The opening poem of Class 5 English Santoor (Unit 1: Let’s Have Fun), Papa’s Spectacles, is a light-hearted, relatable rhyme about a father who loses his reading glasses and turns the entire house upside down looking for them — only for his child to spot them resting right on top of his forehead.
What Class 5 English Chapter 1 Covers
Searching Every Corner — Papa realizes his spectacles are missing and cannot read the newspaper, watch TV, or cut vegetables. He checks inside his pockets, glances under his chair, searches near the window, and peers inside shoes, bags, and between book pages.
The Twist on His Head — The young speaker steps in to play detective, looks closely at Papa’s face, and announces the funny discovery: the lost spectacles were perched right on Papa’s head the whole time.
Poetic Devices — Alliteration & Rhyme — The poem uses rhyming couplets/quatrains and alliteration (repeated starting consonant sounds like ‘Right on his head!’ and ‘Tall trees’ in the practice exercises) along with vivid action verbs (glanced, peered, searched, sighed).
Vocabulary & Grammar — Plural Nouns, Homophones & Compound Words — Introduces plural nouns that always appear in pairs (spectacles, scissors, trousers, pliers, binoculars, gloves), homophones (pair / pear), and compound words formed by joining two smaller words (newspaper, armchair, tablecloth).
Exercises in Chapter 1
- Let us Think & Speak: Answer questions on what Papa could not do without his spectacles, where he searched, and where they were finally found; recite the poem with gestures and share personal stories of helping family members find lost items.
- Let us Learn & Listen: Practice alliteration with tongue-twisters, distinguish homophones (pair vs pear), use pair-nouns in sentences, listen to the poem Look Closer, and write a diary entry or paragraph.
Read Class 5 English Chapter 1 Online
More Chapters
- Next: Chapter 2: Gone with the Scooter
- All English chapters and the other Class 5 books: Class 5 NCERT books 2026-27
- All Class 1 to 12 NCERT Textbooks: NCERT Books PDF (Class 1–12)
- Every book chapter by chapter: NCERT chapter wise PDF
FAQ
Where did Papa finally find his spectacles in Chapter 1?
Papa did not find them in his pockets, under the chair, or near the window — the speaker noticed that the spectacles were sitting right on top of Papa’s own head.
Why is the word ‘spectacles’ always used in the plural form?
Like scissors, trousers, and binoculars, spectacles are made of two connected parts (two lenses in a frame), so English treats them as plural (‘Where are my spectacles?’).