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Vocation – Class 5 English Chapter 9 Notes & NCERT PDF

Class 5EnglishChapter 9NCERT book: Santoor - English Class 5

Notes and a simple summary of Chapter 9 of the NCERT Class 5 English book, with the official chapter PDF, flashcards, an MCQ quiz and an AI tutor for your doubts.

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Chapter 9: Vocation (Unit 5: Work is Worship)

About the Chapter

Vocation is a poem by Rabindranath Tagore that opens Unit 5: Work is Worship. A vocation is a person's work or job. The speaker is a child who goes to school every day. He watches three workers (a hawker, a gardener and a watchman) and wishes he could live like each of them, because their lives seem free, with no rules or timetable.

The Poem in Brief

Stanza 1 – The hawker (10 in the morning)

"When the gong sounds ten in the morning and I walk to school by our lane,
Every day I meet the hawker crying, 'Bangles, crystal bangles!'"

The hawker sells crystal bangles. The child thinks there is nothing to hurry him on: no road he must take, no place he must go, no time when he must come home.

"I wish I were a hawker, spending my day in the road, crying, 'Bangles, crystal bangles!'"

Stanza 2 – The gardener (4 in the afternoon)

On his way back from school at four in the afternoon, the child sees a gardener digging the ground with his spade. He soils his clothes with dust, and nobody takes him to task (scolds him) if he gets baked in the sun or gets wet.

"I wish I were a gardener digging away at the garden with nobody to stop me from digging."

Stanza 3 – The watchman (evening)

When his mother sends him to bed, the child sees the watchman through his window, walking up and down the dark, lonely lane.

"...the street-lamp stands like a giant with one red eye in its head."

The watchman swings his lantern, walks with his shadow at his side and "never once goes to bed in his life".

"I wish I were a watchman walking the streets all night, chasing the shadows with my lantern."

The child's day

  • 10 a.m. – walks to school and sees the hawker
  • 4 p.m. – comes back and sees the gardener
  • Evening/night – is sent to bed and sees the watchman

    • What the poem means

    The child sees only the fun part of each job. He admires these workers because he has rules (school, bedtime, clean clothes) and they seem free. The poem also teaches that every kind of work deserves respect: no work is superior or inferior.

    Word Power

  • vocation – a person's work or job (व्यवसाय / पेशा)
  • gong – a metal disc that makes a loud sound when hit with a small hammer (घंटा)
  • lane – a narrow path or street (गली)
  • hawker – a person who sells things by calling out in the street (फेरीवाला)
  • spade – a tool for digging in a garden (फावड़ा / कुदाल)
  • giant – an imaginary man-like creature of great height and strength (दैत्य)
  • lantern – a case holding a light that can be carried (लालटेन)
  • soils – makes dirty (गंदा करना)
  • takes him to task – scolds him (डाँटता है)
  • baked in the sun – made very hot by the sun (धूप में तपना)

    • Poetic Device

  • Simile: the street-lamp "stands like a giant with one red eye" compares the lamp to a giant.
  • Repetition: "I wish I were..." is repeated in every stanza.

    • Grammar & Language Focus

    Correcting errors (different parts of speech)

  • I has recently read → I have recently read.
  • The speaker goes for school → goes to school.
  • The fox ran fast than the others → ran faster than the others.
  • Mita was slept → Mita was sleeping.
  • The old elephant walked slow → walked slowly.
  • Radhika is tall than Suman → taller than Suman.
  • Sudhanshu ran faster of all → ran fastest of all.
  • My mother are cooking → is cooking.
  • He go to school every day → He goes to school every day.
  • The birds is flying → The birds are flying.

    • Words ending in -tion / -shion

    cushion, ration, fashion, tension, mention, attention, nation, vocation (the ending sounds like "shun").

    Tools and their users

    hammer, camera, screwdriver, sickle, stethoscope, grater, tongs, compass, mouse, saw, telescope.

    Let's Talk / Let's Write

  • Listen: In groups of five, make WH-questions on the poem and quiz other groups.
  • Write: What might be the hard or boring part of being a hawker, gardener or watchman? Write the vocations of three family members.
  • Find out: vocations of A.P.J. Abdul Kalam (scientist), M. Visvesvaraya (engineer), Janaki Ammal (botanist), M.S. Subbulakshmi (singer), Salim Ali (ornithologist).
  • Explore: Choose a dream vocation (beekeeper, photographer, pilot, farmer, florist...) and draw yourself in it.

    • Common Mistakes

  • Thinking the speaker is an adult; he is a schoolchild.
  • Saying the hawker sells fruits; he sells crystal bangles.
  • Missing that the child sees only the good side of these jobs.
  • Writing more taller or most fastest: use taller, fastest.

    • 💡 Key Learning Points

    • ✓Vocation, by Rabindranath Tagore, shows a child who wishes to be a hawker, a gardener and a watchman.
    • ✓The child admires these workers because their lives seem free of rules and timetables.
    • ✓The poem uses repetition ('I wish I were...') and a simile (the street-lamp is like a giant with one red eye).
    • ✓All work deserves respect; no vocation is superior or inferior.
    • ✓Correcting errors in verbs, comparatives, adverbs and prepositions builds accurate sentences.

    👨‍🏫 Teaching Tips

    • →Draw a clock timeline (10 a.m., 4 p.m., night) and place the hawker, gardener and watchman on it.
    • →Recite the poem in three groups, each group taking one worker and adding actions.
    • →Discuss 'What's missing?': ask what might be hard about each job (heat, rain, no sleep).
    • →Invite a school gardener or watchman to talk to the class about their work.
    • →Run a 'find the mistake' relay with the ten error-correction sentences.
    • →Hold a 'dream job' gallery where each child draws and presents their chosen vocation.

    📋 Assessment Questions

    1. Can the learner name the three workers and when the child sees each one?
    2. Can the learner explain why the child wants to be a hawker, gardener or watchman?
    3. Can the learner identify the simile about the street-lamp?
    4. Can the learner match gong, spade, lane, giant and lantern with their meanings?
    5. Can the learner correct errors such as 'He go to school' and 'Radhika is tall than Suman'?

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    Keep learning

    All chapters in Santoor - English Class 5

    1. 1. Papa's Spectacles
    2. 2. Gone with the Scooter
    3. 3. The Rainbow
    4. 4. The Wise Parrot
    5. 5. The Frog
    6. 6. What a Tank!
    7. 7. Gilli Danda
    8. 8. The Decision of the Panchayat
    9. 9. Vocation
    10. 10. Glass Bangles