ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES - CSE, IIT Bombay

Syllabusfor

Classesat the

ElementaryLevel

90

ENVIRONMENTALSTUDIESENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

CLASSES III TO V

Introduction: Teaching of Environmental StudiesThe National Curriculum Committee had recommended in the 1975 policy document “TheCurriculum for the Ten-year School: A Framework”, that a single subject ‘Environmental Studies’be taught at the primary stage. It had proposed that in the first two years (Class I-II) EnvironmentalStudies will look at both the natural and the social environment, while in Classes III-V therewould be separate portions for social studies and general science termed as EVS Part I and PartII. The National Policy on Education 1986 and the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) 1988also posited the same approach for the teaching of Environmental Studies at the primary stage.Contemporary research on how children learn to make sense of the world around them andhow pedagogy in primary school can enable them to develop scientific abilities and understandingin consonance with social and environmental concerns has further supported this integrated structure.The NCF 2000 had recommended that Environmental Studies be taught as an integrated coursefor the entire primary stage, instead of in two distinct parts devoted to science and social studiesin Classes III-V. The present NCF 2005 has called for the continuation and further strengtheningof this integrated approach for Environmental Studies during the primary years.

NCF 2005 and Objectives of Environmental StudiesThe present syllabus is designed to forge an integrated perspective for the primary stage ofschooling that draws upon insights from Sciences, Social Sciences and Environmental Education.The National Curriculum Framework 2005 indicates some of the objectives of teaching scienceand Social Sciences at the primary stage as follows:• to train children to locate and comprehend relationships between the natural, social and

cultural environment;• to develop an understanding based on observation and illustration, drawn from lived

experiences and physical, biological, social and cultural aspects of life, rather than abstractions;• to create cognitive capacity and resourcefulness to make the child curious about social

phenomena, starting with the family and moving on to wider spaces;• to nurture the curiosity and creativity of the child particularly in relation to the natural

environment (including artifacts and people);• to develop an awareness about environmental issues;• to engage the child in exploratory and hands-on activities to acquire basic cognitive and

psychomotor skills through observation, classification, inference, etc.;

91Syllabus

forClassesat the

ElementaryLevel

• to emphasise design and fabrication, estimation and measurement as a prelude to thedevelopment of technological and quantitative skills at later stages;

• to be able to critically address gender concerns and issues of marginalisation and oppressionwith values of equality and justice, and respect for human dignity and rights.

Integrating ‘Subjects’ or Forging a New Understanding?What do we understand by General Science and Social Sciences? When we think of these ‘subjects’in school we clearly have in mind some body of knowledge and also typical ways of acquiringthat knowledge that we associate with each of them. These school subjects have evolved throughtheir own complicated histories and are today quite different from the way sciences or socialsciences are practiced in the real world of specialized disciplines, such as physics, zoology, chemistry,molecular biology, history, sociology, geography, economics, political science, etc. So what happenswhen groups of specialists sit down to discuss what should be taught at the primary level? Theynaturally tend to think of ‘topics’ that have traditionally served as the bases of their own differentdisciplines. Thus biologists (if we can use that term to somehow bring together botanists andzoologists!) would naturally propose a study of plants, animals or the human body, whereasphysicists would think of sound, light, force and work, while chemists would propose studyingforms of matter, properties of substances, etc. Add to this the different disciplines under therubric of Social Sciences and we soon end up with a confounding platter of topics, which are notnecessarily ‘integratable’, and are neither close to the way the child relates to her world.

Most primary school curricula working on an integrated approach therefore do not proceedwith lists of ‘topics’ from different ‘subjects’ but instead propose ‘themes’ that allow for a connectedand inter-related understanding to develop. This requires moving beyond traditional boundaries ofdisciplines and looking at priorities in a shared way. This approach has been followed for the presentsyllabus. Several themes were discussed to see what possibilities each of them offers, to bringtogether insights from different disciplines, in an interconnected manner that is basically child centered.For each theme a web of possible connections was drawn up, of concepts and skills, to explorehow that may be developed over the primary years. Specialists from several different disciplines ofsciences, social sciences, pedagogy, gender studies, child development, curriculum studies, etc. discussedthe possibilities of the proposed themes, pointed out the gaps, and debated on the priorities for achild centered approach. It is clear that there is no single format that can offer a uniquely satisfactoryelaboration of ideas for primary school and this syllabus too makes no such claim.

This is not a prescriptive but instead a suggestive format, which indicates the key themes andsub–themes along with their possible connections. It consciously begins with key questions ratherthan key concepts, which can trigger the child’s thinking in new directions and provide scaffoldingto her learning process. This format is meant to help textbook writers, teachers and parents toappreciate the immense possibilities and the depth of children’s understanding. It also indicateshow adults can stimulate and actively support children’s learning, rather than restrict or throttle it,as often happens when children are forced to memorise information they just cannot understand.

Syllabusfor

Classesat the

ElementaryLevel

92

Themes for a Child Centered and Integrated ApproachThis syllabus web has been developed within a child centered perspective of themes that providea common interface of issues in social studies, sciences and environmental education. The syllabusfor Classes III-V is woven around six common themes given below; the predominant theme on‘Family and Friends’ encompasses four sub-themes:

1. Family and Friends:1.1 Relationships; 1.2 Work and Play;1.3 Animals; 1.4 Plants

2. Food;

3. Shelter;

4. Water;

5. Travel;

6. Things We Make and Do

The syllabus web moves outward over the three years; it gradually extends the child’sunderstanding of her world, beginning from the immediate ‘self ’ to include her family, theneighbourhood, the locality and also the country. Thus by the time the child reaches Class V, she isable to see her ‘self ’ in the larger context – as part of a community, the country and also, moretacitly, as located in this world. Indeed, in some flights of fancy the syllabus even goads the youngchild to ride on a spacecraft and leap beyond the earth, into outer space, that may yet not becomprehensible but is certainly fascinating for her.

Thus, for instance, the theme on ‘Food’ begins in Class III with ‘cooking’, ‘eating in thefamily’, about what we eat and what others eat, what animals eat, etc. It then moves on inClass IV to how food is grown, what different plants they may have seen, how food reaches us, etc.In Class V children discuss who grows it, the hardships farmers may face, while staying grounded tothe reality of our own pangs of hunger or the plight of people who do not get food. In addition,‘when food gets spoilt’ explores spoilage and preservation of food, while changes in food habitsand the crops grown are analysed through the experiences of elders/grandparents. Finally ‘ourmouth - tastes and even digests food’ sees how the saliva makes food taste sweet on chewing,while ‘food for plants?’ also introduces the idea of some curious insect eating plants.

The theme on ‘Travel’ was developed to help the child on this journey of ideas, of expandingsocial and physical spaces, into newer and unfamiliar terrains of often mind-boggling and no lessfascinating diversity. In Class III the theme encourages children to look at their own journeys, ifany, and to see how older people in their family may have traveled in earlier times, as they alsohear of accounts of how people travel today in a desert, through forests, in the hills, or in bigcities. Moreover, it also suggests a story as a ‘resource’, to bring into the classroom the experiencesof a child of a migrating family and the problems she faces in the process of her schooling. Suchnarratives suggested as ‘resources’ are meant to provide creative opportunities of bringing inexperiences of other children/people, who may be very different, but whom children can relate

93Syllabus

forClassesat the

ElementaryLevel

to. This can be done through stories, posters, plays, films, and other media. In Class V the theme‘Travel’ takes children through the ‘rough and tough’ terrain of the Himalayas with, perhaps, thestory of Bachhendri Pal, who hoists the national flag after a trying expedition, while they can alsobe encouraged to design a flag for their own school.

