Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark

Class 4 | Unit 5 | Poem 

DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK 

Picture-based Interaction 

• Show picture 1 to the students. 
• What do you see in the picture? (a boy, lying down)  
• What is the boy doing? What is he looking at? (watching/looking/seeing the moon and the stars) 
• How is he - happy, sad, angry or scared? (scared/afraid) 
• What do we do at night? (sleep) 
• What is the difference between day and night? How is the sky at night? (night-dark) 

Show picture 2 to the students. 

• What do you see in the picture? (man, sun) 
• How does the man feel? (tired) 
• Is the sun shining very brightly? Will it be very hot? Do you feel comfortable when the sun is very hot? (very hot) 

Some of the words derived through interaction can be written on the board. A few students can be asked to read the words from the board (make them to use a stick or pointer while reading the words; this will help them and others to associate syllables with sounds and the teacher to verify it). 

sun moon      stars    night      dark     afraid     sleep 

Show the above pictures to the students and initiate an interaction. 

Interaction 

• What do you see in picture 3? 
• Is it day or night? 
• Is the street crowded and busy? 
• What do you see in the picture 4? 
• Is the place crowded and busy? 
• What time is it? 

Narrative 

Shall we listen to the story of the boy in picture 1? His name is Ashok. This story tells us how he overcame his fear. 

Most of us are afraid of the dark, aren’t we? We fear that some ghost might attack us; we fear that wild animals might be hiding somewhere. It is the fear of unknown that scares us.  

Interaction Questions 

• Will you go out alone at night? 
• Are you afraid of the dark? 
• Why are you scared?  
• What do you do when you are scared? 

Little Ashok is no different. He is happy during the day. He goes out; plays with his friends all through the day; roams around the entire village; walks into the wilderness; enjoys the nature. But as the night falls, the fear of dark comes along too. Ashok starts imagining all kinds of creatures dancing behind him; huge dark figure with no hands, a figure without legs staring at him. His imagination grows like the wilderness at night. 

One night Ashok had a bad dream in his sleep. “Amma...amma… save me! save me!! save me from these people!” poor Ashok woke up crying. Amma heard Ashok cry and she woke up shocked too. She switched on the light at once. “Don’t worry my dear. Don’t worry. I’m here… don’t worry!!”, amma began consoling him. Ashok stopped crying after a while. Amma took Ashok near the window and had a chat with him. 

Amma: What is it Ashok? What’s wrong? 

Ashok: Amma I fear the dark night. I fear some ghost or animal might attack me. 

Amma: Don’t be afraid of the night Ashok. The night is actually better than the day. Let me tell you what happened to me today. Do you know where I had gone today? 

Ashok: Where Amma?  

Amma: Amma had gone to the market in the afternoon. The sun was very hot and harsh. I got tired very soon and even got a headache. 

Ashok: Amma, I too felt the same. It was very hot today. I drank a lot of water in school. 

Amma: But isn’t it cool now? Is the moonlight harsh like the sunlight? 

Ashok: No amma! 

Amma: Isn’t the night beautiful? Look at those stars; they are shining forever and ever. 

Ashok: Yes, amma; the night is beautiful. But I feel bored at night. 

Amma: Aren’t we very busy during the day? You are in school. Appa has to go for work. I have to go to the market. The streets are crowded. It seems like our troubles will not cease. But, what about night? Everyone is resting. It is the time to sleep peacefully. The world is at peace at night. 

Ashok: Yes, amma, you are right. But I’m afraid of the darkness. What do I do? 

Amma: Think about your friends. Think of your school friends who stay near. Think of your friends far away in Thanjavur. Think about how you will be playing with them during the vacation. And slowly you will fall asleep. 

Ashok: That’s a great idea Amma. I think I’m not afraid of the night anymore. I’ll be friends with the night. 

Amma: Goodnight then. Sweet dreams little one. 

Ashok: Goodnight Amma. 

Some of the relevant words/phrases from the narrative can be written on the blackboard. 

Don’t be afraid; harsh; stars will be shining forever and ever; friends far and near; friends with the night; troubles; cease; peace/fully; rest; the world is at peace; little one 

Teacher can ask the students to come in groups and read the words and phrases written on the board. After that, they can be asked to read the poem from the textbook. Students can first read the poem individually and later discuss in groups. 

Reading 

• Individual reading – Ask students to read the poem silently. They can underline/put a question mark against the unknown words and tick the known words.  
• Collaborative reading – Students can sit in groups and read and discuss the poem. They can discuss with each other to see if others can help them with the words that they do not know. 
• Reading aloud by the teacher – teacher reads the poem to the class. She can discuss with the students the words that are unknown to them even after the group discussions. 

Choreography 

Students plan and enact a choreography of the poem. The teacher can guide them. 

Characters: boy, mother, people on the street 

Settings: bedroom; market/street 

Scene 1 

Boy is sleeping – has a bad dream – cries out suddenly –  mother enters the room – boy tells mother that he is afraid of the dark 

Scene 2 

Comparison of day and night (one group can enact daytime activities, while another can enact the night sky or night time activities) 

The conversation between the boy and the mother can also be acted out. 

Scene 3 

Boy goes to sleep happily. 

Comprehension Questions 

Teacher can ask the questions given in page 75.