NCERT Solutions for Class 8 English Chapter 2 Children at Work

Children at Work is a touching story that shows the hard life of poor children in big cities. The chapter is about Velu, an eleven-year-old boy who runs away from home because of hunger and poverty. When he reaches Chennai, he faces the harsh reality of city life. He sees slums, garbage dumps, and children working as ragpickers just to survive. This chapter helps students understand child labour, poverty, and the struggles of children who are forced to work at a very young age.

Velu meets Jaya, a brave and confident girl who works as a ragpicker. She guides Velu, shows him how to collect waste, and helps him earn food. Their friendship shows how children support each other even in difficult situations. The story highlights social issues like homelessness, lack of education, and inequality in a simple and emotional way.

Children at Work Question Answer sections help students clearly understand the lesson. Important questions focus on Velu’s journey, Jaya’s character, and the message of the chapter. NCERT Solutions for Class 8 English Chapter 2 explain answers in easy language, making exam preparation simple and effective. This chapter encourages empathy and makes students think about the lives of working children in society.

Enroll Now for Kids Online Classes

Class 8 English Chapter 2 Children at Work Questions Answers

Question 1: Velu stood on the platform, but he felt “as if he was still on a moving train”. Why?

Answer: Velu had travelled by train for the first time. When he got down on the platform, his legs were still unsteady and shaky, so he felt as if the train was still moving. He was also very tired, hungry, and stressed, which made the feeling stronger.

Question 2: What made him feel miserable?

Answer: Velu felt miserable because he had run away from home two days ago and had not eaten proper food during this time. He had only eaten some peanuts and a piece of jaggery. He was also tired, scared, and alone in a big city, which made him feel lost and hopeless.

Question 3:

(i) Velu travelled without a ticket. Why?

(ii) How did he escape the ticket collector’s attention?

Answer:

(i) Velu had no money to buy a ticket because his drunkard father used to take away all the money earned by him and his sisters and spend it on drinking. So, he travelled without a ticket.

(ii) Velu escaped the ticket collector because the ticket checker did not come to the unreserved compartment where he was sitting. He also lay down near the door and pretended to be asleep.

Question 4: Why had Velu run away from home?

Answer: Velu ran away from home because his father was a drunkard who took away all the money earned by him and his sisters and wasted it on alcohol. Velu was fed up with this daily suffering and decided to leave home.

Question 5: Why did he decide to follow the ‘strange’ girl?

Answer: Velu decided to follow the strange girl because he was new in the city and did not know where to go or what to do. He was also very hungry, and the girl seemed friendly and helpful, so he trusted her.

Comprehension Check (Page 13)

Question 1: Can Velu read Tamil and English? How do you know?

Answer: Velu cannot read English because he could not understand the big English signboards at the station. But he can read Tamil because he read the words written on the Central Jail signboard in Tamil.

Question 2:

“If you are not careful, you will soon be counting bars there,” the girl said.

(i) What is she referring to?

(ii) What does she mean when she says, “If you are not careful…”?

(She says something a little later, which means the same. Find that sentence.)

Answer:

(i) She is referring to the Central Jail.

(ii) She means that Velu should not do anything wrong or get caught by the police, otherwise he may be sent to jail.
The other sentence with the same meaning is:
“You don’t have to do anything. Just don’t get caught, that’s all.”

Question 3:

(i) Where did the girl lead Velu to?

(ii) What did they get to eat?

Answer:

(i) The girl led Velu behind a big wedding hall where there was a large garbage bin full of rubbish.

(ii) Velu ate a squashy banana and a vada, while the girl ate only a banana.

Question 4:

What work did she do? Think of a one-word answer.

Answer: The girl worked as a rag-picker.

Comprehension Check (Page 15)

Question 1:

(i) What material are the ‘strange’ huts made out of?

(ii) Why does Velu find them strange?

Answer:

(i) The huts are made of metal sheets, tyres, bricks, wood, and plastic.

(ii) Velu finds the huts strange because in his village, houses were made of mud and palm leaves. The huts in the city were made of different waste materials and looked weak and crooked, as if they could fall at any time.

Question 2: What sort of things did Jaya and children like her collect and what did they do with those things?

Answer: Jaya and other children collected paper, plastic, glass, and bottles from garbage bins. They sold these things to Jam Bazaar Jaggu, who sold them further to factories for recycling.

Question 3: Is Velu happy or unhappy to find work? Give a reason for your answer.

Answer: Velu is unhappy to find work as a rag-picker because he does not like searching for useful things in dirty garbage. Earlier, he worked in fields and took cows for grazing. However, he agrees to do this work until he finds a better job.

Exercise (Page 16)

Discuss the following questions in small groups. Write their answers afterwards.

Question 1: Is Velu a smart boy? Which instances in the text show that he is or isn’t?

Answer: Velu was initially a very naive boy who ran away from his village to avoid the torture of his drunkard father. However, when he arrived in a big city, Chennai, he felt lost and miserable among so many people. Soon he met Jaya, a rack-picker who helped him get food as she realised he was starving. From then on, Velu acted smartly by following her as he didn’t know where to go or what to do in such a big city. On his way, he read the Central Jail hoarding written in Tamil and Jaya warned him that he should not do anything stupid and should avoid getting caught by the policemen. He kept following her until she took him to the slum area, where he saw the strange huts made of metal sheets, tyres, bricks, wood and plastic. They stood crookedly and looked as if they would fall any moment. Soon Jaya told him how she and other children collected glass, paper and other stuff and hand it over to Jam Bazaar Jaggu, who further sold them to a factory nearby. Seeing all this, Velu agrees to work as a rag-picker like Jaya for the time being until he finds a suitable job for himself.

