Educational Galaxy

Three Days to See — EG's own notes, in simple words

Book: Poorvi (CBSE, Class 7)  |  Chapter 3  |  Unit 1: Learning Together  |  Medium: English

Diagram (labels are printed on the image): Looking at the morning world with fresh eyes. A general picture of the lesson's theme, not a scene from the book.

Faces of loved ones — among the most precious sights. A general picture of gratitude.

What the lesson is about

This lesson is adapted from Helen Keller, a writer who could neither see nor hear. She asks the reader to imagine being given the use of her eyes for just three days, and she divides the time into three parts.

On the first day, she wants to see the people whose kindness and companionship have made her life worth living. She has never seen into the heart of a friend through the 'window of the soul', the eye; she knows her friends only from the feel of their faces — she can detect laughter and sorrow by touch. She also describes what touch gives her: the delicate symmetry of a leaf, the smooth skin of a silver birch, the rough, shaggy bark of a pine, a bud in spring as the first sign of awakening nature after winter's sleep, and the happy quiver of a bird in full song under her hand.

On the second day, she rises with the dawn to see the thrilling miracle by which night is transformed into day, and the magnificent panorama of light with which the sun awakens the sleeping earth. Then she devotes the day to a hasty glimpse of the world, past and present — the pageant of man's progress — and goes to the museums, where her eyes would see the condensed history of the earth, animals and races of men in their native environment, and the gigantic carcasses of dinosaurs and mastodons that roamed the earth before man appeared.

On the third day, she spends the day in the workaday world, among people going about the business of life. She stands at a busy corner merely looking at people, trying to understand their daily lives by sight, and she is happy when she sees smiles. Her message runs through all three days: we who can see often do not really look, and we should use our senses with attention, gratitude, and joy — before we lose the chance.

Story / lesson in order

1. Helen Keller, who cannot see or hear, imagines receiving sight for just three days.
2. First day: she wants to see her dear friends, known to her only by the touch of their faces.
3. She also celebrates touch: leaf, birch, pine bark, a spring bud, and a singing bird felt by hand.
4. Second day: she rises with the dawn, watches night turn into day, then visits museums for the pageant of man's progress.
5. Third day: she spends the day in the busy, workaday city, watching ordinary people and their smiles.
6. Her message: use every sense fully, with gratitude, while you have it.

Chart / Table: The three days

Item	What it means
First day	Dear friends and their faces; nature known by touch
Second day	Dawn and the panorama of light; museums and man's progress
Third day	The workaday city; ordinary people, their lives, their smiles
Touch throughout	Leaf symmetry, birch skin, pine bark, spring bud, singing bird
The lesson	Do not take sight — or any sense — for granted

NCERT language points — Let us learn

• Sensory words table: what you see — panorama; what you hear — music; what you smell — perfume; what you taste — relish; what you feel — rough. Add your own words for each sense.
• Modal verbs: in 'I should divide...', 'I should want to see...', 'I should arise...', 'I should behold...', 'should' is the modal verb and divide, want, arise, behold are the main verbs.
• Modal functions: match each sentence to possibility, necessity, polite request, ability, or moral obligation — for example, 'You can learn a lot from this experience' (ability), 'They might arrive late' (possibility), 'She must finish her homework' (necessity), 'They ought to apologise' (moral obligation), 'He would like some lassi, please' (polite request).
• Choosing modals: fill blanks with can, could, may, might, must, ought to, shall, should, will, or would for permission, obligation, advice, possibility, request, moral obligation, and suggestion.
• Parts of the day: sort twilight, dawn, nightfall, sunset, noontime, night-time, dusk, midnight, noonday, sunrise, noon, daybreak, sunup, forenoon, sundown, and midday into morning, afternoon, evening, and night.