This theme also takes them on a ‘ride on a spacecraft’ into space, from where for the first timethey see the aerial view of the earth, and being no less than a Rakesh Sharma or a Kalpana Chawla,each child is asked to give an interview to the Prime Minister of India about what they see fromthere!. The exercise of looking at aerial views is developed through different views of school, wheredifferent perspectives get introduced. It is linked to the concept of mapping, which they begin inClass III through a basic two-dimensional representation of their classroom, and by the time theyreach Class V they can read and draw simple aerial views of their locality or city.

‘Plants’ and ‘Animals’ as Part of the Theme ‘Family and Friends’‘Plants’ and ‘Animals’ have consciously been included under the theme of ‘Family and Friends’ tohighlight how humans share a close relationship with them and to also provide a holistic and integratedscientific and social perspective of studying them. Traditionally ‘plants’ or animals’ are presented asautonomous categories, seen purely from the perspective of science. Here an attempt is made to locatethem in a social and cultural context, and also to see how the lives and livelihoods of some communities,such as the gujjars, musahars or ‘pattal’-makers, are closely connected with specific animals or plants.Moreover, in the universe of young children narratives of animals and plants play a significant role, andthey can relate well even to the animated characters perceived as ‘family and friends’.

It is a challenge to transcend conventional boundaries of scientific disciplines to try andrelook at the notions of, say, ‘plants’, ‘animals’, ‘food’, or ‘our body’ from a child’s perspective. Infact, some scientific categories are seen to be too formal and counter-intuitive, and perhaps even‘reductionist’, for the child to understand. Conventionally biologists divide living things broadlyinto two categories ‘plants’ and ‘animals’. The idea of ‘plants’ is considered simple enough to bepresented in primary school along with ‘parts of a plant’, ‘functions of the parts of the plant’, etc.But why should this way of looking at a plant be considered more ‘natural’ or even desirable fora child? In fact, extensive research across the world has shown that young children find it tooabstract to make a distinction between living and non-living, or to divide the living world betweenplants and animals. Despite considerable exposure to science teaching in several countries, childrenas old as 13-15 years have consistently believed that a tree is different from a plant, contradictingthe conventional categories of biologists’. Children also systematically differentiate between plantsand vegetables (‘a carrot and cabbage are not plants’), or even between plants and weeds (‘grassis not a plant’). Moreover, a majority of children do not naturally think of seeds as parts of aplant. This has led some primary school curricula to postpone these conventional categories andfirst allow space to children to explore their own intuitive ideas, in order to achieve a betterunderstanding later of how science tends to classify them differently.

Taking cognisance of the way children think ‘plants’ are first introduced through the theme on‘Food’ – through what plants children eat, and also through the idea that we may eat the leaves, or

Syllabusfor

Classesat the

ElementaryLevel

94

the stem, or seeds of different plants. In fact, this comes after a discussion on questions related to‘Which of the following is food? – red ants, birds’ nest, goats’ milk, etc. This is to sensitise them tothe idea that what some of us take to be ‘food’ may not be so for others; that food is a deeplycultural notion. As discussed above, to allow for a more connected approach ‘plants’ is a sub-themeunder the umbrella of ‘Family and Friends’. Thus in Class III children look at the different ‘plantsaround us’, at possible changes over time from when their parents were young, and also whatthings around them are made of plants. They are expected to talk to their parents and other eldersaround them, so that these discussions can act as scaffolding to their learning. This is also indicated inthe activity column of the syllabus. Children in Class III also observe the shapes, colours, aroma, etcto see the diversity of ‘leaves in our lives’, to talk of how plant leaves may be used to eat on, thetimes of the year when lots of leaves fall to the ground, which may be used to make compost, andalso paint different leaf motifs they see on their pots, animals, clothes, walls, etc. In Class IV theylook at ‘flowers’ and flower sellers, and discuss ‘whom trees belong to?’ while in Class V theymove on to ‘forests and forest people’, the notion of parks or sanctuaries, and also ‘plants thathave come from far’. In this way they are enabled to construct a more holistically connectedunderstanding, from a scientific, social, cultural and environmental perspective, that is enriched withan aesthetic and caring appreciation of plants around them.

Our Bodies, Ourselves: ‘Family and Friends’ offer Sensitivity and SensibilitySimilar to the case of ‘plants’ discussed above, traditionally ‘our body’ is also treated in a purelyscientific and socially distanced manner, with units such as ‘our senses’, ‘parts/organs of the body’and ‘respiration’, ‘digestion’, etc. However, the theme ‘Family and Friends’, specially through itstwo sub-themes 1.1 Relationships and 1.2 Work and Play, allows children to look at their ownbody as part of their ‘self ’ in a more contextual and connected manner. In Class III in the sub-themeon Relationships, they discuss their relatives, who live with them and those who have moved away,to get a basic idea of relationships and changing households. They reflect on whom they admireamong their relatives and for what qualities or skills, and describe on which occasions or festivalsthey meet most of them. The unit ‘our bodies – old and young’ helps them place their own bodyin relation to those of their family members, and asks them to notice differences that may occurwith age. More significantly, the rubric of the family provides a sense of intimacy and empathy, tohelp develop sensitivity towards people having different abilities/disabilities. For instance, they lookat how some of their older family members may have difficulty in hearing or seeing, and then go onto discuss how they themselves or their friends may cope with such challenges.

In Class IV, the same sub-theme ‘Relationships’ has a unit on ‘your mother as a child’ tomake children find out about who were her relatives with whom she lived then. They also thinkabout their body in relation to their mother’s; how a baby rat or kitten is related to its mother, andthrough a possible narrative, about children who may have been adopted/looked after by fosterparents, say, after a cyclone. By ‘Feeling around with eyes shut’ they explore their senses oftouch, smell, etc. - not in isolation of the people or animals they care for - but by trying to identifyall those living with them only by touching, hearing or smelling them. They continue the exploration

95Syllabus

forClassesat the

ElementaryLevel

of feeling what is smooth/rough, hot/cold, wet/dry, sticky/slippery, etc. and are asked to thinkif there are some things (or people) they are not allowed to touch. This unit also attempts to makethem sensitive to the fact that while touch can mean both a caress and a painful slap, the caress toocan be a ‘good’ touch or a ‘bad’ touch.

In Class V, the unit ‘Whom do I look like?’ helps them identify family resemblances, to lookfor any similarities in the face, voice, height, etc., and also to note particular traits such as ‘wholaughs the loudest?’. It goes on to how by ‘feeling to read’ on a Braille sheet, someone likeHelen Keller could manage to overcome tremendous challenges, as described through accountsof her autobiography.

‘Family and Friends’ has another sub-theme 1.2 ‘Work and Play’ through which they exploredifferent patterns of activity when people are working and ‘not-working’ in their family andneighbourhood. This helps them to sensitively look at stereotyped gender roles, and to compare theirown daily routine with that of a working child. It also allows them to analyse the games they play, to seehow traditional games or toys have changed since the time their grandparents were young. In Class Vthis sub-theme looks at ‘team games - your heroes’ and also martial arts or wrestlers and how theyare trained. An exploration of our bodies and the process of respiration naturally falls into this context,and in ‘blow hot blow cold’ they compare how much faster they breathe after a run. They also seehow much they can expand their chest, how they blow on a glass to make it cloudy, and blow to warmtheir cold hands and also to cool something hot. As suggested this unit could make use of the beautifulstory by Dr. Zakir Hussain, “Usee Se Thanda Usee Se Garam’ as a resource. The unit ‘clean work,dirty work’ sensitizes them to the dignity of labour and how different people’s work provides essentialservices to society, possibly through a narrative/story based on Gandhi’s work.

