BAL BHARATI PUBLIC SCHOOL, PITAMPURA, DELHI – 110034

CLASS VII– ENGLISH

Somebody’s Mother

-Mary Dow Brine

Dear Students

➢ This lesson is based on the topic ‘Somebody’s Mother’ from New Images. Read the poem
thoroughly.
➢ Mark the vocabulary words in the lesson and find out their meanings using a dictionary.
➢ Mark the answers to the back exercise questions of ‘Somebody’s Mother’ in the book itself.
➢ Assignment questions and the Vocabulary Enhancement Exercise must be attempted in the
English fair notebook.
➢ Do not forget to write the questions as well.

Subtopics
▪ Theme and title of the poem
▪ Character sketch of the boy (gayest laddie) and the old woman
▪ Poetic devices in the poem

Instructional Aids
▪ Microsoft Word to be used as a white board (screen sharing)
▪ YouTube video for further reference
▪ Flow chart to summarize the poem

▪ YouTube link of the poem – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PADVipG9oIg

Learning Outcomes
Each learner will be able to:
▪ Summarize the poem briefly.
▪ Analyse the character of the boy and the old woman.
▪ Identify the poetic devices given in the poem.

Activity
1. Brainstorming: The teacher to ask the students about the importance of showing kindness
to others.

2. Brief Discussion – A discussion to be held on whether students have ever lent a helping
hand to anyone.
• Probe the students to express their feelings on how they felt on helping someone.

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 Lesson Development

BLOCK - I

I. ABOUT THE POET AND THE POEM

• Mary Dow Brine was born in the year 1816 in New York. She was a children’s author.
Somebody’s Mother is one of her best works.
• In this poem, the poet highlights the importance of compassion and how we should help
others so that even our loved ones are helped by others.

II. CHARACTER SKETCH OF THE BOY

• He was kind, considerate, polite and soft spoken. He very politely asked the old woman if she
wanted to cross the road.
• The boy willingly helped the old lady cross the road.
• No passerby paid heed to the old lady’s need and concern. The boy was the only one who
understood that she needed her and came forward to help her.
• The old lady was a stranger to him still he helped her.
• The boy symbolises kindness.
• His heart was happy and content because he had helped the old lady when she needed help.
• He was different from the other children of his age group as no one even noticed her.
• He loved his mother very much.
• He strongly believed that one day his own mother could be in a similar situation and that
someone else would help her.

III. CHARACTER SKETCH OF THE OLD LADY

• She was very old, poor and very weak.
• She was not able to tolerate that severe cold.
• She was not very confident of crossing the road as she was very weak.
• Her legs trembled with cold. She had no courage to cross such a busy and a slippery road.
• She stood all alone at the crossroads for long as she wanted to cross the road.
• She was very anxious as the road was very busy and slippery.
• The lady was thankful to the boy for the help that he had rendered.
• That night, at home, the old lady prayed for the boy who had helped her cross the road. Her
heart was overflowing with gratitude and pride.

BLOCK - II

IV. THEME
• The main theme of the poem is that we should be kind to others and lend a helping hand
to those in need.
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 • The poem highlights the importance of compassion and how each stranger is important in
someone’s life.
• The poem conveys the message that if we help someone today then someday our loved
ones will be helped by others.
• The poem elaborates the idea that what goes around, comes around.
• The poem shows the pain of a lonely mother.

V. EXPLANATION
• Title: The poem, as the title suggests, is about somebody’s mother who is very old and
alone.
• She looked lonely and tired and wore ragged clothes. She was bent with cold.
• It was a very cold day. It had snowed and the snow piled deep on the road.
• The old woman stood at a crossing to go to the other side of the road. She kept waiting for
the traffic to stop so that she could safely go to the other side.
• The people in the street went past the old woman but did not pay any attention to her.
• The old woman was too meek and afraid to move, lest she would slip on the wet street and
come under a carriage wheel or horses’ feet.
• A group of boys came out of the school. They were very happy and noisy.
• They took no notice of the old lady standing at the crossing but were busy playing with the
newly fallen snow.
• A young boy who was very kind and understanding took notice of her and helped her to
cross the road.
• The young laddie told his friends that he helped the old lady thinking that someday when he
might be far away from his mother might be in a similar situation then someone would help
his mother.
• The old woman that night prayed to God to be kind to the boy who had helped her cross the
road.

