Class 6 English (Poorvi) – Unit 3: Nurturing Nature — Lesson 3: Spices that Heal Us (Pages 93–100)

Original (English) — Verbatim (p.93):

Nurturi Ng NatureSpiceS  that  heal US 
Let us do these activities before we read.
 I A spice is any seed, fruit, root, bark, leaf or an y other part of a plant 
used to give taste and colour to our food. Try to recall the names of three 
spices that are used for cooking in your home. Write them below and share your answers with your teacher. 
 1. _______________  2. _______________  3. _______________  
 II Given below are pictures of some spices. Work in pairs and 
write what 
you call them in your language. Their names in English are given in the 
last column. Share your answers with your teacher.
S.No. Spice Name in your language Name in english
1. Turmeric
2. Fenugreek
3. Cumin seeds
4. Asafoetida

Original (English) — Verbatim (p.94):

Poorvi —G rade 6
Dear Vikram and Vaibhavi,
Namaste! I just got your message that you are better now. 
I am happy that the natural cures that I had shared, helped you....emember these cures and may share them with your friends. When I
	was	a	child,	I	learnt	them	from	my	grandmother. 	She	used	to	find	home	
remedies for most of the weather-related common illnesses. Let me 
share 
some	of	the	benefits 	of	the	spices	that	most	of	us	have	in	our	kitchen. 	
Let me start with haldi, which is called turmeric in English. It helps in improving
 
our energy level and digestion. It helps in reducing body pain t...l. I need to soak the methi seeds overnight and drink the water 
in the morning. 
•	Jeera (cumin) seeds soaked in water overnight can also improve digestion and help cure sleeplessness.
• You know, when you were babies and had gas in your tummy, I used to put heeng  (asafoetida) water on your tummy to give you 
some relief. Heeng 
can also help in controlling cough and cold. 
• Dalchini  (cinnamon) and laung  (clove) give relief when we have toothache 
till we can consult a dentist.
• Adrak  (ginger) is another herb that can help us when we have cough and 
cold.  It also gives relief from pain. Do you know, ginger has b...ears? Even today, it is extensively used in cooking Indian food.
•		Kali mirch (black pepper) is also helpful in digestion and can give us relief from body pain. 
•	You may have seen that at the end of a meal, saunf (fennel seeds) and 
ajwain (carom seeds) are served. It is because they help in the digestion of 
food.
•	Elaichi (cardamom) also helps us with digestion and respiratory troubles 
in addition to curing bad breath.   III Do you know if these spices can be used for something else other than 
cooking? 	Let	us	find	out	by	readin

Original (English) — Verbatim (p.95):

95 
Nurturi Ng Nature
	 Let 	us	think	and	reflect
 I Read the given lines and answer the following questions.
  ‘When I was a child, I learnt them from my grandmother. She used to find 
cures for most of the weather-related common illnesses in the kitchen.’ 
 1. Where exactly in the kitchen did her grandmother find the cures?
 2. Give one example of weather-related common illnesses.
 3. What kind of relationship did the speaker have with her grandmother?
 II Fill in the blanks to complete the sentence. 
  Daadi soaked methi seeds overnight and drank the water in the morning 
to manage _____________________ and _____________________.
 III Circle the spice that is not useful for body pain according to Daadi’
...
 V What was Daadi’s final advice to Vikram and Vaibhavi? 	
 VI How do we know that natural cures are passed from one generation 
to another?
 VII Why do you think we should know about the healing properties 
of spices?
Now, go into the kitchen and try to identify these herbs and spices. And 
remember, you must consult an elder before you use them. 
My love and aashirwaad to both of you!
Yours affectionately,
Daadi

I. Uses of spices — Table (p.96) — Verbatim

96
Poorvi —G rade 6 Let us learn
 I You have read the uses of spices in the letter. Complete the following 
table with the help of your teacher. You may use the words from the box 
given below.
Part of the plant : root/bark/leaves/flower buds/fruit/seeds
texture : rough/soft/silky
taste: bitter/sweet/sour/salty/spicy
Spice Name   Part of the plant   Colour   texture   taste
Turmeric
Fenugreek
Cinnamon
Clove
Black pepper
Cardamom
 II Read the sentences given below. 
• You may share them with your friends. 
• You should try to remember these cures.
• It can help control cough and cold.
• You must consult an elder before you use them.
• I need to soak the methi seeds overnight.
• I used to put heeng water on your tummy.

