One Thing at a Time – Class 4 English Chapter 4 Notes & NCERT PDF

Class 4EnglishChapter 4NCERT book: Santoor - English Class 4

Notes and a simple summary of Chapter 4 of the NCERT Class 4 English book, with the official chapter PDF, flashcards, an MCQ quiz and an AI tutor for your doubts.

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Chapter 4: One Thing at a Time

Introduction

"One Thing at a Time" opens Unit 2: My Beautiful World. It is a short rhyming poem that teaches children to focus: work properly when it is time to work, and enjoy fully when it is time to play. Doing things "by halves" never gives a good result. The chapter also teaches describing actions with is/are + -ing, the silent 'l' sound, a.m./p.m. and writing a daily routine.

What's in this Chapter

The poem:

"Work while you work, / Play while you play; / To be useful and happy, / That is the way."

"All that you do, / Do with all your might; / Things done by halves, / Are never done right."

"One thing at a time, / And that done well; / Is a very good rule, / As many can tell."

"Moments should never, / Be trifled away; / So, work while you work, / And play while you play."

Meaning: Give your full attention and strength ("might") to one task at a time. Half-done work is never right. Don't waste ("trifle away") your moments.

Word meanings from the book: might = strength or power; useful = helpful or beneficial; moments = short periods of time.

Teacher's note: focus helps us complete tasks faster and better, reduces mistakes and improves learning. Simple yoga like Pranayama and Tree Pose can improve focus.

Language Learning

  • Describing actions (Let us Speak): Who + is/are + action word + ing. "Two girls are going to school." "A woman is typing on a computer."
  • The missing 'l' (Let us Listen): in some words the 'l' is not spoken, like calm, palm, calf, chalk, talk, balm, half. In words like leaf, pale, jail, clean, silk and self, we do hear 'l'.
  • Rhyming words from the poem: play–way, might–right, well–tell, away–play.
  • Daily routine: fill a time-table, tick work or play, then write "My Routine" using a.m. and p.m.

    • Activities from the Book

  • Answer questions about why focus matters and what keeps us calm.
  • Riddles: "Thirty white horses on a red hill…" (teeth), "Tall lady in a white frock… the longer she stands, the shorter she grows" (candle), "Hard and brown outside, soft and white inside" (coconut). These answers are given at the end of the book.
  • Draw or paste pictures of holiday activities.

    • Key Ideas

  • Do one thing at a time and do it well.
  • Put all your strength (might) into what you do.
  • Balance work and play.
  • Use a.m. for morning and p.m. for afternoon/evening.

    • Words to Learn

  • might – strength, power (ताक़त)
  • useful – helpful (उपयोगी)
  • moments – short periods of time (पल)
  • trifled away – wasted (बर्बाद किया)
  • focus – full attention (ध्यान)
  • by halves – only half done (अधूरा)
  • routine – what we do every day (दिनचर्या)
  • rule – a good way to do things (नियम)

    • Tips for Parents & Teachers

  • Make a picture time-table of your child's day and mark work and play.
  • During homework, keep TV and phones away so the child practises "one thing at a time".
  • Practise a.m./p.m. while talking: "We eat lunch at 1 p.m."
  • Say the riddles at dinner and let children guess.

    • Common Mistakes

  • Saying the 'l' in "calm" and "talk".
  • "Two girls is going" – use are with more than one.
  • Mixing up a.m. and p.m.

    • 💡 Key Learning Points

    • ✓Do one thing at a time, and do it well.
    • ✓Work while you work and play while you play; things done by halves are never right.
    • ✓Describe actions with is/are + action word + ing ('A woman is typing').
    • ✓Some words have a silent 'l': calm, palm, calf, chalk, talk, balm.
    • ✓Use a.m. for morning times and p.m. for afternoon and evening times.

    👨‍🏫 Teaching Tips

    • →Recite the poem with actions for 'work' and 'play' and clap the rhythm.
    • →Ask children to try doing two tasks at once and then one task at a time; discuss which worked better.
    • →Do a minute of Tree Pose or deep breathing before reading to show how focus feels.
    • →Use a busy picture and let children make 'is/are + -ing' sentences.
    • →Read the silent-'l' words aloud several times; let children circle the ones without the 'l' sound.
    • →Model your own daily routine with a.m. and p.m. before children write theirs.
    • →End with the riddles as a fun guessing game.

    📋 Assessment Questions

    1. Can the child recite the poem and explain 'things done by halves are never done right'?
    2. Can the child give the meanings of might, useful and moments?
    3. Can the child form correct is/are + -ing sentences?
    4. Can the child pick out silent-'l' words when listening?
    5. Can the child write a simple routine using a.m. and p.m.?

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    All chapters in Santoor - English Class 4

    1. 1. Together We Can
    2. 2. The Tinkling Bells
    3. 3. Be Smart, Be Safe
    4. 4. One Thing at a Time
    5. 5. The Old Stag
    6. 6. Braille
    7. 7. Fit Body, Fit Mind, Fit Nation
    8. 8. The Lagori Champions
    9. 9. Hekko
    10. 10. The Swing
    11. 11. A Journey to the Magical Mountains
    12. 12. Maheshwar