Chanda Mama Counts the Stars – Class 3 English Chapter 11 Notes & NCERT PDF

Class 3EnglishChapter 11NCERT book: Santoor - English Class 3

Notes and a simple summary of Chapter 11 of the NCERT Class 3 English book, with the official chapter PDF, flashcards, an MCQ quiz and an AI tutor for your doubts.

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Chapter 11: Chanda Mama Counts the Stars

Introduction

Chanda Mama Counts the Stars is a sweet story about the Moon (Chanda Mama), who tries again and again to count all the stars but keeps falling asleep or forgetting. The Sun gives him a lovely answer. It is part of Unit 4: The Sky.

What's in this Chapter

The story

Chanda Mama is "at times round as a circle and at times different" — the Moon's shape changes.

Once he started counting the stars: "1 … 2 … 3 … 10 … 21 … 45 … 99 … 100 … 311 … 516 … 890 … yawn … 999 …" and Chanda Mama fell asleep!

The Sun peeped out from behind the clouds; it was morning. Chanda Mama woke up in the evening and began counting again, but he had forgotten where he had stopped. By the time he remembered, the night was over.

Night after night he tried, and often forgot the count. One night he was very upset and began to cry: "I am never able to complete my counting."

The Sun smiled: "Don't worry! … I can tell you how many stars there are in the sky." The Sun said joyfully, "The number of lovely children is the same as the number of stars in the sky."

Chanda Mama was happy! Now the Moon came out every night, looked at the stars, looked at the children, and smiled happily.

New words: round, count, tears.

Key Ideas

The Moon looks different on different nights; sometimes it is a full circle.

Some things are too many to count — stars in the sky, hairs on your head, children in a city.

Being upset is okay; a friend (the Sun) can help us feel better.

'here' and 'there': use here for things near us ("This is my bench. I sit here") and there for things far from us ("The Moon is there in the sky"; "My brother lives there" about Chandigarh).

Activities from the Book

Answer: Does the Moon look the same every night? What did Chanda Mama try to count? Why did he fall asleep? Who helped him? Complete: "The number of stars in the sky is the same as the number of lovely children."

Think: What do you call the Moon in your language? What things can you not count? What can you see in the night sky?

Fill in here/there sentences.

Listening activity: sort items into "Can be counted easily" (children in the classroom, pencils in your pencil box, fingers on your right hand, pages in your English notebook) and "Too many to be counted" (flowers in a garden, children in your city or town, the hairs on your head; books in a big library).

Complete a full-moon-night conversation between Govind, Safura, Sukanya, Dhruv and Ramani using a help box ("says the full moon looks very beautiful", "a camera for the picture", "let's take a picture", "so bright and big").

Project — Wind Chimes: cut a crescent moon and stars from cardboard, decorate with coloured paper, and hang them with thread and glue. (Use child-friendly scissors under adult supervision. The book's step 3 says "decorate the sun", but the shapes made are a moon and stars.)

Words to Learn

Chanda Mama – a loving name for the Moon (चंदा मामा)

count – to say numbers one by one (गिनना)

round – shaped like a circle (गोल)

yawn – open the mouth wide when sleepy (जम्हाई)

forgotten – not remembered (भूल गया)

upset – sad and worried (परेशान)

tears – drops from the eyes when crying (आँसू)

joyfully – happily (खुशी से)

crescent – a curved, banana-like shape of the Moon (अर्धचंद्र)

full moon – when the whole Moon looks round and bright (पूर्णिमा)

Tips for Parents & Teachers

Look at the Moon for a week and draw how its shape changes.

Ask what the Moon is called in each child's home language.

Play here/there with objects near and far in the room.

Make the wind chime together, handling scissors safely.

Common Mistakes

Thinking the Sun counted the stars — the Sun gave a loving answer, not a number.

Using 'here' for faraway things ("The Moon is here") — use there.

Believing everything can be counted easily — some things are too many.

Forgetting that Chanda Mama fell asleep because he was tired (he yawned while counting).

💡 Key Learning Points

✓Retell how Chanda Mama tried to count the stars and what the Sun told him.
✓Know that the Moon looks different on different nights.
✓Sort things into those that can be counted easily and those too many to count.
✓Use 'here' for near things and 'there' for far things.
✓Make a moon-and-stars wind chime following step-by-step instructions.

👨‍🏫 Teaching Tips

→Read the counting part slowly with a yawn to make children laugh.
→Ask children what the Moon is called in their languages.
→Read the listening list twice or thrice instead of writing it on the board (teacher note).
→Add local examples for 'can be counted' and 'too many to count'.
→Use real objects near and far to practise here and there.
→Supervise scissor use during the wind-chime project.

📋 Assessment Questions

Can the child say why Chanda Mama could never finish counting?
Can the child complete: 'The number of stars in the sky is the same as ...'?
Can the child sort items into the two counting columns?
Can the child fill in 'here' or 'there' correctly?
Can the child complete the full-moon conversation using the help box?

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