love to see it 2. skipping along to join a river. On 
the river, I can see boats with 3. bulging sails moving swiftly. Some of 
them take the people from one shore to the other while in some of them 
people can be seen 4. lading things too. I can spend hours watching the 
busy river and dreaming about them, 5. burying my head in my pillow 
at night.
Unit 3.indd   109 Unit 3.indd   109 06-Mar-25   2:49:02 PM 06-Mar-25   2:49:02 PM
 Let us read
Day by day I float my paper boats one by one down 
the running stream.
In big black letters I write my name on them and the 
name of the village where I live.
I hope that someone in some strange land will find 
them and know who I am.
I load my little boats with shiuli flower from our 
garden, and hope that these blooms of the dawn will 
be carried safely to land in the night.
I launch my paper boats and look up into the sky and 
see the little clouds setting the white bulging sails.
I know not what playmate of mine in the sky sends 
them down the air to race with my boats!
When night comes I bury my face in my arms and 
dream that my paper boats float on and on under 
the midnight stars.
The fairies of sleep are sailing in them, and the 
lading is their baskets full of dreams.
r aBinDranath t agore Poorvi Unit 3.indd   110 Unit 3.indd   110 06-Mar-25   2:49:02 PM 06-Mar-25   2:49:02 PM
Dreams an D Discoveries 111
Let us discuss
 I Choose the correct words from the brackets to complete the summary of 
the poem given below.
  The poet sends paper boats down a 1. __________ (stream/river) each day, 
writing his name and the name of his 2. __________ (school/ village) on 
them. He hopes that someone in a 3. __________ (strange/familiar) land will 
find them and know who he is. The poet fills his boats with 4. __________ 
(rose/shiuli) flowers from his garden, hoping they will be safely carried 
to another land at 5. __________ (night/morning). As he launches his boats, 
he imagines that the 6. __________ (clouds/birds) in the sky are like friends, 
racing with his boats. At night, he dreams that his paper boats continue 
to 7. __________ (swim/float) under the midnight stars, with the fairies of 
sleep sailing in them, their baskets full of 8. __________ (dreams/fruits).
 II Choose the correct option for the following. 
  The theme of the poem is ________________. 
 1. innocence 2. imagination 3. ignorance
 4. playfulness 5. travel
 (i) 1, 2 and 3  (ii) 3, 4 and 5       (iii) 1, 4 and 5 (iv) 1, 2 and 4 
 III Identify whether the following statement is true or false. 
  The setting of the poem is a natural, outdoor environment. 
 IV Complete the following sentence by choosing the correct word given 
within the brackets. 
  The tone is ____________________ (sad and serious/gentle and wishful) and 
the mood is ____________________ (thoughtful/boring).
 V Identify the examples of alliteration from the poem.
 VI Fill in the blanks with suitable words from the poem. 
 1. The repetition of words ___________ and ___________ emphasises the 
passage of time. 
 2. The poet uses imagery like ___________ and ___________ to create a 
clear picture in the minds of the readers.
Unit 3.indd   111 Unit 3.indd   111 06-Mar-25   2:49:03 PM 06-Mar-25   2:49:03 PM
Poorvi 112
 Let us think and reflect
 I Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
 1. When night comes I bury my face in my arms and dream that my 
paper boats float on and on under the midnight stars. 
The fairies of sleep are sailing in them, and the lading is their baskets 
full of dreams.
 (i) Select the option that is most likely to be the speaker as per the 
extract.
1.  the child's innocence, 
dreams, hopes, and 
messages sent out into 
the world
2.  purity, beauty, and the 
start of a new day
3.  the vast universe and 
the child's dreams 
continuing through the 
night
(i)  midnight stars
(ii)  paper boats
(iii) shiuli flowers
A. B. C.
D.
 (ii) What can be inferred about the speaker’s feelings when night 
comes?
 (iii) What kind of beings are the ‘fairies of sleep’ imagined as? Select 
the most appropriate option.
 A. mischievous B. gentle C. fearsome D. playful
 VII Match the descriptions in Column 1 with what they symbolise in 
Column 2.
 Column 1 Column 2
Unit 3.indd   112 Unit 3.indd   112 06-Mar-25   2:49:03 PM 06-Mar-25   2:49:03 PM
Page 5


PaPer Boats Let us do these activities before we read.
 I Read the questions given below. Share your answers with your classmates 
and the teacher.
 1. What comes to mind when you think about ‘paper boats’? 
 2. What do you think someone might hope for when they send a paper 
boat down a stream?
 3. Read the title of the poem ‘Paper Boats’ and predict what the poem 
might be about. 
 II Read the given paragraph and match the highlighted words with their 
meanings given in the box below.
loading speedily flowing swelling putting bouncing
  I love to play beside a 1. running stream at a short distance from my 
grandparent’s house. I love to see it 2. skipping along to join a river. On 
the river, I can see boats with 3. bulging sails moving swiftly. Some of 
them take the people from one shore to the other while in some of them 
people can be seen 4. lading things too. I can spend hours watching the 
busy river and dreaming about them, 5. burying my head in my pillow 
at night.