Things we Make and DoThe area of Things we Make and Do is visualised as an important component as well as acommon thread inherent in the process of understanding all the other themes. We humans makethings not only to meet our needs but also to express ourselves in a variety of ways and totranscend our limitations. We also comprehend better when we do things ourselves. Often whena young child gets a toy for a gift, she has fun dismantling and later re-assembling it in acompletely novel way as much as enjoying it as it is. When she is given a new book sheis eager to add ‘her pictures’ into it as much as appreciating the book. Formal educationas well as all that goes into ‘being a good child’ however discourages these acts. Thetheme of Things we Make and Do therefore is an opportunity to recharge the varietyof energies/components that make learning more fulfilling, and where cognitionis not an end but a process enriched by experience, failure, observation, success,etc. There is also a need to give our rich living traditions of art and craft,of ‘making and doing things’, their rightful place in our curricula.

Another aspect related with this theme is to understand the significance ofdesign and technology in relation to science and society. Technology is not merelyapplied science; it has an independent existence and in many cases predates

Syllabusfor

Classesat the

ElementaryLevel

96

developments in science. Moreover, most of the things we make and do also depend on rawmaterials and interventions that impact the earth and life on earth.

This theme will also help address the issue of dignity of physical labour. A young child lovessweeping, wanting to help the mother in the household chores, loves fiddling with any electrical appliancewithin her reach. However, she soon begins to ascribe value to these things that she once enjoyed doing.Sweeping becomes dirty, and to be done by servants or women in the house, fiddling with implementsbecomes an area reserved for men and boys. In short work becomes a way to segregate people, tojudge them, to ascribe it to a particular gender, class or caste. Mahatma Gandhi’s vision and plan of‘Basic Education’ had the potential to overcome these fractures. The present syllabus takes a small stepin that direction, while encompassing contemporary concerns relating to environmental education,social relations with a vision for sustainable development and appropriate technologies

It needs to be emphasised that the syllabus has consciously included key questions that openlyaddress issues of inequality or difference and encourage children to think critically. Whether it isabout social discrimination in school or in getting water, about physically challenged people, orworking children, all these issues are part of the reality of children, especially those who aredisadvantaged and therefore more vulnerable to be pushed out of school. The objectives clearlystress the need to enable children to articulate and critically reflect on these lived experiences,however unpleasant, and not promote a culture of evasion or silence in school. This calls for aspecially sensitive approach in textbooks as well as in the teaching learning process in classrooms,and teachers will need to review how they can do justice to these questions.

Scaffolding Children’s Learning: The Question Format of the SyllabusSince the 1970s the philosophy of primary education in different countries, including ours, has beeninfluenced by the Chinese saying “I do, I understand”. This lays emphasis on the principle of ‘learningby doing’, which suggests that learners actively construct their understanding while directly interactingwith their environment. However, this model of learning looks at each learner as a solitary individual –it is the “I’ who is trying to understand, struggling to develop each concept. This approach is associatedwith the ‘cognitive constructivist psychology’ of Piaget, and implies that teachers can only provide astimulating environment for children to develop. This also suggests that children need to be nurturedindividually like delicate plants, as they develop naturally through successive stages of intellectualdevelopment. However, in the last few decades it has been increasingly seen that children do not learnalone, through interaction with the environment, but learn more through talking and discussing withother people, both adults and other children. This psychological approach known as ‘social constructivism’has been influenced by the work of Vygotsky and Bruner, who showed that adult support is crucial tochildren’s thinking. With an appropriate question or suggestion the child’s understanding can be extendedfar beyond the point which she could have reached alone. In fact, it has been shown that through the‘scaffolding’ provided by such questions, discussions, and adult support, the child can be helped tocross what is called ‘the zone of proximal development’ to leap to the next level of understanding.

The present syllabus is framed within this social constructivist perspective of learning. It ishoped that children will be supported to construct knowledge far beyond their individual abilities

97Syllabus

forClassesat the

ElementaryLevel

through appropriate questions and interventions, including discussions with adults, in school andalso at home, as also among themselves. Instead of listing key concepts the syllabus begins by suggesting somekey questions, framed in a language appropriate to stimulate the thinking of a child that age. These are notmeant to be questions of the textbook but are suggestive of the nature of scaffolding to beprovided to help children think in certain directions. This is especially important to help childrenarticulate their own ideas, for instance, in the case of what they understand by the term ‘plants’ or‘animals’. Textbooks written in different contexts and regions will be different and indeed mustreflect their own specific concerns. However, such questions are important for textbook writersto know how to guide children to observe, compare, predict or analyse certain phenomena orprocesses. For instance, in the theme on Food, there is a question “Who provides us the Mid-dayMeal?” This is a leading question to encourage children to begin thinking about the agencies andinstitutions who provide certain services, beyond the concrete observation of the particular person.Thus as they begin to think about the post office or the school or hospital as institutions, it willhelp them in developing the abstract concept about the notion of governance or ‘government’,which they normally encounter later usually in the form of statements or information that theyare totally unable to comprehend. Thus when appropriate connections and linkages are made inthe child’s mind about her own immediate experiences she is enabled to understand more abstractor sophisticated concepts and arguments later.

The matrix of each theme contains leading questions and key concepts and also suggestedresources and activities. As the name indicates, these are purely suggestive for teachers and textbookwriters, to give an idea of how the particular theme can be dealt with. It is clear that differenttextbooks based on this syllabus structure can turn out to be very diverse in terms of the elaborationof the themes. Just as every structure must have its own foundations and its own stability, similarlyeach child ultimately needs to construct her own understanding, articulation, knowledge and skills.We do know that children are not blank slates or empty vessels to be filled by ‘information’ aboutcarefully listed key concepts, and that they cannot learn by passively listening to adults, howeverexpressive they may be. This is the basic problem of our traditional system which relies on giving‘information’, justified on whatever grounds, but without caring to know about the possible zoneof the child’s development. Indeed there is no getting away from this: If children have to understandan idea they have to construct knowledge for themselves, which can happen when they get theright cues to connect new understanding with what they already possess. This syllabus identifiesthose cues that will help children connect with their varied knowledge systems. Our children doindeed know and can learn a lot; it is our responsibility to help them do it better.

What Learning Do We Expect?How can Environmental Studies help all our children, all those who struggle to go to school, andeven all those who still cannot do so; those for whom the main purpose in life is going to school, aswell as those who aspire for a school that can support life, with meaning and dignity? This documentgives a suggestive matrix of themes and sub-themes through the three years of Classes III-V. It is upto the teachers and textbook writers to translate this into books, materials and classroom activities, to

Syllabusfor

Classesat the

ElementaryLevel

98

shape an enabling learning environment for each child, wherever she may be located. Even in the earlieryears children do learn about their environment, though there is no separate subject in school. It isexpected that in Classes I-II the two subjects of Language and Mathematics will incorporate somethemes for the development of concepts and skills in areas broadly related to EVS.

This syllabus format consciously does not spell out any outcomes for each theme. For eachthematic area related key concepts, skills and activities have been clearly indicated at appropriateplaces. However, schools must ensure that these activities or discussions will be conducted becauseonly then can it be ensured that learning will happen. For instance, at several places the activitiesindicate that children need to conduct specific observations. We know that even young children’ssenses are sharp and they are able to detect small differences between fairly similar objects, thoughnot always the similarities. However, the purpose of conducting ‘observation’ activities in EVS isusually not to collect random similarities or differences, but to seek information from the object to extendchildren’s ideas and understanding. For instance, to look specifically at the shapes of leaves, the edges, thepatterns of lines in it, etc. to know more about them. Thus specific purposes will need to be spelt out whenactivities are designed. Similarly, young children ask many questions which help in their development, butwhich are not all deep, and which do not allow them to understand things at that stage. However,EVS classrooms will need to provide opportunities to children to be able to progressively ask higher order questions thatrequire different levels of reasoning and investigation, by planned activities and exercises to get themto phrase their questions, to answer, discuss and investigate them. These are basic to the learningprocess in EVS and yet, unfortunately, most classrooms are not designed to ensure this. How thencan we expect all children to learn? What then does it mean to specify any outcomes at this point?

