BREAKING BARRIERS

EVEN PAST

FIFTY

Name of the teacher : Karthika B.C Class: IX

Name of the subject : English Duration:45min

Name of the unit : Breaking Barriers

Name of the subunit : Even Past Fifty

Objectives

•To make the learning process interesting and effective

•To develop an awareness about gender inequalities

•To engage pupils in various discourse activities

Phase 1Are you familiar with these women? How old do you think they are? They are all past fifty

Do you personally know any woman who works tirelessly even past fifty? Your neighbours, your aunts, and even your mothers work day and night despite their growing age. Haven’t you noticed?

Do they have more hands than men? Why do they have to work so hard always? Have you ever thought about it?

Now we are going to read a poem based on all those women who have dedicated their lives to make their dear ones happy.

Phase 2Let me introduce the poet to you…

SHANTA SHELKE

A brief history of the poet...

Born: October 19, 1922, Indapur,

India

Marathi poet and writer

journalist, professor, composer,

story writer, translator, writer of

child literature

Penned novels like Punarjanma and

Dharma

Famous poems include Varsha and

Phase 3The poem is about the toil that women suffer in our society. They endure everything for the sake of their family.

EVEN PAST FIFTY

Phase 4The teacher recites the first stanza with proper stress, rhythm, and intonation

She’s past fifty;

Doll’s house: a toy house with small furniture and sometimes dolls in it for children to play

1. Who is the ‘she’ in the poem? Is it only the woman in the poem? Or does she represent all women?

2. Is it possible for a woman of fifty to be ‘a

little girl at heart’? How?

Write a paragraph on your mother’s activities during the course of a day.

You are worried about your mother’s poor health. You ask her to take a break from the household chores. Enact the conversation.