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New NCERT textbook · Class 9 English

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Chapter 10 · Period 1 of 9 · 50 min

Opening the Poem: Context, Empathy, and the Text

Reading For Comprehension · read-aloud

The poem's opening stanzas build athletic anticipation before the emotional pivot at the fall; help students feel that arc during the read-aloud rather than explaining it beforehand. Students may conflate Special Olympics with Paralympics — the paired discussion in Reflect and Respond surfaces and corrects this directly. An unanchored task (the empathy–sympathy–compassion matching table on p.156) may be suggested as independent reading for students who finish the brainstorm quickly.

0–8Teacher opens by asking students what they know about competitive sports for athletes with disabilities. Students share briefly; this primes the empathy and inclusion themes the poem explores.
8–14Reflect and Respond — paired oral exchange on the difference between Olympics, Special Olympics, and Paralympics. Pairs share their thinking with the class; teacher fills gaps with key facts.
14–20Reflect and Respond — paired brainstorm listing words associated with 'empathy'. Students share their lists aloud; teacher builds a class word-web on the board to anchor the poem's central theme.
20–42Unhurried teacher-led read-aloud of all eight stanzas (textbook p.157–158), students following in their copies. Teacher models tone shifts — anticipatory excitement in stanzas 1–3, anguish at the fall in stanza 4, and warm affirmation at the close — and draws attention to the Special Olympics banner in stanza 7.
42–50Brief whole-class pause-and-reflect: students identify one image or moment from the poem that surprised them. Teacher notes these on the board to revisit in the appreciation unit.
Assessment

Learning outcome. Student analyses a poem's tone, imagery, and thematic development using a narrative poem as the vehicle.

Read the stanza on the fall in the poem, beginning "But the smallest among them" (stanza 4, p.157). Then answer the questions below.

  • 1. What two physical words does the poet use to describe the smallest runner's loss of balance, and why might both words be chosen rather than just one?
  • 2. The phrase "dashed in the dirt" refers to the runner's dreams. What does this word choice reveal about what the race meant to him?

What a full answer includes

  • Identifies 'stumbled' and 'staggered' as the two physical words.
  • Explains that both words together intensify the sense of helplessness and loss of control.
  • 'Dashed in the dirt' means destroyed; the metaphor links his dreams to the asphalt fall itself.
  • Recognises the emotional weight: the race represented months of training and hope.
Chapter 10 · 9 periods of 50 min

Also saved as 5 periods or 7 periods.

  • 2Stanza Gists and Contextual Vocabulary
    Reading For Comprehension
  • 3Appreciating Imagery, Tone, and the Poet's Craft
    Reading For Comprehension
  • 4Close Reading: Extract 1 and Extract 2
    Reading For Comprehension
  • 5Analytical Questions: Setting, Symbol, and Authorial Purpose
    Reading For Comprehension
  • 6Adjective–Noun Collocations in Context
    Vocabulary Grammar
  • 7Radio Talk on Patrick Gomes and Paired Discussion on Special Olympics
    Listening + Speaking
  • 8Slogans, Posters, and Beyond-the-Text Projects
    Writing + Beyond Text
  • 9Synthesis: Empathy, Craft, and the Poem's Enduring Vision
    Synthesis
Kaveri · Class 9 · 16 chapters

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