We reiterate the purpose in drafting this syllabus through the following example:

What biology do students know?Janabai lives in a small hamlet in the Sahyadri hills. She helps her parents in their seasonal work ofrice and ‘tuar’ farming. She sometimes accompanies her brother in taking the goats to graze. Shehas helped bring up her younger sister. Nowadays she walks 8 km everyday to attend the nearestsecondary school.

She maintains intimate links with her natural environment. She has used different plants assources of food, medicines, fuel wood, dyes, and building materials; she has observed parts ofdifferent plants used for household purposes, religious rituals and in celebrating festivals. Sherecognises minute differences between trees, and notices seasonal changes based on shape, size,distribution of leaves and flowers, smells and textures. She can identify about a hundred differenttypes of plants around her, many times more than her biology teacher can – the same teacherwho believes Janabai is a poor student; that “These students don’t understand science … theycome from a deprived background!”

Can we help Janabai translate her rich understanding into formal concepts of biology? Canwe convince her that school science is not about some abstract world coded in long texts anddifficult language: it is about the farm she works on, the animals she knows and takes care of, thewoods that she walks through everyday? (National Curriculum Framework 2005, p. 45)

99Syllabus

forClassesat the

ElementaryLevel

IIIQuestions Key Concepts/ Suggested Suggested

Issues Resources Activities

1. Family and Friends1.1 RELATIONSHIPS

My familyWho all live with you athome? How are theyrelated to each other? Doyou have relatives who donot live with you? Havethey always been there?How many children didyour grand parents have?Who do you think will beyour new relatives infuture?

My family and meDo you look like anybodyin your family? Have youlearnt anything fromanybody in your family?Whom do you admiremost among all yourrelatives? Who is the mostcaring and patient person?When do you meetmembers of your familywho do not live with you?

Whom do I look like?Do some of yourrelatives look similar?Which features are similar– eyes, ears, the voice or

Concept of a family;diversity in family types;Family as a supportsystem, Ideas aboutrelationships; Simplefamily tree (threegenerations).

Family influences –physical characteristics,values and habits,appreciating qualities andskills of family members;family as a supportsystem.

Concept of similaritybetween relations,hereditary features.

Child’s daily lifeexperience; Familymembers.

Family members, localknowledge, story/poemson different festivals.

Family photographs;Narrations by elders aboutfamily members whenthey were young.

CLASS IIIENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

Observation, enquiryabout family relationsfrom adults, discussion.

Observation, exploringfrom elders aboutextended family, narratingstories/singing poemsrelated to festivals, writingabout any festival,drawing.

Discussion About stories/films/jokes involvingtwins

Syllabusfor

Classesat the

ElementaryLevel100

Questions Key Concepts/ Suggested SuggestedIssues Resources Activities

Reading and discussion;Making different kinds ofsounds and expressinglikes and dislikes aboutthem.; blindfold act,visiting any local institutionthat deals with the blind orany other institution.

Observation of differentplants around, compareand classification basedon simple characters;Discussion about thingsmade of plants, pencilprints of barks, leaf prints.

Sensitivity to the old andphysically challenged;Introduction to the senseof hearing and sight;sensitization to the factthat the body ages, alsothat some children maynot hear /see at all or maybe partially affected.Basic idea about Braille.

Exploring children’s ideasabout a ‘plant’. Plantdiversity; size, where theygrow, shape, colour,aroma, etc.; dependenceon plants for everydaylife. Introduction of newplants/crops and changesobserved by elders overtime. Plants and theclimate/environment.

“Meri bahen sun nahin sakti’a book by Bharat VigyanSamiti or any othermaterial on differentlyabled children.

Child’s daily lifeexperience, observation,information fromgrandparents/ elders, asample/picture of a plantwhich is unusual in the localsurroundings.

height? Are there any twopeople in your family wholook exactly alike?

Old and the physicallychallengedDo you know of peoplewho are hard of hearing?Are many of them old?Do you have any friendswho cannot hear/see well?Is there any way in whichyou may have helpedthem? Are there anysounds you like butothers/elders do not?

1.2 PLANTS

Plants around usHow many different kindsof plants do you seearound you? What are thedifferences you notice?What things around youare made of plants?Is there a plant in your areathat was not there whenyour grandparents wereyoung?Do you know of someplants which do not growaround you, say things thatwe eat and not grownaround you?

101Syllabus

forClassesat the

ElementaryLevel


Leaves in our livesWhat different kinds ofleaves do you see? Do youuse plant leaves to eat on?In what other ways areleaves used?Is there some time of theyear when lots of leavesfall to the ground? Arethey burnt? Have you seena compost pit?What leaf motifs do youfind on clothes, pots,walls, animals, etc.? Doyou decorate your housewith leaves on someoccasions?

1.3 ANIMALS

Animals: small and bigWhich are the smallest andthe biggest animals youhave seen? Which have youonly heard about? Whichanimals have tails? Howmany legs?

Some creepy crawlies –and flyers tooWhat different kinds ofsmall crawling animals doyou know? Where andfrom what does each of

Leaf diversity – colour,shape, texture, aroma, etc.Seasonal shedding ofleaves; compost fromleaves.Leaf designs/motifs ondifferent objects.

Exploring children’s ideasof an ‘animal’.

Exploring children’s ideasof crawling animals, flyersand insects.

Child’s daily lifeexperience, observation, astory on a compost pit.

Child’s daily lifeexperience, observation,stories/ poems on animals(NBT)

Child’s daily lifeexperience, observation,stories/ poems on insects,flyers and crawling

Observation, collection ofdifferent leaves, smellingdifferent plant leaves,discussion, visit to anearby compost pit,decorating the classroomwith leaf motifs.Applying mehndi on palmsin different designs.

Observation of diversityof animals around you,listing, Discussion aboutwhat they eat, were theylive relative size of animalsthey have seen, pictures inbooks, animals heardabout. Drawing picturesof favourite animals.

Observation, of ants,flies, spiders, crickets,cockroaches, earthworms,lizards and other animals.

Syllabusfor

Classesat the

ElementaryLevel102


them hide? Which insectscan crawl and also fly?Which ones bite us? Canflies make us ill? Why doesa spider make a web?

BirdsWhich are the birds yousee around your area? Dothey like some trees morethan others? What do theyeat? Can you recognizebirds by their feathers?What are the differentsounds they make?Are they saying somethingto each other? Are theresome birds that comefrom other places?Do you feed any birds orplace water for them?

1.4 WORK AND PLAY

Work around meWhat are the differentkinds of work donearound me? What workdoes my mother/ father/brother/ sister etc. do?What work do I do? Whatwork do others do? WhenI am not working what doI do? When my father/mother is not workingwhat do they do?

Exploring children’s ideasof birds-their livingplaces, eating habits,common features likefeathers and soundsproduced by them.Feeding birds.

Different occupations,idea of working time andleisure time; work insideand outside homes –gender, age, caste,economic, etc. aspects.

animals (NBT)

Child’s daily lifeexperience, observation,stories/ poems on birds(NBT)

Poem ‘Home work’ byShyam Bahadur NamraCase study: time chart ofthe daily routine of a childwho does a lot ofhousework

Discussion about them,where they live, what theyeat, insect bites (wasp) etc.Drawing some of them.