NCERT activities — listen, speak, write, explore

• Let us listen: a conversation between a mother and son about Braille, screen readers, Digital India, and assistive technology. Select the four true statements from the seven given — for example, whether Anuj finds Braille fascinating and whether the mother believes the right mindset is the best support.
• Let us speak: speak for a minute on the sense you value most, using prompts like 'I value my sense of sight the most because...', 'One of my favourite experiences is...', and 'God forbid, if I were to lose it, I would not be able to...'. Speak clearly, make eye contact, and use gestures.
• Let us write: write a descriptive paragraph about a place you visited recently — an interesting opening, supporting lines using all five senses with adjectives, similes, and personification, and a concluding summary.
• Let us explore: find out how people with visual impairment read, move, and use computers and phones, and share what assistive tools you discovered.
• Pre-reading discussion: before reading, discuss which sense you would miss most and why — then compare your answer with Keller's choices.

Practice set — try it yourself

1. Who is Helen Keller, and what can she not do?
   Hint: Think about sight and hearing.
2. What would she see on the first day?
   Hint: Think about friends and the 'window of the soul'.
3. What would she do on the second day?
   Hint: Think about dawn and museums.
4. How does touch make up for her loss of sight?
   Hint: Think about faces, leaves, bark, buds, and birds.
5. Name one modal verb and its function from the lesson.
   Hint: Think about 'should' for suggestion, 'must' for necessity, or 'might' for possibility.

Questions with Answers

1. Why does the author believe sight is the most wonderful sense?
   Because sight opens the world at once: faces of friends, the dawn, museums, and the busy city. Touch gives her the world piece by piece, through fingertips; sight would give it whole, in a glance.
2. How does touch make up for the loss of sight and hearing?
   Through touch she reads faces — laughter and sorrow — and feels nature: the symmetry of a leaf, smooth birch, rough pine bark, a spring bud, and the quiver of a singing bird. Touch becomes her way of seeing.
3. What do her choices for the three days tell us about her values?
   She values people first, then knowledge and beauty, then ordinary life: friends, the progress of mankind in museums, and common people going about their day. Relationships, learning, and everyday life matter more than riches or fame.
4. Why does imagining the loss of a sense matter, according to the author?
   It makes us notice what we ignore. People who can see often hurry past beauty; imagining blindness teaches gratitude and careful attention to the senses we already have.
5. How might her opinion guide us to be kinder to people with special abilities?
   If we understand how much others achieve through touch, hearing, or assistive tools, we respect their abilities instead of pitying their limits — and we learn to include, help, and listen, rather than look away.

Questions with Answers — Extension (NCERT exercise types)

1. (True / False) Helen Keller could see but not hear. — False. She could neither see nor hear.
2. (Fill in the blank) The eye is called the 'window of the _______'. — Soul.
3. (Extract-based MCQ) The tone of the leaf-and-bark extract is _______. (nostalgic / proud / admiring / celebratory) — Admiring: she admires nature's textures with love and care.
4. (Extract-based MCQ) Which word does NOT match 'thrilling'? (experience / tale / knowledge / adventure) — Knowledge: a thrilling experience, tale, or adventure fits; 'thrilling knowledge' does not fit the book's set.
5. (Vocabulary) List two phrases from the extract that describe texture. — 'Smooth skin of a silver birch' and 'rough, shaggy bark of a pine'.
6. (Analogy) Sight : eye :: touch : _______. — Fingertips; Keller 'sees' through her fingertips.
7. (Order) Put in order: (a) Museums and man's progress (b) Friends' faces (c) The busy city corner (d) Dawn breaking. — (b), (d), (a), (c) — friends first, then dawn, then museums, then the city on day three.
8. (Matching) Match senses to book words: see — panorama; hear — music; smell — perfume; taste — relish; feel — rough.
9. (Reason) Why does the writer use 'should' many times? — Because she is imagining a wished-for future, not reporting facts: 'should' expresses suggestion and desire in an imagined plan.
10. (Summary — choose the correct word) Keller teaches us to use our senses with (carelessness / gratitude). — Gratitude, with full attention, every day.

How to use this page: Read the summary, say the Key Terms in your own words, then try the practice set without looking. Use the Questions with Answers to check yourself afterwards. Ask your teacher or parent to check your answers.