NCERT Solutions — Gilli Danda (Class 5 English, Santoor)

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Published on: 1 November 2025

Gilli Danda NCERT Solutions for Chapter 7 of Class 5 English (Santoor Textbook)

**NCERT Solutions — Gilli Danda (Class 5 English, Santoor)**

Here is a full NCERT solution for Class 5 English — Chapter “Gilli Danda” (Santoor / NCERT Book), covering Let Us Think, Let Us Learn, Let Us Speak / Write, and other typical exercise parts.

Let Us Think / Let Us Read

A. Answer the following

Which game does the poem mention? What are the things needed to play this game?
Answer: The poem mentions the game Gilli Danda. To play it, one needs a long stick (called danda) and a small wooden piece (called gilli).
According to the poem, how do the players feel while playing Gilli Danda?
Answer: The players feel joyful, free, and full of excitement while playing Gilli Danda.
What happens to the tiny gilli when the stick strikes it?
Answer: When the stick strikes the gilli, it flies up high into the air.
Which lines tell us that the children are playing the game outside?
Answer: The lines “Underneath the bright blue skies” and “Under the golden rays of the sun!” indicate that the children are playing outdoors.
What is the meaning of the line “our game is so sound”?
Answer: In this poem, “sound” means solid, lively, and enjoyable — the game is good, full of life and fun.
Which word in the poem shows ‘happiness’?
Answer: The word “joy” is used in the poem and shows the feeling of happiness.

B. Think and Discuss

Do you enjoy playing outdoors? Why or why not?
Answer (sample): Yes, I enjoy playing outdoors because fresh air, sunlight, and company of friends make playtime fun and healthy.
Name five outdoor games that you enjoy playing with your friends.
Answer (sample): Gilli Danda, Cricket, Football, Hide-and-Seek, Hopscotch.
Imagine you are the small gilli. What would you see while flying up in the sky?
Answer (sample): If I were the gilli, I’d see the blue sky, soft clouds, green trees below, the faces of my friends looking up, and sunshine all around me.

Let Us Learn (Grammar & Word Exercises)

A. Prefixes / Word Formation

When we add un- at the start of a word, it generally means “not / opposite”, e.g. unhappy, unaware.
When we add re-, it means again, e.g. rewrite, rearrange.

Exercise A: Add correct prefixes to the following words and write their meanings

Base Word	Prefix	New Word	Meaning
common	un-	uncommon	Not common, rare
write	re-	rewrite	Write again
aware	un-	unaware	Not aware
comfortable	un-	uncomfortable	Not comfortable
arrange	re-	rearrange	Arrange again
think	re-	rethink	Think again

(These are sample answers — you can ask students to find more.)

B: Encircle the nouns that you can see, taste, touch, or smell.

joy	leaf	anger	mountain
sun	shirt	toffee	rose
ice cube	sugar	hat	truth
chessboard	lie	football	deer
tree	happiness	cat	spoon
river	fear	cup	tiger

Answer:

Encircle (✔️) the nouns you can see, touch, taste, or smell — these are concrete nouns.

joy	✔️ leaf	anger	✔️ mountain
✔️ sun	✔️ shirt	✔️ toffee	✔️ rose
✔️ ice cube	✔️ sugar	✔️ hat	truth
✔️ chessboard	lie	✔️ football	✔️ deer
✔️ tree	happiness	✔️ cat	✔️ spoon
✔️ river	fear	✔️ cup	✔️ tiger

Concrete Nouns (Things we can see, touch, taste, or smell):

leaf, mountain, sun, shirt, toffee, rose, ice cube, sugar, hat, chessboard, football, deer, tree, cat, spoon, river, cup, tiger

Abstract Nouns (Things we cannot see or touch – feelings, ideas):

joy, anger, truth, lie, happiness, fear

Can you think of a few more abstract nouns?

Here are some examples you can write in your notebook:

love
honesty
courage
friendship
kindness
intelligence
beauty
peace
sadness
wisdom

Possessive pronouns indicate ownership or relationship between people and things.
For example:
1. The book on the table is mine.
2. The red handbag is hers.
3. There is a new cycle near the gate, is it yours?

Explanation — Possessive Pronouns (Class 5 English Grammar)

Definition:
Possessive pronouns show ownership, belonging, or relationship between people and things.
They replace nouns to avoid repetition and make sentences shorter and clearer.

Examples:

The book on the table is mine.
(The book belongs to me.)
The red handbag is hers.
(The handbag belongs to her.)
There is a new cycle near the gate — is it yours?
(The cycle belongs to you.)

List of Possessive Pronouns:

Singular	Plural
mine	ours
yours	yours
his	theirs
hers	—
its	—

More Example Sentences:

This pen is mine, not yours.
That house is theirs; it looks beautiful.
The big brown dog wagged its tail.
We brought our lunch, but they forgot theirs.
She found her pencil box, but couldn’t find hers.
The responsibility is ours to complete the project on time.
Is this umbrella yours or his?