Question 2: Do you think Jaya is a brave and sensitive child with a sense of humour? Find instances of her courage, kind nature and humour in the text.

Answer: Yes, Jaya was a brave and sensitive child with a good sense of humour. She was of the same age as Velu and worked as a rag-picker, and knew well how to survive in the city. She knew all the roads across the city and knew where she could find food to eat. However, when she met Velu at the railway station, she roamed about the city with him by collecting glass, paper and bottles and also got him some food to eat from a garbage bin behind a wedding hall. She tried to help him in all possible ways and told him to join her in rag-picking work. She gave him a pair of old shoes without laces and pushed a sack and a stick into his hands. However, we also notice that she has a humorous nature when she asks Velu if he has come to Chennai to become a rich person. She also helps him to cross the busy streets and told him that if he continued to stand still in the middle of the road like that, he would get run over by the huge vehicles unnecessarily.

Question 3: What one throws away as waste may be valuable to others. Do you find this sentence meaningful in the context of this story? How?

Answer: The story “Children at work” depicts the sad plight of slum dwellers, mostly the children who have to work as rag-pickers to sustain and feed themselves in big cities. It shows how the rubbish that we throw away in the garbage is being collected by these children to make a livelihood for themselves. People throw away leftover food, bottles and paper, which are collected by these children, and they earn money by selling these to nearby factories. As a matter of fact, waste thrown away by someone becomes a blessing or a source of income for another. Therefore, difficult circumstances compel such children to work as ragpickers, and they earn a living from it.

Read More: Subject in English Grammar

Simple Solutions for children at work question answer

A very important element of your English education is understanding the social themes in this story. When you read the children at work question answer class 8 materials, you view the world through the eyes of a youngster who has lost everything. Young readers will find Velu's journey from a small village to the busy, complex platform of Chennai Central to be both heartbreaking and eye-opening.

A lot of students want a children at work question answer so they can better appreciate the subtleties of the conversation between Velu and Jaya. Some people could accidentally look for "children at work question answer class 8," yet this chapter is an important element of the Class 8 "It So Happened" extra reader. You can figure out why kids must work and what it says about society by reviewing children at work question answer extra materials and practice sets.

Velu’s Arrival at Chennai Central

Velu arrived at Chennai Central after running away from his village because he couldn't stand his father’s beatings. His father would snatch away all the money Velu and his sisters earned and spend it on drink.

• The Scene: Velu felt miserable and exhausted. He sat on a bench with his small bundle, feeling overwhelmed by the shouting and the massive crowds.

• The Physical State: He hadn't eaten anything for two days except some peanuts and a piece of jaggery, leaving his legs feeling "wobbly."

Meeting Jaya: A Friend in Need

Jaya is a young ragpicker who spotted Velu looking lost on the platform. She was wearing a long t-shirt that came down to her knees and carried a huge sack on her shoulder.

1. Her Appearance: She was "brown" from the dust and had stiff, unkept hair.

2. Her Attitude: She was street-smart and brave. She knew how to navigate the dangerous city traffic and where to find food.

3. The Rescue: She offered Velu food and a way to survive, even though she didn't know him.

The Reality of Ragpicking

One of the most significant parts of the children at work question answer sets involves explaining what Jaya actually does. She collects "rubbish" like paper, plastic, and glass.

Velu was shocked to see Jaya picking through garbage. In his village, "work" meant weeding fields or taking cows out to graze. He found it strange that someone would collect what others threw away. Jaya explained that she sells these items to Jaggu at Jam Bazaar, who then sells them to a factory for recycling.

Life on the Streets: Survival and Hunger

Survival in a big city is a constant struggle for children like Jaya and Velu. Their "home" was a hut made of metal sheets, tires, bricks, and plastic. These huts looked like they could fall down at any moment.

• The Meal: Jaya took Velu to a wedding hall, but they didn't eat with the guests. Instead, they went to the garbage bin behind the hall.

• The Food: They found a squashy banana and a vada. Velu was hesitant at first but was so hungry that he ate them anyway.

Velu’s Decision: Hope vs. Despair

At the end of the day, Velu had no other choice but to follow Jaya. He didn't know the city and had no money. He decided to work as a ragpicker until he could find a "better job." This conclusion leaves the reader thinking about the millions of children who are stuck in this cycle of poverty without any immediate way out.

Read More: Narration in English Grammar

How CuriousJr Makes Online Learning Enjoyable and Effective

Helping a child learn is all about the right guidance, patience, and encouragement. CuriousJr turns online learning at home into a positive and engaging experience for both children and parents.

Parents choose CuriousJr’s online tuition classes because lessons are interactive, interesting, and designed to build confidence. We create a warm and supportive learning space where children feel comfortable asking questions and learning without pressure.

Our teaching methods focus on clear concept building while encouraging curiosity and creative thinking. With interactive sessions, play-based activities, regular practice, and engaging digital tools, learning becomes simple, fun, and easy to understand.

CuriousJr’s skilled mentors provide personalized support in online school tuition programs. Lessons are adapted to match each child’s learning speed, helping students overcome difficult topics with confidence and clarity.

Parents also value the regular feedback shared by teachers. This helps them track their child’s progress and understand where extra support is needed.

Book a demo class today and see how CuriousJr can make learning enjoyable and effective for your child.