Curriculum
Course: SCERT English - Kerala
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Curriculum

SCERT English - Kerala

Text lesson

Names and Names

William Kamkwamba was a curious boy from a poor village in Malawi. When drought caused famine and forced him to leave school, he continued learning through books in a library. There he discovered how windmills could produce electricity and pump water. Using scrap materials from a junkyard and help from his friends, William built a windmill. It lit a bulb and later helped bring water to the fields. His invention gave hope to his village and showed that determination and knowledge can overcome difficulties.

Notes:

  • William Kamkwamba lived in Malawi, Africa.
  • His village was poor.
  • Most villagers were farmers.
  • They had no electricity.
  • William loved inventing things.
  • He kept toy trucks under his bed.
  • He was curious about radios.
  • He opened old radios to see how they worked.
  • He often dreamed while working.
  • A drought struck Malawi.
  • Crops dried up.
  • People began to starve.
  • William’s family ate only one meal a day.
  • His family had no money for school fees.
  • William had to leave school.
  • He found a library.
  • He read science books.
  • He learned how engines and radios worked.
  • He saw a picture of a windmill.
  • The windmill could produce electricity and pump water.
  • William decided to build one.
  • He collected scrap materials from a junkyard.
  • His father gave him a bicycle wheel.
  • Villagers thought he was crazy.
  • His friends Gilbert and Geoffrey helped him.
  • They built a tower for the windmill.
  • William connected the windmill to a bulb.
  • The bulb glowed successfully.
  • The villagers cheered for him.
  • William’s invention brought hope to the village.

Questions and Answers

  1. Who is the hero of the story?
    William Kamkwamba is the hero of this story.
  2. Which country did William live in?
    William lived in Malawi, a country in Africa.
  3. Why did the villagers go to bed early?
    The villagers went to bed early because they had no electricity for lighting their homes.
  4. What fascinated William as a child?
    Radios, machines, and inventions fascinated William as a child.
  5. Why did William crack open old radios?
    William cracked open old radios because he wanted to know how they worked.
  6. What disaster struck Malawi?
    A severe drought struck Malawi and caused great suffering.
  7. What happened to the maize fields during the drought?
    The maize fields dried up and turned into dust during the drought.
  8. How many meals did William’s family eat each day?
    William’s family ate only one meal a day to survive the famine.
  9. Why did William have to leave school?
    William had to leave school because his family did not have enough money to pay the school fees.
  10. Where did William continue his education?
    William continued his education by reading books in a library.
  11. What did William learn from the science books?
    William learned how engines worked and how radios received music from the sky.
  12. What attracted William the most in the library?
    A picture of a windmill attracted William the most in the library.
  13. What could the windmill do?
    The windmill could produce electricity and pump water from the ground.
  14. Why did William think the windmill was important?
    William thought the windmill was important because it could help fight hunger by watering the fields.
  15. Where did William collect materials for his windmill?
    William collected materials for his windmill from a junkyard in the village.
  16. What sacrifice did William’s father make?
    William’s father allowed him to use one of the wheels of the family bicycle for the windmill.
  17. Why did the villagers think William was crazy?
    The villagers thought William was crazy because he spent his time collecting scrap materials and experimenting with them.
  18. Who helped William build the windmill?
    William’s cousin Geoffrey and his friend Gilbert helped him build the windmill.
  19. What happened when William connected the windmill to a bulb?
    The bulb glowed brightly when William connected the windmill to it.
  20. What is the message of the story?
    The story teaches us that determination, creativity, hard work, and knowledge can help us overcome difficulties and improve people’s lives.