From the Poem page:

1) What is the age group of the speaker in the poem?
Ans: The age group of the speaker is between 13 to 19 in the poem.

2) What decisions does the speaker have to take?
Ans: The speaker has to decide which road to take in life in order to find success.

3) What does each new day fetch?
Ans: Each new day fetches new beginnings and decisions the speaker must take.

4) How should one react to temptation?
Ans: We should say no when temptations come our way.

5) What effect does the speaker wish to see in himself at the end of his teens?
Ans: The speaker wishes that his life has lived its very best with the Lord walking next to him.

6) Whose company does the poet wish for, in the walk of life?
Ans: The poet wishes for the company of the Lord in the walk of life.

Question and Answers from the English Workshop

1) Choose the correct alternative and complete the given sentences.

a) According to the poet, new beginnings are brought by each new day.

b) We must decide to take the road which leads to great success.

c) The poet prays to the Lord to help him stand for what is right.

d) The poet wants to see that his teenage years have been the best years of his life.

2) Find and write the pairs of rhyming words from the poem.

Ans: make / take, success / distress, see / me, way / day, see / me.

3) What is the rhyme scheme of the poem?

Ans: abcb

4) Match the lines in Column A with the Figures of Speech in Column B.

Answers:

i) Decisions, I must make – Inversion
ii) Please open up my eyes, dear Lord – Apostrophe
iii) Travel down the darkened road – Alliteration
iv) I can choose to take the road of life – Metaphor



5) Elements of Planning An Interview: (Group Activity)

Form groups and discuss each element of planning an interview and prepare notes on each element.

Format – Structure:

  • Introduction – Introduce the interviewee and ask questions that allows listeners to understand why the person is being interviewed.
  • Main Questions – Start asking ‘WH’ questions – What, Why, When, Where etc.
  • Conclusion – Concluding questions that involve future plans of the interviewee or any other message that needs to be conveyed.

Size / Length – How Much:
Typically an interview would have about 10 questions in total.

Do’s and Dont’s – Rules and Regulations:

  • Do not be rude. Always be polite.
  • Do not ask extremely personal questions.
  • Do thorough research on the topic before beginning the interview.
  • Do ask questions related / relevant to the topic.
  • Do make the interview free flowing and not too monotonous.
  • Do not simply ask questions that result is just a one word yes or no answer. Ask thorough WH questions.

6) Prepare a set of 10 questions to interview any successful teenager. You may use the following guidelines.

Name of the interviewee: Shreya Nath
Name of the interviewer: Alok Sharma
Topic: Sports – Winner of Inter-college badminton championship
Venue: Sports Gymkhana Hall
Date: 20/08/2018
Time: 10 am
Duration: 20 minutes

Interview Questions:

i) Hello Shreya, thank you for talking to us today. Can you let us know how you felt when you finally won the inter-college badminton championship last week?

ii) How did you prepare for such as important event? What was your typical routine?

iii) Did you face any challenges during your preparation for the event?

iv) Was there any competitor who you felt was better than you or was more challenging than the others?

v) How did you overcome any nervousness or anxiety before each match?

vi) What was your state of mind going in to the all important final match of the competition?

vii) Who helped you in your preparations leading up to the tournament. Are there any special people you thank for your amazing achievement?

viii) Now that you have won the inter-college championship, where do you go from here? Will you try out for national level tournaments in Badminton?

ix) Are you preparing for a career in sports, particularly in Badminton?

x) Do you have any words of advise for other young talent who also want to follow on your footsteps?

7) Read the poem. Write an appreciation of the poem in about 12 to 15 sentences.
Ans: For the complete appreciation of the poem “A Teenager’s Prayer”, please click here.

8) Compose a short prayer in English asking God to guide you in your teenage years. Later, you can even try to make the lines rhyme to give it a poetic form.

Ans:

Dear God,

Thank you for giving me my life and I am truly grateful to you for what you have done for me so far. I humbly request you to always be with me and help me choose the right path as I grow from a teenager to an adult. I get confused sometimes about the decisions I have to make and feel nervous that I may end up making the wrong choices. I genuinely need your help and it is only when I pray to you and feel your presence that I get comfort in what I am doing. Please help me dear God to always be good, honest and hard-working in life. Please help me grow into a person that I can respect and is worthy of your love.

Poem

Dear God, I have a humble request,
please hear what I have to say,
For I really need your help,
As I set a new path today.

I hope I make the right choices,
with you watching me from above,
That I turn into a better human being,
Someone worthy of your love.

9) Look around in your vicinity – your family, friends, neighbours, classmates etc., and write about any four teenagers who have made a name for themselves by doing something extraordinary.

i) Family
Name: Mahesh Sharma – Brother
Won several gold medals in college athletics championship while also achieving first rank in academics in class.

ii) Friends
Name: Kaushal Parekh
Made beautiful Lord Ganesh sculptures and won several prizes in art.

iii) Neighbours
Name: Anchal Shah
Helped all children in the neighbourhood with their studies and helped them pass their exams.

iv) Classmates
Name: Sonali Rao
Won the school elocution competition as well as the drawing competition.