Drawings of birds;mimicking different neckmovements and soundsof birds, collectingfeathers.

Draw a daily time-chartfor your father, motherand yourself, discussion.

103Syllabus

forClassesat the

ElementaryLevel


Working childrenWhat kind of work wasdone by children whenyour grandparents wereyoung? Has that changedtoday? Who are thechildren you know whowork and go to school/who work and cannot goto school?

Games we playWhat games do I play?Did my grandparents playthe same games? Are theseindoor/outdoor?

2. FoodFoods from plants andanimalsWhich of these is food –red ants, bird’s nests,snakes, bananas, goat’smilk, etc.?What plants do you eat -what parts of the plant?What food do we takefrom animals?

CookingWhat do you eat that is notcooked? What is eaten

Sensitize children to otherchildren who work athome and outside - not asa result of family neglectbut more as a systemiccause.Important that all childrengo to school.A sense of how childlabour existed in othercountries before allchildren began to go togood common schools.

Leisure; games in schooland outside, past andpresent; for some play iswork

Appreciation of culturaldiversity in food; basicideas about various plantused as food; food fromanimals.

Food may be eaten rawor cooked - steamed,

Excerpt from story byCharles Dickens.Narrative describing apoor child’s/child laborersexperience in a commonschool in another country.

Traditional and localgames; folk toys

Regional narratives andstories about ‘unusual’foods mentioned.

Songs/poems on food orlack of food; local

Reading and listeningto the story/excerpts.Discussion and narrativesabout children makingfirecrackers at Shivkashi.,child workers at Dhabasand auto workshops.

Listing, classifying indoorand outdoor games.

Listing and discussingabout food we do or donot eat; tabulating foodwe take from differentplants and animals.Observing and drawingdifferent parts of plantseaten.

Listing raw and cookedfood; discussion on

Syllabusfor

Classesat the

ElementaryLevel104


only when cooked? Howdo you cook food? Whatdo you cook it on? Whatare the different kinds ofvessels used for cooking?What are they made of?Is water used in all formsof cooking? Which foodis cooked without usingwater? How?

Eating in the familyDo all members of thefamily eat the same foodin your family? Who eatsmore? Who eats last inyour family? Who buysthe food and what isbought from the market?Who cooks the food inyour family? What dobabies have for food?When do babies starteating and what do theyeat other than milk?

What animals eatDo animals eat the samethings? What do differentanimals eat? Do you feedthe animals around you -what? What do they takefrom your house evenwhen not fed?

boiled, baked, fried etc.;Different fuels, types ofstoves; Types of vesselsused in cooking, differentshapes (regional/traditional), differentmaterials, etc.

Different eating practicesin the family. Amount offood varying with gender,age, physical activity, etc.Cooking and gender/caste roles in the family;Food for the baby,significance of milk.

Food of domestic andwild animals; care ofdomestic animals.

knowledge about what isedible; photographs.

Everyday experience, localknowledge. Poems/illustrations on genderstereotyping.

Stories, cartoons and films.

cooking methods/materials, etc; survey tofind out the types offuels/vessels used;drawing various utensils;historical time line tracingwhat in the kitchen haschanged and roughlywhen.

Observation and askingadults, discussion. Listingof food items boughtfrom the market/grownat home.

Observing and listingdifferent animals and theirfeeding habits,; Discussingfood given to animals.;observing animals beingfed, keeping food out andobserving animals comeand feed.

105Syllabus

forClassesat the

ElementaryLevel


3. ShelterHouses and housesHave you seen - a houseon stilts, a tent, a flat onthe tenth floor, a house onwheels or a house on aboat?Do you know anyoneliving in such houses? Whydo people use suchhouses?

Decorating andcleaning our shelterHow do you decorateyour shelter? Do you drawdesigns on your walls/floor or decorate withleaves/flowers/otherobjects? How do youkeep your house clean?Do you also help incleaning? Who mops andsweeps it? Where do youthrow the garbage? Doyou have any problemsliving in your house duringrains, summer or winter?Have you seen houses withsloping roofs? Why arethey made sloping?

My family and otheranimalsWho all live with you?Which animals live with

Some unusual houses, anarrative and a discussionabout why such houses arebuilt. Different types ofhousesNeed for shelter, need forliving together

My house, Houses/shelters are decorated indifferent ways in differentcultures; Need for shelterto provide protectionfrom heat, cold, rain andproblems faced.Need to share housework.Garbage disposal.

Family members; pets andother animals, insects,

Pictures of different typesof houses; easily availablematerials for modelmaking.

Illustrations of designs/motifs used fordecoration of the house.

Daily life experiences.Cartoons.

Discussion; observation;Drawing, model makingand art work. Creativewriting about imaginedexperiences.

Draw a picture of yourhouse. Draw the variouskinds of designs/motifsused to decorate walls/floors of houses.

Discussion and sharingof experiences and

Syllabusfor

Classesat the

ElementaryLevel106


you - which are the biggestand the smallest animalsliving in your house? Fromwhere do they get theirfood? Where in yourhouse do these animalslive? Which of them areseen only at night?

Mapping myneighbourhoodHow big is your school?What kind of a building isit? Can you draw a pictureof your school and yourclassroom ? Do you knowyour way around yourneighbor-hood? Can weexplain to someone how toreach the post office or thebus stand from our house?

4. WaterWater for my familyWhat are the main sourcesof water in your locality?Who fetches the water andfrom how far? Do all thepeople in your locality usethe same source of water?Are some people notallowed to take waterfrom where you take it?From where do you getwater? Does it look cleanenough for drinking?

rodents, etc. Food for thepets and other animals.Some are seen only atnight.

Neighbourhood,mapping andrepresentation in twodimensions. Directions.

Local sources of water;uses of water; genderroles; distance estimates;social discrimination; cleanwater for drinking

Survey of different partsof the school, survey ofthe neighbourhood

Child’s daily life experience,local knowledge

knowledge. Drawings ofinsects, rodents; pets andother domestic animals.

Estimating distances,marking location ofplaces and drawing/mapping from differentperspectives, like from thetop, from the front etc,Draw a map of the routefrom our house to thenearest shop.

Listing the sources ofwater, Exploring byasking questions fromelders or people around,Discussion.

107Syllabus

forClassesat the

ElementaryLevel


Do animals and plantsneed water?What happens if plantsand animals do not getwater – how do you seethat a plant or animal isthirsty? Do all animals/plants need the sameamount of water? Whichplants/animals need theleast?

Water shortageWhen is it difficult to getwater? Are there somepeople in your area whoalways face watershortage? What wouldhappen if we had nowater? Have you seenwater being wasted –how? How can we avoidit? Do you reuse water?

Water in our livesWhich of your dailyactivities use water? Doyou and others you knowwash your hands and feetbefore you enter thehouse? Why do you thinkthis is done?Can you describe the sceneof a rainy day – withdetails about birds, animals,plants and yourself.

Water for plants andanimals.

Water scarcity, wastageand recycling, waterharvesting.

Use of water in differentactivities; culturalexpressions about water/rain/ rivers; observationsrelated to rain and theresponse of plants andanimals.

Library resource-briefinformation about thecamel, cactus along withtheir pictures.

Newspaper clippingsabout water shortage/water being wasted.

Library resources,observations related todaily life. Songs aboutwater/river/rain?

Reading, Discussion;Comparison of a wellwatered and a wiltingplant.

Poster making/ writingactivity in groups with amessage of saving water.

