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A Concrete Example (Poem)
Unit 1: Wit and Wisdom | Poorvi (Class 8)
Video Lesson
Quick Revision Notes
🪨 The Unusual Garden (Stanza 1)
The speaker describes their next-door neighbour, Mrs. Jones. Most people have gardens full of grass and soil, but Mrs. Jones has a garden full of stones. It features a “crazy path,” a lily pond, a rockery, and a sundial with a strange device.
🌱 The Tiny Plants (Stanza 2)
Mrs. Jones squeezes tiny plants into the very small gaps between her rocks. The speaker jokes that these plants are so “delicate and small” that they almost seem invisible, humorously suggesting she must plant them with a “pin”.
😂 The Humorous Climax (Stanza 3)
One day, Mrs. Jones invites the speaker over. They stand talking excitedly about a specific flower for a full fifteen minutes (“a quarter of an hour”). When the confused speaker finally asks, “Where is this lovely thing?”, Mrs. Jones casually replies, “You’re standing on it.”
💡 Poetic Elements & Pun
The poem is a lighthearted piece with a steady AABB rhyming scheme. The title “A Concrete Example” is a clever pun. It refers both to the literal concrete/stones in the garden, and the figurative meaning of giving a clear, physical demonstration of something (standing on the plant proves how ridiculously small it is!).
Comprehension Check
Vocabulary Master
Printable CBSE Worksheet
Includes Revision Map, Extract Questions, Subjective Q&A, and Teacher Key.
Smart English Resources Academy
cbse.smartresourcesacademy.com
Chapter: A Concrete Example
(Poem by Reginald Arkell)
SECTION 1: COGNITIVE ANCHORS & REVISION
The Big Picture: This humorous and lighthearted poem highlights the contrasting perspectives between two neighbors. It jokes about the extreme and eccentric hobby of a gardener who values microscopic plants hidden among a massive sea of concrete and stones.
Character & Element Check
- The Narrator: Polite but deeply confused by his neighbor’s gardening choices.
- Mrs. Jones: The proud and eccentric neighbor who prefers stones and tiny, invisible plants over regular grass and bushes.
- The Garden: A bizarre landscape filled with a crazy path, a lily pond, a rockery, a sundial, and virtually no visible greenery.
Poem Breakdown
Stanza 1
Sets the scene. Introduces Mrs. Jones and her highly unusual garden made entirely of stones and concrete structures.
Stanza 2
Highlights the absurdity of the plants. They are so tiny and delicate that the narrator jokes she must plant them using a small pin.
Stanza 3
The hilarious climax. After talking about a beautiful flower for 15 minutes, the narrator realizes he has been standing on it the whole time.
Vocabulary Mastery
| Target Word | Contextual Meaning | Usage in Text |
|---|---|---|
| Delicate | Very fine in texture or structure; fragile. | “They are so delicate and small…” |
| Sundial | An instrument showing time by the sun’s shadow. | “A sundial with a strange device…” |
| Rockery | A garden section made of rocks and small plants. | “A rockery and, just beyond…” |
Smart English Resources Academy
SECTION 2: EXAM-PATTERN WORKSHEET
Part A: Reference to Context (8 Marks)
“She puts little plants between the stones.
They are so delicate and small,
They don’t mean anything at all.”
They are so delicate and small,
They don’t mean anything at all.”
1. Who is “she” referred to in these lines? (1M)
2. Where exactly does she place her plants? (1M)
3. How does the speaker describe the physical appearance of the plants? (1M)
4. Find a word from the extract that means ‘fragile or easily broken’. (1M)
“Where is this lovely thing?” I cried.
“You’re standing on it,” she replied.”
“You’re standing on it,” she replied.”
5. Who is the “I” speaking in the first line? (1M)
6. Why did the speaker ask this question in the first place? (1M)
7. What is the humorous twist revealed in the second line? (1M)
8. Give the antonym for the word ‘cried’ (in the context of shouting/exclaiming). (1M)
Smart English Resources Academy
Part B: Subjective Questions (9 Marks)
9. (SAQ – 30 words): What makes Mrs. Jones’s garden significantly different from a typical, traditional garden? (2 Marks)
10. (SAQ – 30 words): Why does the speaker humorously suggest that Mrs. Jones must use a “pin” for gardening? (2 Marks)
11. (LAQ – 100 words): Explain the clever pun in the title “A Concrete Example.” How does it relate to both the physical garden and the events of the poem? (5 Marks)
Part C: Higher Order Thinking Skills
12. Extrapolative Writing: Imagine you are Mrs. Jones. Write a short diary entry about your neighbor’s visit today, how long you spent talking about your prized tiny flower, and your reaction when you realized where he was standing! (5 Marks)
Smart English Resources Academy
SECTION 3: TEACHER’S EVALUATION KEY & SCAFFOLDING
Q1-Q4 (Extract 1)
1. Mrs. Jones, the neighbor. 2. In the small gaps between the stones. 3. They are incredibly delicate and small. 4. Delicate.
Scaffolding: For Q3, guide students to look at line 2 of the extract. For Q4, ask: “Which word means easily broken or tiny?”
Q5-Q8 (Extract 2)
5. The narrator / speaker of the poem. 6. They had been discussing the flower for 15 minutes, but he couldn’t see it anywhere. 7. The narrator was accidentally crushing the very flower they were admiring. 8. Whispered / Muttered.
Scaffolding: For Q6, remind students of how tiny the plants are. For Q7, ask: “What is funny about praising a flower while your foot is on top of it?”
Q9 (SAQ) It has no grass or large bushes; instead, it is entirely made up of stones, a crazy path, and rockeries.
Scaffolding: Provide sentence starter: “Instead of having soft grass, her garden is full of…”
Q10 (SAQ) The plants are so microscopic that regular gardening tools (like shovels) would be too big to plant them.
Scaffolding: Ask: “If a seed is as small as a grain of sand, could you use a big shovel to plant it?”
Q11 (LAQ) “Concrete” literally means the cement/stones making up the garden. Figuratively, a “concrete example” means a solid, physical demonstration—which the narrator literally gave by standing on the evidence of how small the plant was.
Scaffolding: Provide a 2-step framework: 1. Explain the literal meaning (stones/cement). 2. Explain the figurative meaning (providing proof by stepping on it).
Q12 (HOTS) Diary Entry format. Markers: Pride in the garden; excitement to show the neighbor; shock/humor when he squashes the plant.
Scaffolding: Give struggling writers a format skeleton (Date, Time, “Dear Diary”). Prompt: “I was so excited to show him my prized flower. But after 15 minutes, I looked down and saw…”