Note:

Do not confuse possessive pronouns with possessive adjectives.

Possessive Adjective	Possessive Pronoun
my book	mine
your pen	yours
his car	his
her bag	hers
our home	ours
their toys	theirs

C. Fill in the blanks with the most suitable word from the list below.
(theirs, mine, yours, his, hers, ours)

These crayons belong to me. These are……………………. .
The toy train belongs to Mudit. The toy train is ……………………. .
The house with the red roof belongs to my cousins. The house is ……………………. .
The little girl has bought a set of bowls to play Jal Tarang. The bowls belong to her. The bowls are ……………………. .
We have a cow with large brown eyes. The cow is ……………………. .
You should take better care of your things. After all, they belong to you. The things are ……………………. .

Answers —

These crayons belong to me. These are mine.
The toy train belongs to Mudit. The toy train is his.
The house with the red roof belongs to my cousins. The house is theirs.
The little girl has bought a set of bowls to play Jal Tarang. The bowls belong to her. The bowls are hers.
We have a cow with large brown eyes. The cow is ours.
You should take better care of your things. After all, they belong to you. The things are yours.

Did You Know?

Gilli Danda is known as tip-cat in English.

Let us Speak

Gilli Danda is a fun outdoor game.

• It is played with two sticks—one short (gilli) and one long (danda).
• One of the players hits the gilli with the danda to make it fly in the air.
• Other players try to catch the gilli.

Think of a game played in groups. Share the information with your classmates.

You may include the following information:

The name of the game.
Whether it is an indoor or outdoor game.
Number of players needed.
Material required for the game.
Rules of the game along with safety instructions.

Activity — Think of a Game Played in Groups

1. Name of the Game:
Cricket

2. Indoor or Outdoor Game:
Outdoor game

3. Number of Players Needed:
Two teams — each team has 11 players.

4. Materials Required for the Game:

A bat and a ball
Wickets (three stumps and two bails)
Protective gear such as gloves, pads, and helmet

5. Rules of the Game (with Safety Instructions):

One team bats while the other team bowls and fields.
The batting team tries to score runs by hitting the ball and running between the wickets.
The bowling team tries to get the batsmen out by hitting the stumps or catching the ball.
Players must wear helmets and pads to stay safe.
The game should be played in an open ground to avoid accidents or broken windows.

Example of Another Group Game — Kho Kho

1. Name of the Game: Kho Kho
2. Type: Outdoor game
3. Number of Players: 9 players in each team
4. Materials Required: Chalk or rope to mark the ground
5. Rules & Safety:

Players sit in a row and take turns chasing the opponent team.
The chaser has to touch and catch running players.
Always wear comfortable shoes and avoid pushing others.

Let us Listen

Listen to the teacher and respond with a matching action.

“Swing and hit”: Pretend to swing an invisible danda.
“Watch it go!”: Raise your arms as if you have just hit the gilli and you are watching it fly.
“Laughing, playing”: Giggle or clap hands.
“Shade your eyes from the sun”: Keep your hands above your eyebrows.

Let us Write

A. Find the meanings of the following words using a dictionary.

1. Quit
2. Gather
3. Swing
4. Underneath
5. Golden Now,
use each word in a sentence of your own

A. Find the meanings of the following words and use them in sentences

Word	Meaning	Sentence
1. Quit	To stop doing something; to give up	Rohan decided not to quit playing until he mastered the game.
2. Gather	To come together in one place or collect	The children gather in the playground to play Gilli Danda.
3. Swing	To move back and forth or side to side	The player took a strong swing and hit the gilli high in the air.
4. Underneath	Below or beneath something	The gilli rolled underneath the bench after the hit.
5. Golden	Bright yellow like gold; shining	They played happily under the golden rays of the sun.

B. Rearrange the following to form a question and write them in your notebook. Remember to put a question mark at the end.

• are cows where the
• is your house which
• it time is what
• the blue why sky is
• the many are how birds on tree
• you my when return will book
• walk you to do school
• a can fly kite you

Answers:

Where are the cows?
Which is your house?
What time is it?
Why is the sky blue?
How many birds are on the tree?
When will you return my book?
Do you walk to school?
Can you fly a kite?

C. The word ‘gilli ’ has double ‘l’ in it. Similarly, the words ‘millet’ and ‘bullock’ have double ‘l’.

Now write three words having each of the double letters given below.

tt ………………….. ………………….. ……………………
pp ………………….. ………………….. ……………………
ee ………………….. ………………….. ……………………
mm ………………….. ………………….. ……………………
bb ………………….. ………………….. ……………………
rr ………………….. ………………….. ……………………
nn ………………….. ………………….. ……………………
dd ………………….. ………………….. ……………………
ss ………………….. ………………….. ……………………
gg ………………….. ………………….. ……………………

Note to the Teacher
Initially, young learners may come up with only nouns. Encourage them to think of adjectives, verbs, and adverbs too.

