LESSON 6: Braille

Here are the important word meanings of the lesson.

English Word	Pronunciation	Hindi Meaning
Blacksmith	ब्लैक्स्मिथ	लोहार
Blind	ब्लाइंड	दृष्टिहीन / अंधा
Pincushions	पिनकुशन्स	पिन गद्दी
Invented	इन्वेन्टेड	आविष्कार किया
Pierced	पियर्सड	चुभ गया / छेद दिया
Affected	अफेक्टेड	प्रभावित
Teenager	टीनएजर	किशोर
Simplified	सिम्प्लिफाइड	सरल बनाया
Success	सक्सेस	सफलता

A. Answer the following.

Question 1: Describe the Braille alphabet.

Answer: The Braille alphabet is a method of reading through touch. It has one Braille symbol for each of the twenty-six letters of the English alphabet, made of raised dots.

Question 2: Why was ‘Night Writing’ not a success?

Answer: ‘Night Writing’ was not a success because it was too difficult.

Question 3: What did Louis Braille do to make reading easier for the blind?

Answer: Louis Braille became interested in ‘Night Writing’ and simplified it. He gave the world the Braille alphabet, allowing people with blindness to read through touch.

B. Think and discuss.

Question 1: You may have seen people with blindness walking with a white cane. Why is the cane always white-coloured?

Answer: The cane is painted white so that it is brightly visible to other people and drivers. It acts as a clear signal that the person holding it has visual impairment, helping others to give them safe space and right-of-way.

Question 2: Imagine that the world becomes dark for a day and there is no light. What difficulties might one face on such a day?

Answer: If the world became dark, it would be very hard to walk around without bumping into furniture or walls. We would not be able to read regular books, find our clothes easily, or do simple tasks like pouring a glass of water without spilling it.

Question: Close your eyes. Pick an object. Keep the object back. Now complete the sentences and share them with the class.

(Teacher’s Note: I will give you a sample answer using an apple. You can try this at home with any safe object!)

Answer:

1. The object in my hand was round in shape.

2. The object in my hand was shorter than my forefinger.

3. The object in my hand was a small apple.

4. Additional lines: It felt very smooth on the outside. It also felt slightly heavy and cold to the touch.

Note for teacher:

Put stress on the consonant cluster ‘spl’.
• Repeat each word 3-4 times.
• Give learners time to familiarise themselves with
the sound

A. Write these words using the Braille alphabet. You can paste “bindis”. One is done for you.

Answer:

   Question 5: Write your name in Braille.

(Teacher’s Note: You can look at the Braille alphabet chart on page 56 of your book to match the letters of your beautiful name!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

B. List the precautions that should be taken to protect eyes from harm.

Question: Louis Braille lost his eyesight in an accident.

Some time ago, a newspaper reported that a child lost one eye while lighting firecrackers. List the precautions that should be taken to protect eyes from harm.

Answer:

• Always wear protective safety glasses when lighting firecrackers.

• Never play with sharp tools, pencils, or sticks near your face or someone else’s face.

• Do not rub your eyes with dirty hands to avoid infections.

• Maintain a safe distance from open flames or sparks.

C. Read the following sentences and notice the underlined words.

•  Long ago, in France, a little boy named Louis Braille was playing near his home.
• The cats were sleeping when I reached home.
• Sameer was playing hopscotch last evening.

All the above sentences are examples of events that started in the past and continued for some time. If the sentence is about one person, animal or bird, we use ‘was + action word + ing.’
Example: The student was writing in his notebook.
If the sentence is about more than one person, animal or bird, we use ‘were + action word + ing.’
Example: The students were writing in their notebooks.
The following sentences describe actions in the present. Change them to the past as shown in the examples.

Answer:

D. Look at the picture story. Now fill in the blanks from the suitable options.

   Answer: My friend Tarandeep told me an interesting thing yesterday. She was feeding her friends, the squirrels and the sparrows. She was scattering grains for them.

Her grandmother was hanging out the clothes to dry on a clothesline.

Grandmother was entering the house when a strong wind began to blow.

When she returned with the clothes pegs, she saw a wonderful scene! The sparrows and squirrels were sitting on the clothes to prevent them from falling. Tarandeep was clapping her hands with joy. Grandmother put the pegs on the clothes, and Tarandeep set down a bowl of water for her friends.