Best Friends – Class 3 English Chapter 3 Notes & NCERT PDF

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

Notes and a simple summary of Chapter 3 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 3: Best Friends

Introduction

Best Friends is a story about four shapes — Circle, Square, Triangle and Rectangle — who argue about who is the best. A wise star helps them see that together they can do much more. It ends Unit 1 (*Fun with Friends*) with a playful rhyme, "What do You do?"

What's in this Chapter

The story

One day a fight begins between the four friends. Each says, "I am the best!"

Circle: "I am round and beautiful. I have no sharp edges. Children use me to draw a smiling face."

Square: "I have four sides and all of them are equal in size. Children eat many sweets which are square in shape."

Triangle: "I have three sides. Children use me to draw mountains. They enjoy many yummy snacks in my shape."

Rectangle laughs: "I have four sides. Two are equally long and two are equally short. Children enjoy biscuits and chocolates in rectangle shape."

They cannot decide, so they ask the first person they meet — a star.

The wise star says, "All of you are friends. Then why should you fight? … You could create the most beautiful pictures and patterns! … Together we all can create wonders."

The friends realise their mistake, promise never to fight again, and remain best friends forever.

Fun with Words — the rhyme "What do You do?" Animals answer "Who are you? And what do you do?": birds chirp and sing, monkeys jump and swing, dogs run and bark, cats mew in the dark, elephants raise their trunks, lions roar and hunt.

Key Ideas

Every shape is special, but working together is better than fighting.

Shape facts: circle — round, no sharp edges; square — 4 equal sides; triangle — 3 sides; rectangle — 4 sides, two long and two short.

'a' and 'an': use a before words beginning with a consonant sound (a dog, a cow, a sparrow); use an before words beginning with a vowel sound — a, e, i, o, u (an ant, an eagle, an umbrella, an ice-cream man, an egg).

Action words in the rhyme: chirp, sing, jump, swing, run, bark, mew, raise, roar, hunt.

Activities from the Book

True/False: The circle does not have sharp edges (T); a square has four sides but not all equal (F); the triangle has two sides (F — three); the friends could decide who was best (F).

Role play in groups of five: circle, square, triangle, rectangle and star, reading with actions.

Fill in blanks with a/an: "A brown hen laid an egg." "An eagle sat on a building." "Mary ate an apricot, a chikoo and an orange."

Write about your friend (name, age, favourite colour, games, what they want to become) and paste their picture.

Draw the four friends and make pictures using the shapes.

Look around the classroom and talk about shapes you see.

Words to Learn

circle – a round shape (वृत्त / गोला)

square – a shape with four equal sides (वर्ग)

triangle – a shape with three sides (त्रिभुज)

rectangle – four sides, two long and two short (आयत)

edge – the sharp side or corner of a thing (किनारा)

equal – the same in size (बराबर)

wise – very sensible (बुद्धिमान)

pattern – a design that repeats (नमूना / डिज़ाइन)

realised – understood (समझ गए)

wonders – amazing things (अद्भुत चीज़ें)

Tips for Parents & Teachers

Cut the four shapes from paper and let children build a picture (house, boat, robot) using all of them — this is the star's message in action.

Go on a "shape hunt" at home: clock (circle), carrom board (square), samosa (triangle), door (rectangle).

Say the rhyme with actions for each animal.

Practise a/an with objects on the table: "a pen", "an eraser".

Common Mistakes

Saying a triangle has four sides — it has three.

Thinking all four sides of a rectangle are equal — only opposite sides are equal (two long, two short).

Choosing 'a' or 'an' by spelling only; the book's note says focus on the sound (an umbrella, an ice-cream).

Forgetting that the star, not the shapes, ended the fight.

💡 Key Learning Points

✓Retell the story of the four shapes and the wise star.
✓Describe a circle, square, triangle and rectangle using the facts in the story.
✓Understand that friends working together can 'create wonders'.
✓Use 'a' before consonant sounds and 'an' before vowel sounds.
✓Recite the rhyme 'What do You do?' and name the action words in it.

👨‍🏫 Teaching Tips

→Give each child a paper shape and let them speak their shape's lines from the story.
→Do the group-of-five role play with actions, as suggested in the book.
→Make a class collage using all four shapes to show the star's message.
→Help learners recall consonants and vowels before the a/an exercise (teacher note).
→Point out action words in the rhyme and let children act them out.
→Take a shape walk around school and list what shapes children spot.

📋 Assessment Questions

Can the child name the four friends and the character who helped them?
Can the child state how many sides each shape has?
Can the child mark the true/false statements correctly?
Can the child fill in 'a' or 'an' correctly in sentences?
Can the child write a few lines about a friend using the given frame?

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