Enacting differentactivities that utilise water/a rainy day, listing theactivities in which water isused, singing rain/river/water songs/poemstogether in the class.

Syllabusfor

Classesat the

ElementaryLevel108


Storing waterHow do you store waterin your home? Do youcollect rainwater - how?How much water do youstore every day? Abouthow much do you use fordrinking or bathing? Inwhat kinds of containersdo you store water fordrinking/ washing/or foranimals? What are thecontainers made of?If the water is at the samelevel in a narrow and abroad container does itmean they contain thesame amount of water?

5. TravelGoing placesHas your family traveledtogether to anotherplace? Where and whatfor? How did you go?How long did it take?How far did yourgrandparents (or otherelderly persons) travelwhen they were young?How did people travel inthose times? How dopeople travel today in thedesert, hi l ly areas,on sea, etc.

Measurement of volumein terms of non-standardunits such as buckets, pots,etc. Estimates ofquantities used fordifferent domesticactivities; safe handling ofwater. Containers madeof different shapes andmaterials to store waterfor different purposes;Conceptual developmentof conservation ofvolume.

Need for travel, travelwithin the locality andbeyond; travel to differentsocial spaces – forest,village, city, etc.; travel formigration, sight-seeing,family occasions.

Child’s daily lifeexperience, bottles ofdifferent shapes/sizes/materials; Panchtantra story.

Story of a journey alongthe river, mountain, etc.

Drawings of differentcontainers.Measurement activities;demonstration to help theunderstanding ofconservation of volume.Touching differentcontainers and discussingabout their material.

Reading and Discussion,Drawing a village / sea/forest /mountain scene.

109Syllabus

forClassesat the

ElementaryLevel


Ways to travelHow do we go to school?How do we travel to otherplaces? How manydifferent ways have wetravelled? How manydifferent ways of traveldo we know of?Have you been to a railwaystation? What all do youseen there? Who are thepeople who work at thestation and on the train?How did people travel inthe past?

Talking withoutspeakingIf I cannot speak, how doI tell people what I wantto say?

Mailing a letterWhat happens when Ipost a letter? How does itreach my friend? Who arethe people who help to dothis? Are there any otherways of sending amessage? How was a lettersent in the past?

Different modes oftransport; short distance,long distance, newer waysof traveling.Different kinds ofworkers associated withrailways/station.

Communication withoutspeaking, Use of signlanguage, dance mudra’s.

Letter as a means ofcommunication, workand people associatedwith the post office;different means ofcommunication, changeswith time.

Pictures of modes oftransport;

Sign language, dancemudra’s.

Local post office, differentsamples of letters- inland,post card, greeting card,etc. Discussion withworkers at the post office.

Collect pictures ofdifferent modes oftransport; classify theminto different types oftransport; enact a trainjourney/railway station,Observations of activitiesat the station like loading,weighing, washing trains,signaling, selling tea, levelcrossing, etc

Playing dumb charades,enacting situations withoutspeaking, learning signlanguage, practicing mudra’s.

Trip to local post office,Observing sorting,stamping, weighing etc.

Syllabusfor

Classesat the

ElementaryLevel110


6. Things we Makeand Do

PotteryWhat kinds of pots do wesee around us? Whatcontainers are used tostore grain? What kinds ofcontainers did peoplemake long, long back withrings of clay- when theydid not have a potter’swheel? Can you make suchpots and dry them in thesun – how long do youthink these will last? Howdoes the potter bake them?

TextilesIn how many differentways can you wear a longcloth that is not stitched?How many kinds of sareesor lungis have you seenworn by people fromdifferent parts of thecountry?How many differentcolours do we know of– how many new onescan we create? What arefast colours and whatproblems do we facewhen colours run? Howdo we make our ownvegetable block printsand tie and dye?

To meet basic needshuman beings makethings; need naturalresources, creativity; havechanged the way we live.An idea of the earliestpots made for storage ofgrain – when there wasno potters wheel.The experience of makingsuch pots with clay; dryingand the need to bakethem for greater strength.

Diversity in types ofclothing we were; evenwith unstitched clothing.Colours and design areused in textiles; scope forcreativity; vegetable dyes.

Narratives and illustrationsof pots and containersmade in early times – withrings of clay (e.g., SocialStudies book by Eklavya).

The idea of different stylesof dress; traditionalunstitched clothing anddifferent styles of drapingit.Some idea of mixingcolours to make new ones;fast colours and coloursthat run; tie and dye; blockprinting and making ourown blocks withvegetables.Samples ofblocks, dyes.

Making pots of clay; alsowith rings; with differenttypes of clay; drying in thesun; talking to potters orbrick makers to find outhow these are burnt/baked in furnaces.Making differentornaments etc. with clay.

Activity to wear/drape adupatta or long cloth indifferent styles to emulatewhat different people doand also to create theirown designs.Play with colours andcolour mixing;Using dyesto dye cloth; makingblocks with potato orladies fingers for printingon paper.

111Syllabus

forClassesat the

ElementaryLevel

IVQuestions Key Concepts/ Suggested Suggested



Your mother as a childWhen your mother wasyour age who were therelatives she lived with?

Where do babies comefrom?Have you seen a newbornbaby - where did shecome from? Where doesthe puppy/ kitten/ calf/chick come from?Do you know of peoplewho are looking after/have adopted a child?

My extended familyAre there things you learnfrom your familymembers? What? Do youdo anything differentfrom other members ofyour family? Do all yourfamily members live withyou all the time? When doyou meet members ofyour family who do notlive with you? Whatfestivals do you celebratetogether?

Change with time inpeople residing together.Family tree today.

From the mother’s body;mother-child relationship;Foster parents andadoption

Family as a microcosm;(Family values – gender,earning capacity, decisionmaking, caste, religionperceptions etc.); changesin family value system –lead to changes in society;Festivals and familygatherings

Discussion with mother,grandparents and otherrelatives.

Kya tum meri amma ho?(NBT story)

Family members, familyphotographs,

Asking questions frommother about herchildhood.

Story telling anddiscussion.

Discussion on familyvalues, habits withinfamily; discussion onfamily occasions.

CLASS IVENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

Syllabusfor

Classesat the

ElementaryLevel112


Feeling around witheyes shutWith your eyes and earsclosed can you identify thepeople/animals livingwith you merely bytouching/smelling? Bytouching can you tell ifanything is cold/hot, wet/dry, smooth/rough,sticky/slippery, soft/hard?Are there some thingswhich you are not allowedto touch? Do you feeluncomfortable whensome people touch you?

1. 2 Work and playFun and fights at play!Do you play the samegames at school that youplay at home? What thingsdo you use to play with?Does the school providethese? Do you fight whileyou play? How do youdecide the rules for thegames? Does anyonestop you from playing?Who and why? Do youplay with every child(boys and girls) in yourneighbourhood? Are youstopped from playingwith certain children?

Sensitivity to people whoare differently abled;Senses of smell andtouch;, emotionalresponse to a caress/slap;‘good’ and ‘bad’ touch.

Different games at homeand school.Play as a way of socialnegotiation; rules of eachgame; fights and the needto negotiate – ideas of fairplay.Restrictions on play;playmates from childrenof different gender orclass/caste backgrounds.

Child’s daily lifeexperience, observation;narratives related to smelland touch; materials forgames and activities.

Tom Sawyer – story‘whitewashing the fence’or any other story on‘work’ and ‘play’.

Guessing game: Groupactivity where childrentouch different things withtheir eyes shut.

Discussing and planningrules for local games andplaying together ingroups; writing themdown.