Words with Double Letters

Double Letter	Words (Examples)
tt	butter, letter, kitten
pp	apple, happy, puppy
ee	green, cheese, street
mm	summer, hammer, common
bb	rabbit, bubble, hobby
rr	mirror, carry, cherry
nn	banner, tunnel, dinner
dd	ladder, puddle, middle
ss	glass, dress, grass
gg	bigger, digging, luggage

Teacher’s Tip:
Encourage students to find verbs and adjectives too — for example:

ss: press, messy
tt: bitter, written
mm: swim, yummy

D. Circle the word that is different in meaning from the underlined word

No.	Sentence	Options	Correct Answer (Different in Meaning)
1.	Miibi went to the market and bought an expensive toy.	precious, costly, cheap	cheap
2.	Anju and Farida forgot to buy popcorn and juice for the picnic.	remembered, revised, ignored	remembered
3.	The moon continued to count the stars night after night.	stopped, began, started	stopped
4.	I always complete my homework on time.	often, never, sometimes	never
5.	There was excitement in the shop among the toys.	interest, enjoyment, boredom	boredom
6.	Badal nervously told his mother about the dog he found on his way home.	sadly, joyfully, confidently	confidently
7.	Everyone liked the vibrant colours of the bangles.	dull, bright, shiny	dull
8.	The fort is known for its unique style of construction.	different, unusual, common	common

Let us Do

A. Let us make a Gilli Danda using waste material.

Things required:

A thick, firm twig or a wooden stick (for the danda)
Thick small twig (for the gilli) A rough stone (for smoothening the sticks)
Colours or coloured papers (optional, for decoration)

Steps
For the Danda (stick)

Find a Stick Use any thick, firm twig or discarded wooden stick.
Smoothen the Surface Use a rough stone to smoothen the surface of the stick.
Decorate (Optional) Make your stick attractive by painting it with colours or covering it with a coloured paper.

For the Gilli (small peg)

Find a Small Stick Use a small twig, or a piece of a discarded stick, about 3–4 inches long.
Shape the Ends Sharpen both ends of the gilli using a rough stone to give it a proper shape.
Smoothen the Surface Ensure it is smooth by rubbing it with a stone.
Decorate (Optional) Colour or paint the gilli for an attractive look.
Final Touch
Test the gilli and danda to ensure they are easy to handle and are sturdy.

Just for Fun

Riddle

It belongs to you. But, your friends use it more than you. What is it?

Answer: Your name.

Explanation: It belongs to you (it’s your name), but other people — friends, family, teachers — use it more often when they call or talk about you.

B. Spellathon

How many words of three or more letters can you make from the letters shown in the following wheel? Rule: One letter can be used as many times as it appears in the wheel.

Letters in the Wheel:
A, E, E, H, C, R

Words (3 or more letters) you can make:

Ace
Ear
Are
Her
He
Era
Each
Care
Race
Reach
Arch
Cheer
Hear
Cree
Ache

Seven-letter word using all letters:

Teacher

Now, create your own word wheel!

Example letters:
T, R, A, P, E, N, L

Try to make as many words as you can — and find the 7-letter word hidden in it (Planet)!

Let Us Speak / Write

Let Us Speak

Prompt: Think of a game you enjoy playing in groups. Tell your classmates its name, whether it is played indoors or outdoors, how many players it requires, what materials it needs, and rules.
Example response: “I like to play kho-kho. It is an outdoor game. Two teams of 9 players each. You need a field, chalk lines, and teams chase each other. One team sits, the other team tries to tag them.”

Let Us Write

Suggested writing task in the NCERT book: Use your own words to “Imagine you are the gilli flying high in the sky. What do you see? How do you feel?”

Sample answer: As the gilli, I soar high in the air. Below me I see green fields and small houses. I hear my friends cheering and gasping as I rise. The sun’s golden rays warm me, and clouds brush my sides. I feel free, light, and joyful. What a wonderful flight it is!

Summary / Key Points & Word Meanings

Summary:
The poem Gilli Danda describes children playing the traditional game outdoors. They gather with their danda and gilli, count “one, two, three,” swing and hit, and watch the gilli fly under the blue sky and golden sun. The poem celebrates friendship, joy, and freedom through simple play.

Word Meanings (some key words):

Word	Meaning
gather	to come together in one place
swing	to move back and forth, or to hit something with a sweeping motion
joy	a feeling of great happiness
free	without restriction; feeling liberty
underneath	beneath or below something
rays	beams of light from the sun
fun	enjoyment, amusement
game	an activity played for enjoyment
gilli	a small wooden stick used in this game
sound (in poem)	lively, good, solid