II. Modal verbs — Match & Fill (p.97) — Verbatim

97 
Nurturi Ng NatureColumn a  
Helping verbsColumn B 
Functions
(i) may A. past habit
(ii) should B. suggestion
(iii) can C. compulsion
(iv) must D. advice
(v) need to E. ability
(vi) used to F. necessity
1. The words given in Column A are helping verbs. Match the helping 
verbs in Column A with their functions in Column B. 
2. Complete the following dialogues with any four modals from the 
table given above. (Use a modal only once.)
Ajay : Anand had fever last week. He (i) _____________ take good rest.
Suman : Yes, he (ii) _____________ or he will fall ill again.
Ajay : He (iii) _____________ take grandmother’s natural cures.
Suman : Yes, we (iv) _____________ remember how effective they are.
The underlined words are known as helping verbs. These are 
called modal verbs or modals. Each modal verb has a different function.

Let us listen — THE WONDER HERB (Tulsi) — Verbatim

98
Poorvi —G rade 6THE WONDER HERB
1. Name  Tulsi  Family: _____________
2. First found in  _____________
3. Now found  everywhere in India
4. Known as The _____________ of herbs
5. Can decrease levels of  _____________ and cholesterol
6. Used to treat disorders of breathing and _____________
7. Is used to make mouth wash and  _____________
8. We can have Tulsi leaves by eating them _____________ or adding them 
while making _____________
Let us listen
You will listen to the benefits of Tulsi (Holy Basil), a common herb. As you  
listen, complete the fact sheet given below. (refer to page 102 for transcript)

Let us speak — Introduce yourself as a spice — Verbatim (extract p.99)

Use the headband while introducing yourself as the spice.
Mention the following while speaking:
	 •	
colour	 •	texture
	 •	taste	 •	benefits

Original (English) — Verbatim (p.99):

99
Nurturi Ng Nature
Let us write  
I Vikram’s grandmother shared two natural cures to cure his cough in 
her earlier letter. It was kept outside and a few drops of rain fell on it. 
Some of the words got washed away by the rain. Help Vikram compl... 
Use the information in the box below. There are two phrases that you do not need. 
some leaves of basil   for cough   amount of honey
the mixture            for high fever   a piece of fresh ginger
you can have it        grind to get     home remedy
Natural Cures for Cough
1. To prepare this home remedy, you just need ginger and honey. First, take 
____________________, grate it and take the juice from it. Take about 
two teaspoons of this juice and add about two and half teaspoons...
____________________ with ginger and honey might take some time to show results.
2. To prepare the second ____________________ for cough, take about 10 grams of each— long pepper, dried ginger and basil leaves. 
Add four to six small cardamoms and ____________________ a fine powder. If you 
take this powder with an equal ____________________, it will give you relief from cough.

Original (English) — Verbatim (p.100):

100 
Poorvi —G rade 6 II Now, write a short paragraph on Tulsi based on the completed fact sheet 
in ‘Let us listen’.
 Let us explore
I Now that you have read about many spices, can you guess the spices based on the riddles given below?
1. When your tummy felt funny 
   I was used by your granny 
   I made you fit and fine  
   And brought back your smile. Who am I? ________________________
2. I come from under the ground 
   Thousands of years, I’ve been around. 
   For cooking you use me daily
   From cold I can cure you surely. Who am I? ________________________ 
1. Brownish- _________ in colour, and _________ to taste, 
   I help everyone, to _________ their weight. Who am I?
   Ans: Fenugreek (methi)
2. ___________________________ __________...
Fill the blanks to complete the riddle below. Write another riddle of your own and ask your family members to guess the spice.
 III Close your eyes and learn about spices by smelling and feel... them. The teacher may also provide a few different spices to try.