Unit 3.indd   109 Unit 3.indd   109 06-Mar-25   2:49:02 PM 06-Mar-25   2:49:02 PM
 Let us read
Day by day I float my paper boats one by one down 
the running stream.
In big black letters I write my name on them and the 
name of the village where I live.
I hope that someone in some strange land will find 
them and know who I am.
I load my little boats with shiuli flower from our 
garden, and hope that these blooms of the dawn will 
be carried safely to land in the night.
I launch my paper boats and look up into the sky and 
see the little clouds setting the white bulging sails.
I know not what playmate of mine in the sky sends 
them down the air to race with my boats!
When night comes I bury my face in my arms and 
dream that my paper boats float on and on under 
the midnight stars.
The fairies of sleep are sailing in them, and the 
lading is their baskets full of dreams.
r aBinDranath t agore Poorvi Unit 3.indd   110 Unit 3.indd   110 06-Mar-25   2:49:02 PM 06-Mar-25   2:49:02 PM
Dreams an D Discoveries 111
Let us discuss
 I Choose the correct words from the brackets to complete the summary of 
the poem given below.
  The poet sends paper boats down a 1. __________ (stream/river) each day, 
writing his name and the name of his 2. __________ (school/ village) on 
them. He hopes that someone in a 3. __________ (strange/familiar) land will 
find them and know who he is. The poet fills his boats with 4. __________ 
(rose/shiuli) flowers from his garden, hoping they will be safely carried 
to another land at 5. __________ (night/morning). As he launches his boats, 
he imagines that the 6. __________ (clouds/birds) in the sky are like friends, 
racing with his boats. At night, he dreams that his paper boats continue 
to 7. __________ (swim/float) under the midnight stars, with the fairies of 
sleep sailing in them, their baskets full of 8. __________ (dreams/fruits).
 II Choose the correct option for the following. 
  The theme of the poem is ________________. 
 1. innocence 2. imagination 3. ignorance
 4. playfulness 5. travel
 (i) 1, 2 and 3  (ii) 3, 4 and 5       (iii) 1, 4 and 5 (iv) 1, 2 and 4 
 III Identify whether the following statement is true or false. 
  The setting of the poem is a natural, outdoor environment. 
 IV Complete the following sentence by choosing the correct word given 
within the brackets. 
  The tone is ____________________ (sad and serious/gentle and wishful) and 
the mood is ____________________ (thoughtful/boring).
 V Identify the examples of alliteration from the poem.
 VI Fill in the blanks with suitable words from the poem. 
 1. The repetition of words ___________ and ___________ emphasises the 
passage of time. 
 2. The poet uses imagery like ___________ and ___________ to create a 
clear picture in the minds of the readers.
Unit 3.indd   111 Unit 3.indd   111 06-Mar-25   2:49:03 PM 06-Mar-25   2:49:03 PM
Poorvi 112
 Let us think and reflect
 I Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
 1. When night comes I bury my face in my arms and dream that my 
paper boats float on and on under the midnight stars. 
The fairies of sleep are sailing in them, and the lading is their baskets 
full of dreams.
 (i) Select the option that is most likely to be the speaker as per the 
extract.
1.  the child's innocence, 
dreams, hopes, and 
messages sent out into 
the world
2.  purity, beauty, and the 
start of a new day
3.  the vast universe and 
the child's dreams 
continuing through the 
night
(i)  midnight stars
(ii)  paper boats
(iii) shiuli flowers
A. B. C.
D.
 (ii) What can be inferred about the speaker’s feelings when night 
comes?
 (iii) What kind of beings are the ‘fairies of sleep’ imagined as? Select 
the most appropriate option.
 A. mischievous B. gentle C. fearsome D. playful
 VII Match the descriptions in Column 1 with what they symbolise in 
Column 2.
 Column 1 Column 2
Unit 3.indd   112 Unit 3.indd   112 06-Mar-25   2:49:03 PM 06-Mar-25   2:49:03 PM
Dreams an D Discoveries (iv) Fill in the blank by selecting the correct option from those given 
in the brackets.
  The phrase ‘lading is their baskets full of dreams’ suggests that the 
speaker imagines the fairies of sleep carefully _________________ 
(carrying his dreams /collecting his wishes) in their baskets.
 II Answer the following questions. 
 1. Why do you think the poet writes his personal details on the paper 
boats? 
 2. The poet talks about the imagination of a child. Support this view 
with examples from the poem.
 3. How does the poet bring together imagination and reality to make 
the poem more interesting? 
 Let us learn
 I The poet has used phrases like ‘blooms of the dawn’ and ‘fairies of sleep’ 
in the poem. In the same way we can create phrases. Now, select words 
from Column 1 and Column 2 and combine them with ‘of’. Write as many 
phrases as possible in Column 3. An example has been done for you.
Column 1
of
Column 2 Column 3
wings the birds wings of the wind 
waves the wind
dreams the evening
songs the children
glimmers the rain
cries the stars
tears the thunder
roars the ocean
shadows the clouds
113
Unit 3.indd   113 Unit 3.indd   113 06-Mar-25   2:49:03 PM 06-Mar-25   2:49:03 PM