113Syllabus

forClassesat the

ElementaryLevel

How they learnt theirskillsIn your area do you knowthe people who do thefollowing: make pots/stitchclothes/ make shoes/curepeople/ build bridges/embroider/fly planes/repair cycles/ drive buses,etc? How well do youknow them – their names,family etc? What tools dothey use for their work?Where did they learn howto do these things?

Fun at the fair/CircusHave you been to a fair ora circus? Which is the itemyou liked best – was it aride, a game, somethingyou saw/ate/bought?When do you fly kites?How do you makethem fly?

1.3 AnimalsAnimals and theirfriendsWhich animals like tomove around in groups?Which animals are shy anddo not come near you?Have you seen animalsplaying with or riding ondifferent animals?


Different occupations inthe local region/ country;who does what work.Gender and work.

Ways of recreation.

Herds; group behaviour;animal-humanintreraction.

Local crafts persons andother professionals

Circus/fair, a poem onMela.

Observation, child’s dailylife experience, story onanimals moving ingroups, visuals

Drawing people withtheir professional tools;talking to some peopleand describe how theylearnt their skills

Kite-making and kite-flying activity in groups,making tops, writing aparagraph about anexperience in a fair/circus.


Who is attracted toflowers?Why do bees/butterfliescome to flowers? Howdo people collect thehoney from bee hives?

Long ears or short?Which animals have ears?Which animals have hairon their body?

1.4 PLANTS

Roots of plantsDo all plants need waterto grow? Which part ofthe plant absorbs waterfrom the soil? When youtug at grass, why does itnot come out easily? Whydo plants/trees not getuprooted when there is astrong wind? Which rootsare eaten by people duringfamine when nothing elsegrows?

FlowersWhich plants around ushave flowers? Do theycome only at some timesof the year? How is thebud different from the

Honey from flowers; beehive and basic idea ofhoney collection.

Some animals haveexternal ears. They alsohave hair.

Plants need water; rootsabsorb water and hold itto the ground.Roots eaten normally bypeople like carrots, radish,sweet potato, and duringfamine.Aerial roots of someplants

Flowering plants; seasons;observation of budsblossoming into flowers;different shapes, colours,petals, aroma, etc.

Film; description Illustratednarratives/discussion withbeekeepers on the processof honey collection.

Child’s observation,information/descriptionand illustrationsaboutanimals.

Child’s observation,information about theroots eaten by people;pictures/specimes ofroots.

Child’s, observation,stories/ poems aboutflowers, a visit to a garden.

Observation of flowersand the insects that visitthem, drawing theflowers, insects,; discussionon colour, fragrance.

Listing and classificationof animals with andwithout ears; with andwithout hair; drawingthem; feeling them.

Observation, collection,drawing of roots ofdifferent types,Observing trees/plantswhose roots are affectedby activities likeconstruction/paving/plastering.Observation anddiscussion about swingingon pipal/bar gad aerialroots.

Drawing flower motifsfor clothes, animals, pots,etc. Making floraldecorations;Observing the flowers and

Syllabusfor

Classesat the

ElementaryLevel114


flower? What are thedifferent kinds of flowerswe have seen – shapes,colours, petals, aroma, etc?What do we use flowersfor? Do you eat anyflower? Have you seenflowers motif painted onclothes, walls, floors, pots,animals?Who sells flowers in ourarea? Where do these comefrom? How are flowerssold - for how much?

Whom do trees belongto?Which plants/treesaround you are lookedafter by people – bywhom? Which are not?Whom do they belongto? Who eats the fruit oftrees that grow wild?

2. FOOD

How we get our foodHow does food reach us?Who grows it? How youseen vegetables and fruitsgrowing? How you seenplants of rice/ wheat/ daletc? What are the spicesdo you know? Whichspices can we recognize bysmelling or tasting.

Flowers used in everydaylife, festivals, etc. Floralmotifs and designs onclothes, animals, pots,walls, etc.Knowing the local flowerseller; some idea of thelocal unit of measurement(by cubit, fixed garland,each stem, etc.) and cost.

Neighbourhood and itsplants; wild and domesticplants;Fruits eaten by peopleliving in forests.Cutting trees.

From field to mandi -from market to house;grown by farmers; fruittrees, vegetables, cereals,pulses, oil seeds;Spices

Talking to flower sellers,gardeners, etc.

Local knowledge,information aboutdomestic and wild plants(NBT books).

Discussion with avegetable seller/retailer inthe mandi, / truck driverwho transports fooditems.

buds, noting similaritiesand differences; observing/smelling and feelingdifferent flowers.

Listing of some commontrees in the neighbour-hood; discussion aboutownership of trees; fruitsthat are not eaten by us.

Listing plants childrenknow that provide themfood; bringing samples;common spices, observingand drawing samples,recognizing them by smelland taste.

115Syllabus

forClassesat the

ElementaryLevel

Syllabusfor

Classesat the

ElementaryLevel116


Special occasionsWhen do many peopleeat together? What foodis eaten? Who cooks it?How is it served?Does you get a mid daymeal meal in school? -What items? Whoprovides the mid daymeal?

Tongue and TeethHow do we taste differentfoods? How do teeth helpus to eat – are all teethsimilar? Which teeth haveI dropped and how arethe new ones different?

Teeth, beaks and clawsAre the teeth of otheranimals similar to ours?Can we tell what birds eatby looking at their beaks?Are the claws of birdsalso different? Is theirshape related to the foodthey eat?

3. SHELTER

Houses then and nowDo you live in housessimilar to ones yourgrandparents lived in? Arehouses now made ofsimilar materials as was

Community eating; Midday meal (whereapplicable).Cultural diversity in foodsassociated with specialoccasions like festivals,family celebrations/ceremonies etc.Boarding school.

Taste, tongue; teeth –types, milk teeth,permanent teeth.Tongue and speech.

Teeth in some commonanimals; beaks and clawsof birds – relationshipwith food they eat.

House change overtime; rural and urbandifferences, multi-storeyedhouses along with slumsin cities.

Visit to a langar/suchoccasions, talking topeople who cook on suchoccasions.Narratives about hostelfood/pantry car of train.

Samples of different fooditems; peer observations;pictures or models ofteeth.

Visit to observe someanimals; personalexperiences; Visuals;(NBT books on birds.)

Discussion with elders inthe family. Visit to any oldbuilding in the area;changes in theconstruction of houses

Discussion on occasions atwhich there is communityeating; Listing of thedifferent foods eaten atdifferent occasions;drawing and descriptionsof the large utensil usedon such occassions

Observation of eachother’s teeth, tongue andmouth; counting teeth;drawing; experiments withdifferent tasting items.

Observation and drawingsof beaks, claws and teethof different animals,birds, etc.

Making models of houses;collection of materialsused to make houses.Drawing pictures of oldand new buildings.

117Syllabus

forClassesat the

ElementaryLevel


used then? What are thedifferences?

Garbage?What do you do withwaste in your house?Where do you throw it?Do you reuse any wastematerials? Who takes awaythe garbage?

Where animals liveDo animals live in shelters?Which animals livein water? On land?Underground? Are thereany animals that we see onlyat night? Where do they goduring the day? Do weknow of animals thatmake their own shelter?

When birds make nestsWhen and why do birdsmake their shelter? Do allbirds make nests? Wheredo different birds nest -when do they fly away?With what differentmaterials do birds maketheir nests?

Mapping ourneighbourhoodWho are my neighbors?Do I have any of the

Materials used havechanged.

Waste materials, waste inour houses, urban/ruralwaste.Reduce garbage.

Diversity in animal habitatand shelters.Some structures like webshave other purposes.

Birds make nests forlaying eggs. Nesting habitsof different birds vary.Different materials areused for nests.

Introduction to theconcept of giving

with time; houses invillages and cities.

