Unit 2 · My Colourful World · NCERT Class 5 Santoor

The Rainbow

A bright nature poem full of colour. We only name the poem — every example here is our own — and use it to learn how poets paint with words: using colour words, describing words and the five senses to build pictures, and comparing things with a simile. Tap each idea to start.

👥 3 topics⏱ ~15 min📝 10-question quiz

Play with it

A poet's paintbox

Poets paint with words instead of colours. Tap each tool to see how they make a nature scene come alive.

Explore · Painting with wordstap an idea

Learn

The three big ideas

Colour words — red, orange, yellow, green, blue — let us see a scene at once. A rainbow gives a poet seven ready-made colours to use.
Describing words (adjectives) — tell us what kind: a tall tree, a shiny dewdrop, a fluffy cloud.
Imagery — when colour and describing words work together, a picture forms in your head: “A golden sun rose over the misty green hills.”

Make it bright. Turn “a flower” into a word-picture.

Add colour and a describing word: “a bright yellow sunflower nodding in the breeze.” Now you can see it.

Sight — the silver river glittered. Hearing — the koel called sweetly.
Smell — the wet earth smelt fresh after rain. Touch — the grass felt cool and damp. Taste — the mango was sweet and juicy.
Why it works — using more than one sense makes a scene feel real, as if you are standing right there.

Simile — compares two things using like or as: “as white as snow”, “shining like a jewel”.
It helps us picture — saying a cloud is “as soft as cotton” tells us exactly how it looks and feels.
How to make one — think of something the reader already knows well, then compare: “the rainbow curved like a giant bridge.”

Common mix-up: a simile always uses like or as. “The cloud was soft” is just a description; “The cloud was as soft as cotton” is a simile because it compares.

Where you'll meet it

Word-pictures, all around you

Describing what you see

On a walk you can practise: instead of “a bird”, say “a tiny brown sparrow hopping on the wall”. Colour and describing words make your speaking and writing come alive.

Writing your own nature poem

Pick a scene — a sunset, a pond, a garden after rain. Add one colour word, one sense word and one simile, and you have the start of a lovely little poem.

Reading with your imagination

When you read, pause and let the picture form in your head. Noticing the colours and senses a poet uses helps you enjoy and remember what you read.