In this post, we’ll learn about Four Friends, which is a topic from Chapter 18, English Subject, Class 6.
Important Vocabularies For This Lesson
- Sky lantern – ফানুস
- Hug – কোলাকুলি করা।
- Bend – বাঁকানো
- Wrapped – মোড়ানো
- Explode – বিস্ফোরণ
- Giggle – মুখ চাপিয়ে হাসা
- Nodded – সম্মতিসূচক মাথা নাড়ানো।
- Delight – আনন্দ
- Temple – মন্দির
- Protima – প্রতিমা
- Gaze at – এক দৃষ্টিতে তাকিয়ে থাকা
- Key theme – মূলভাব
- Author – লেখক
- Observe – খেয়াল করা।
18.1 | Look at the illustrations of the festivals usually celebrated in Bangladesh. Now, in pairs/groups, match the names of the festivals given below with the pictures. Then, discuss the following questions in pairs.
বাংলাদেশে সাধারণভাবে উদযাপিত নিচের উৎসবসমূহের ছবিগুলো দেখ। এখন জোড়ায় দলে উৎসবের নামগুলোর সাথে ছবিগুলো মিলাও। তারপর জোড়ায় নিচের প্রশ্নগুলো আলোচনা করো।
Questions:
1. Which of these festivals do you celebrate?
2. What do you know about these festivals?
3. What do you love about these festivals?
4. Do you have any good memories of any of these festivals?
Ans:
Discussion in Pairs
| Myself : Abdullah, do you celebrate any of these festivals? |
| Abdullah : Yes, I’m a Muslim. So, I celebrate two Eids in a year. Besides. I also celebrate International Mother Language Day and Independence Day. |
| Myself : So, you celebrate three of them. Could you please tell me about Prabarona Purnima? |
| Abdullah : Sorry, I don’t know anything about it. But I can tell you about Christmas and Durga Puja. Christmas is a festival of Christians. They celebrate it on 25th December. And Durga Puja is the biggest festival for the Hindus. |
| Myself : Yes. I know about Pahela Boishakh and Holi. Pahela Boishakh is the first day of Bangla year and people celebrate it through huge procession and eating Panta-Ilish. |
| Abdullah : And Holi is a day when the Hindus play, throw, and have fun with colours. By the way, what do you love about these festivals? |
| Myself : Well, these festivals make our life happy. We can enjoy a lot and meet different friends. We also eat special delicious food on these days. |
| Abdullah : Not only that, these festivals increase brotherhood among people and make us a distinct nation. Do you have any good memories of any of these festivals? |
| Myself : Yes, of course I have. Three years back my father bought me blue pajamas, blue panjabi and a pair of blue shoes. I was so happy that the following day would be Eid day. |
18.2 | Bangladesh is a country of festivals. Throughout the year, we celebrate different types of festivals such as religious, national and cultural. Now, in pairs/groups complete the following table and share with the class.
Ans
The festivals we celebrate
| What is the name of the festival? | When do you observe it? | What kind of dress do you wear? | What are the foods you eat? | Where do you visit? | What fun activities do you do? |
| Eid | After Ramadan | New dress specially Panjabi | Meat, Polao and desert items | Friends and relatives | Take and receive gifts and go out for walk |
| Independence Day | 26th March | Red and green coloured dress | Ordinary foods | National Memorial at Savar | We remember the heroic deeds of freedom fighters and feel proud of them |
| PahelaBoishakh | First day of Bangla year | Red and white Saree and Panjabi | Panta-llish | Procession | Play with mask |
| Mother Language Day | 21st February | Black dress | Normal Foods | Shaheed Minar | Feel proud of the day and remember the sacrifice of the martyrs. |
18.3 | In pairs/groups, read the names of the festivals in the box below and then categorise them in the right columns in terms of their types. Now, write 2-3 differences among these festivals. One is done for you.
Ans:
| Types of festivals | Name of the festivals |
| 1. Religious | 1. Eid-al-Fitr 2. Durga Puja 3. Christmas 4. Probarona Purnima 5. Diwali 6. Easter Sunday 7. Eid-al-Adha |
| 2. Cultural | 1. Pohela Boishakh 2. Nabanno |
| 3. National | 1. Mother Language Day 2. Independence Day 3. Victory Day |
Differences among these festivals:
| 1. Religious festivals are celebrated mainly by people from different religions. For example, the Muslims celebrate Eid, the Hindus celebrate Durga puja etc. But, cultural and national festivals are celebrated by the people of all religions. |
| 2. In religious festivals, people of different religions wear different dresses. For example, in Eid, the Muslims wear Panjabi and in Puja, the Hindus wear Dhuti etc. But in cultural and national festivals, people of all religions wear same kind of dresses. |
| 3. Religious festivals are observed through some specific rituals and the people have to perform those rituals strictly. For example, the Muslims have to say Eid prayer and the Hindus have to perform Puja strictly on the occasions. On the other hand, in cultural and national festivals people do not perform such strict rituats rather they enjoy the day in a particular way. |
18.5 | Now in groups/pairs find out the meanings of the following words. Also, write a sentence of your own with these words. If necessary, take the help of a dictionary or your teacher. Then, share the table with the class. One is done for you.
