Summary
Chapter 5 of the Class 3 English NCERT textbook (Santoor), "Talking Toys", tells the story of a busy toy shop on a holiday where the toys eagerly watch as different customers come in and choose toys like a Vande Bharat train, a toy aeroplane, marbles, a spinning top, dancing dolls, and a toy elephant, while also teaching children describing words (adjectives), plural forms of nouns, a poem about a spinning top, and a hands-on activity for making jute or cardboard puppets.
- The Toy Shop Story — The chapter tells the story of a toy shop on a holiday where toys like a talking doll, toy elephant, toy aeroplane, and toy phone wait excitedly as customers arrive. Different children and families come in and buy toys including a Vande Bharat train, marbles, a toy aeroplane, a spinning top, dancing dolls, and a toy elephant.
- Describing Words (Adjectives) — Children learn that some words describe naming words, such as 'happy boy', 'pretty doll', 'red cap', and 'blue frock'. Practice exercises ask students to add describing words like brown, clean, cold, white, cotton, and large to naming words.
- Plural Words — The chapter teaches that we add 's' to most nouns to show more than one, for example toy becomes toys and boy becomes boys. For some words ending in certain sounds, we add 'es' instead, such as box becoming boxes and class becoming classes.
- Puppet-Making Activity — Students make jute or cardboard puppets by tracing a human face, cutting it out, colouring the features, and attaching woollen thread for hair and a handle at the back. The activity encourages creativity and hands-on craft skills.
Key points & formulas
- 01The story is set in a busy local toy shop on a holiday that opens at 9 a.m.
- 02Toys in the shop include wooden toys, soft toys, board games, bats, balls, a talking doll, toy elephant, toy aeroplane, toy phone, marbles, spinning top, and Kondapalli dancing dolls.
- 03A little boy asks his mother (calling her 'Aayi') to buy him a Vande Bharat toy train, and she does.
- 04Students learn that describing words like 'happy', 'red', 'talking', and 'blue' tell us more about naming words.
- 05Plural nouns are formed by adding 's' to most words and 'es' to words like box, class, bus, and brush.
- 06The poem 'My Top' describes a red, green, yellow, and brown spinning top going round and round.
- 07The chapter ends with a step-by-step puppet-making craft using jute or cardboard, acrylic colours, woollen thread, and glue.
Frequently asked questions
01What is the story 'Talking Toys' about?
It is about a toy shop on a holiday where the toys inside talk and think among themselves as they eagerly wait for customers to come and buy them. Different people come in and choose toys like a Vande Bharat train, marbles, a toy aeroplane, a spinning top, dancing dolls, and a toy elephant.
02What types of toys are found in the toy shop?
The shop has wooden toys, soft toys, board games, bats, balls, a talking doll, a toy elephant, a toy aeroplane, a toy phone, marbles, a spinning top, and Kondapalli dancing dolls.
03What toy did the little boy ask his mother to buy?
The little boy pointed to a Vande Bharat toy train and asked his mother to buy it. His mother, whom he called 'Aayi', bought the toy train and the boy was very happy.
04What word does the little boy use for his mother in the story?
The little boy calls his mother 'Aayi'. The chapter uses this as a prompt to ask children what word they use to call their own mothers.
05What is a describing word and how is it taught in this chapter?
A describing word tells us more about a naming word, for example 'red cap' or 'happy boy'. The chapter shows that words like happy, red, talking, and blue are describing words, and gives students exercises to match describing words to naming words.
06How do we make plural nouns in English according to this chapter?
For most words we add 's', so toy becomes toys and doll becomes dolls. For words ending in certain sounds we add 'es', so box becomes boxes, class becomes classes, and bus becomes buses.
07What is the poem in this chapter about?
The poem is called 'My Top' and it describes a colourful spinning top that is red, green, yellow, and brown. The poem says the top goes round and round and the child jumps around happily while playing with it.
08What craft activity do students do in this chapter?
Students make jute or cardboard puppets. They draw and cut a human face from jute or cardboard, colour the eyes, nose, and mouth, attach woollen thread for hair, and fix a handle at the back to hold the puppet.
09Which famous Indian toys are mentioned in the chapter?
The chapter's picture glossary shows Chennapatna toys and Kondapalli dancing dolls, which are traditional Indian handmade toys. It also mentions the Vande Bharat toy train.
10What did the girl who came with her father buy?
The girl who came with her father and little brother pointed at the board games and chose the game Snakes and Ladders.
11What did the two girls who came in later buy?
One of the two girls bought marbles and the other bought the toy aeroplane. The toy aeroplane had confidently said it thought they would like to fly it.
12What is the 'Jaadui Pitara' mentioned in this chapter?
The Jaadui Pitara is a learning resource developed by NCERT. The chapter asks students whether they have seen it, and the teacher's note says to show it to children as an additional learning resource.
More chapters in Santoor
Read Chapter 5 of Santoor, the Class 3 English NCERT textbook (2026-27 edition), online for free: the complete chapter as published by NCERT with every diagram, solved example and exercise, with a chapter summary, question answers and revision notes. Open the NCERT PDF above, or browse all NCERT Class 3 textbooks.
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