Poetic devices

SIMILE:
Simile is the direct comparison between two things. It compares two things by using ‘as’ or
‘like.’
Eg: came happy boys like a flock of sheep.

ALLITERATION:
Alliteration is a literary device in which words with the same consonant sound or syllable
occur. It gives a poem a different and a unique rhythm.
Eg: She placed, and so, without hurt and harm

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 BLOCK – III

VI. SUMMARY

• It was a winter evening.

• An old woman was waiting to cross a busy road near a school.
• She was very old and wore ragged clothes.
• The woman was scared to cross the road as it was wet due to the recent snow.
• She stood there for long, alone and uncared.

• The passersby took no notice of the lady. No one paid heed to anxious look in her
eyes.
• The woman stood there with her feet trembling feet waiting for someone to
help her cross the road.
• The school bell rang and now the street was crowded with the school children
who were laughing and shouting.
• They threw snow on each other as they passed by but none took notice of the
old lady.
• At last there came one boy from the merry troop who noticed the old woman
and understood that she needed help.
• He approached her and in a very soft and low tone asked her if she needed help
to cross the road.

• The old woman placed her aged hand on his strong young arm and followed him
to the other side of the road.
• The young boy felt much contended after helping the old woman.
• He told his friends that he helped the old lady as he strongly believed that one
day his own mother could be in a similar situation and that someone else would
help her. That night the old woman prayed to God to bless kind and noble boy
for helping her when she needed help.

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 ASSIGNMENT QUESTIONS
1. Reference to the context

Down the street, with laughter and shout,

Glad in the freedom of ‘school let out’
Came the boys like a flock of sheep,
Hailing the snow piled white and deep.

Answer the following questions with reference to the lines given above:
1. Identify the poem and the poet.

2. Who came out of the school laughing and shouting? Why?

3. Pick out the poetic device from the above lines.

4. Write the rhyme scheme used in the above lines.

5. The synonym of the word piled is ____________________

i) scattered
ii) Heaped up
iii) stored
iv) falling

2. Why do you think the boy helped the old woman cross the road? What reward did he get for his act of kindness
towards the old lady? (30-40 words)

3. Justify the title ‘Somebody’s mother’. (50-60 words)

4. Make a pen portrait of the boy who helped the lady cross the road. (50-60 words)

Hints: (The old woman was wearing old and ragged clothes, was bent due to chill, looked sad and fearful, the boy
thought that someday somebody would help his mother, the lady prayed to God to be kind to the noble boy who
helped her cross the road, the poem is not about one particular mother but in general, about every mother whose
son has left her for work, the boy was kind, helping minded, understanding.)

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 Vocabulary Enhancement Exercise
Note: We are all in the habit of adding ‘very’ to any descriptive word to convey that it is more than
ordinary. The word ‘very’ is used with adjectives or adverbs while writing. We can improve our writing
skill to a great extent if we replace the word ‘very’ with better words. A list of words beginning with ‘very’
is given below.

5. Match the following by choosing the suitable substitutes from the grid given below. You may take the
help of a dictionary. The first one has been done for you.

1. very tiny - diminutive

2. very special - ______________
3. very clear - ______________
4. very sad - ______________
5. very easy - ______________
6. very hungry - ______________
7. very intelligent - ______________
8. very beautiful - ______________
9. very brave - ______________
10. very creative - ______________
11. very dear - ______________
12. very calm - _______________
13. very crowded - _______________
14. very dirty - _______________
15. very dry - _______________
16. very fat - _______________
17. very friendly - _______________
18. very frightening - _______________
19. very funny - _______________
20. very glad - _______________

accessible comical courageous soiled transparent artistic plump startling diminutive tranquil

alluring elated favoured distinctive astute cramped barren despondent ravenous cordial

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