Ans:
| Words/Phrases | Meaning | Your sentence |
| Hug | An act of embracing | My brother gave me a hug on Eid day. |
| Bend down | To stoop | Bend down the branch of the tree for me. |
| Wrapped | Grappled | She gifted me a chocolate box wrapped with paper. |
| Explode | To burst | The gas cyclinder exploded last night |
| Giggle | Keep laughing in a childlike way | Who is giggling there? |
| Nodded | Shook head as a sign of agreement | I asked my father if he could give me ten taka and he nodded. |
| Delight | Pleasure/Happiness | The clown gave us delight. |
| Temple | Shrine/Sanctum | Anti went to a temple yesterday. |
| Gazed at | Looked at | He gazed at me. |
| Beard | Long hair that grows on men’s jaw | My father has beard. |
| Swaying | Moving from side to side | The pendulum is swaying. |
| Sack | A large bag full of something | My brother bought a sack of rice. |
18.6 | Can you remember the characteristics of a story? If needed open page, and have a look. One of the main characteristics of a story is “the theme of the story.” Now, read the note in the following box and find out the major theme of the story “Four Friends’. Then explain it to the class.
Ans:
The key theme of the story ‘Four Friends’ is brotherhood or fraternity that means living peacefully with everyone as if they are my brothers.
Because in the story the main characters, the four friends, live in peace and harmony. Not only that, they also enjoy one another’s religious festivals. Now let’s write the theme to explain it to the class.
18.7 | Think of 2/3 stories that you read already from any of your textbooks (e.g, Bengali, English, etc.) Then, write the name of the story and the key themes next to it in the table below.
Ans:
| Name of the story | Key theme |
| 1. The Garden | The key theme of the story is the importance of patience |
| 2. The Lion’s Mane | The key theme of the story is the importance of wisdom rather than appearance. |
| 3. Shototar Puroshkar | The significance and reward of being truthful is the main theme here. |
18.8 | Suppose your school is going to publish the annual magazine. A notice is served to submit writings. Your class has decided to write a text on ‘How we can make our festivals more enjoyable by inviting all our friends.” Now, in groups discuss the topic and start writing
Ans: Writing Text
| Making Festivals More Enjoyable |
| Bangladesh is a land of festivals. It is said that we have thirteen festivals in twelve months. Festivals are nothing but enjoying an event with full pleasure and vigor and it will be only possible with the presence of a lot of fellows. Without fellow mates any festival cannot be enjoyable. We may think about our next national festival 26th March. We can invite all of our teachers, guardians, and students. There may be a number of programmes to arrange. We will decorate the school campus with flags and colorful festoons. Then, we can arrange an open seminar session where distinguished guests and scholars will give lectures on our independence war. Lastly, there will be a cultural session where patriotic songs will be sung by invited and local singers. We can culminate the programme with small snacks. However, if we invite all the students irrespective of religions, nations the programme will be full of participants. The campus will have a festive look. Thus, we can make all such festivals more enjoyable by inviting all our friends. |
18.9 | Think of a festival that you are going to celebrate next. Then, decide on some of your friends whom you are going to invite to the festival. Now, write an invitation letter to them. In the letter, describe your plan of fun activities like sharing gifts, enjoying delicious food, visiting a special place etc. Also tell them why you want to celebrate the festival with all your friends.
Ans:
| Date: 02.06.2023 Dear Abdullah, I am very excited to tell you that my family is going to celebrate Nabanno festival on 10th June in an impressive way. It is going to be impressive because we are inviting all of our paternal and maternal relatives. Your presence will add to our enjoyment. My mother will make various colourful and tasty pithas. My grandmother will cook a delicious traditional dish with domestic chicken. My father will buy a piece of new dress for everyone as a gift. I want to enjoy the event with full content. That is why, I am inviting all my friends. Please, accept the invitation and come the day before the event, and make me happy thereby. Your friend. Abdur Rahman |
