This is the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) supplementary reader in English for Class VII, An Alien Hand. It is an English medium (Roman script) book — the complete text, the stories and the exercises are in English, and there is no Hindi content in it. It is prescribed for CBSE schools and for state boards that follow the NCERT curriculum.
An Alien Hand is the supplementary companion to Honeycomb, the main Class 7 English reader, and both are prescribed together for the full course. Where Honeycomb carries the poems and the longer prose pieces, this book carries a set of short stories chosen for range: science fiction, adventure, folk tale and biography sit side by side. The collection includes The Tiny Teacher, Bringing Up Kari, The Desert, The Cop and the Anthem, Golu Grows a Nose, I Want Something in a Cage, Chandni, The Bear Story, A Tiger in the House and the title story, An Alien Hand.
The point of a supplementary reader at this level is reading fluency rather than instruction. The stories are short enough to finish in one sitting and are written at a level that lets a Class 7 student read without stopping at every sentence, which is how reading speed and vocabulary actually build. Each story is followed by a "Comprehension Check" placed partway through and a fuller set of questions at the end, covering the events of the story, the writer's use of words, and short discussion or writing tasks.
The supplementary reader carries its own weightage in the Class 7 English paper, and questions are set on the stories directly — so the text is best read as written rather than summarised from a guide. Used alongside Honeycomb, it completes the prescribed Class 7 English course.
Key Features:
English medium book — complete content written in English (Roman script), no Hindi content
Published by NCERT (National Council of Educational Research and Training)
An Alien Hand — Supplementary Reader in English for Class VII (Class 7)
Prescribed for CBSE schools and state boards following the NCERT curriculum
Companion volume to Honeycomb, the main Class 7 English reader
Ten short stories spanning science fiction, adventure, folk tale and biography
Includes The Tiny Teacher, Bringing Up Kari, The Desert, The Cop and the Anthem
Includes Golu Grows a Nose, I Want Something in a Cage, Chandni, The Bear Story
Includes A Tiger in the House and the title story An Alien Hand
"Comprehension Check" within each story and full exercises at the end
Word-study, discussion and short writing tasks with each chapter
Illustrations throughout
Builds reading fluency and vocabulary at Class 7 level
Carries its own weightage in the Class 7 English examination
Standard NCERT text — the base book before any guide or question bank
यह पुस्तक राष्ट्रीय शैक्षिक अनुसंधान और प्रशिक्षण परिषद (NCERT) द्वारा कक्षा VII (कक्षा 7) अंग्रेज़ी पाठ्यक्रम हेतु निर्धारित पूरक पाठ्यपुस्तक (Supplementary Reader) An Alien Hand है। ध्यान दें: यह पुस्तक पूर्णतः अंग्रेज़ी भाषा एवं रोमन लिपि में है — इसमें हिन्दी भाषा का प्रयोग नहीं है। यह Honeycomb की सहयोगी पुस्तक है; सम्पूर्ण पाठ्यक्रम हेतु दोनों पुस्तकें निर्धारित हैं। इसमें दस लघु कहानियाँ सम्मिलित हैं — विज्ञान कथा, साहसिक कथा, लोककथा एवं जीवनवृत्त — जिनमें The Tiny Teacher, Bringing Up Kari, The Desert, The Cop and the Anthem, Golu Grows a Nose, Chandni, A Tiger in the House तथा शीर्षक कहानी An Alien Hand प्रमुख हैं। प्रत्येक पाठ के साथ "Comprehension Check", अभ्यास प्रश्न, शब्द-कार्य एवं लेखन कार्य दिए गए हैं। इस स्तर पर पूरक पुस्तक का उद्देश्य पठन-गति एवं शब्द-भंडार का विकास है — अतः पाठों को गाइड से सारांश रूप में पढ़ने के स्थान पर मूल पुस्तक से पढ़ना अधिक उपयोगी है।