Newpaper articles andadvertisements on waste/garbage.

Stories/pictures ofhabitats and sheltersanimals use or make.

Child’s observation;visuals; nest of any bird.

Child’s experiences,enquiry, observation and

Listing things thrownaway as garbage, waste.Discussion on reductionof waste.

Discussion, listing ofanimals with respect totheir habitat and shelter.;making birds nests withscrap materials, makingcaves, rat holes etc inmud/sand pits.

Observation of a bird’snest and drawing pictures.Songs and poems; danceand movement tosimulate bird flight.

Discussion, enquiry fromfriends and neighbours;

Syllabusfor

Classesat the

ElementaryLevel118


following near my house– a school, grocery shop,market, well, river orpond? Where are they withrespect to your house?

4. WATER

Water fit for drinkingWhat are the major naturalsources of water in yourarea? Is the water fit fordrinking – do you clean itat home? Do you knowhow dirty water can makeyou ill? Why do we notdrink seawater? How issalt separated fromseawater?

Water sourcesWhere do you see largeamounts of water in yourneighborhood? Is it atank/pond/canal/river/dam? What do men/w o m e n / c h i l d r e n /animals do with the waterthere? Is it used forbathing/washing? Whobathes/washes there andwho does not? How canwe ensure that this wateris not made dirty?Do you find factories/people dumping garbageor harmful materials in

directions with respect toany landmark; also apreliminary mappingprocess, further use of useof symbols, use of a scale.

Natural sources; inlandwater and sea water;potable water; diarrhoeaand other common waterborne diseases, safehandling of water,purification of water.

Reservoirs, canals, damsetc.; Different publicactivities at water bodies;protection of waterbodies.Water as a scarce resourceand the struggle foracquiring it (those whocan exploit resources bydigging deeper anddeeper wells).

previous knowledge ofroutes.Local map /chart of theschool and itsneighbourhood.

Health personnel of thelocal area, library resource.

Film, photographs ofdams/canals/tanks/ponds etc., localknowledge. Narrative onthe recent struggle of thepanchayat’s against Cokein Plachimada, Kerala.

counting number of stepsand estimation of distancefor making a preliminarymap.

Discussion with theelders/health personnelabout pollution of naturalsources of water and itseffects; demonstration/group activity of simplemethods of waterpurification; seperation ofsalt from saline water.

Visit to the natural sourcesof water in the local areaand observing what usesthe water is put to.Discussion, and writingletters/making postershighlighting the misuse ofthe water body.

119Syllabus

forClassesat the

ElementaryLevel


rivers or seas? Are someanimals also facingproblems due to what wedo to the rivers or seas?

Our river/seaWhich is the river closestto our locality? Do wefind any change in thewater flow in differentseasons? Which are the bigrivers we know of? Haveyou seen the sea? Whichare the animals found inthe sea/river?

Water vanishes whenheated?Why do puddles dry? Inwhich season do wetclothes dry easily? Whendo they dry withdifficulty?Have you seen andwondered where waterdroplets on the outside ofa cold glass of watercame from?

5. TRAVEL

Animals for transportHave you traveled on atonga / horse carriage?How is it different fromtravelling on a bus? Are thehorses well looked after?

Rivers and seas; seasonalchange in water flow;animals in the sea/river.Water pollution andharmful effects onanimals.

Basic processes ofevaporation andcondensation

Use of animals fortransport; sensitivitytowards animals.

Local knowledge, Storyon the lines of theSCERT, Delhi Class VICivics – lesson calledYamuna.

Child’s daily observationsand clss room discussions.

Personal experience oftravel; songs about travelby tonga, etc.

Drawing/Painting/Makea model of a water bodyin the neighbourhood(using scrap materials) aswell as the animals foundin the river/sea.

Activity on water dryingup from a wet cloth ordish of water in differentconditions such as sunlightand shade.

Enacting instances ofanimals used for transportand people riding them.

Syllabusfor

Classesat the

ElementaryLevel120


Have you seen ahorseshoe? Why is it used?What materials have youseen being transportedusing animals? Are thereany special occasions whenyou ride on animals?

Paying for travelHow do pay for our travelby train/bus/boat etc?Who issues/checks thebus /rail ticket?Which currency notes andcoins have you seen?Pictures of which animalscan we see on a ten rupeenote? Which symbol isfound on every coin?How many scripts can yourecognise on a note? Whois the person whose faceis shown on everycurrency note?What coins/notes did ourgrandparents use whenthey were young?

Travel to another placeDo you know anyonewho has traveled very farfrom your village/city?Why did they go so far?What are they doing there?How do they travel whenthey visit your family?

Familiarity with currencynotes and coins, nationalsymbols, recognizingsome language scripts;Introduction to MahatmaGandhi Old coins,change.

Different land forms,languages, clothing, foodhabits, some idea ofanother country (onlythrough a story/imaginarynarrative).

Coins and currency notes;railway and bus tickets.Old coins/Pictures of oldcoins; visit toa museum.

Travelogue describing theplace they have comefrom; description of atrain/ship/plane journey.

Enactment of a busjourney.Comparison of coins andcurrency notes; /Tracingof coins.Designing a schoolemblem/logo.

Reading and listening,discussion, writing about atraveling experience ofoneself or visiting relatives.

121Syllabus

forClassesat the

ElementaryLevel


6. Things We Make And DoBuilding materialsand toolsHow are bricks made?What tools have you seenbeing used for making awall or a house?Is there a bridge to crosswhile coming to school?What kinds of bridgeshave we seen and where?How many kinds ofbridges can we make?

Process of makinginvolves raw materials,tools, labour, energy–changes over time inthese and in environmenttoo.Materials and tools usedfor construction;Different skills of peopleat engaged in aconstruction activity.

Narratives and pictures ofdifferent bridges childrencross, on the lines of thebook – Going to schoolin India (by LisaHeydlauff Penguin); ofthe process ofconstruction, use of toolsand materials.Observation of differentbridges; making bridges.

Making bricks; drawingand talking aboutdifferent tools.Observing, drawing anddescribing differentbridges and how peoplemake their own localbridges from ropes,bamboo and logs ofwood.Making toy bridges inschool.

Syllabusfor

Classesat the

ElementaryLevel122

VQuestions Key Concepts/ Suggested Suggested



Family treeCan you make a familytree with as many of yourrelatives you can getinformation about?Who are the relativeswhom you have neverseen? Where do they live?

Shifting from place toplaceHave you always lived atthe place that you now livein? If not, where doesyour family come from?

Who laughs the loudest?Who is the tallest/shortestin the family? Who has thelongest hair? How long?Who has the loudest

Family in transition –Impact of larger socio-economic forces arechanging family structureand quality of life infamilies; Idea aboutseveral generations; howsome people move away,some continue to livetogether, and howhouseholds get formed/reformed at several places.How these are affectingroles, relationships, valuesystems, aspirations withina family.

Shifts in habitation-migrat ion/transfers/demolition displacementAssociated difficulties

Basic ideas ofmeasurement - of height;Observing andappreciating qualities and

A story woven around afamily tree with old familyphotographs.

Story of a migrating familyor a family displaced by theconstruction of a dam ordemolition of an urbanslum.

Cartoons; narratives.

Activity - Write the namesof all your familymembers along with theirages. How manygenerations have you beenable to get details about?

Discussion or letterwriting; drawing.

Mimicking people in thefamily – laugh and voices;drawing people in thefamily.

CLASS VENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

123Syllabus

forClassesat the

ElementaryLevel


voice/laugh in the house?From how far away canyou hear it? Who speaksthe softest? When does achild cry the loudest?When she is hungry-orangry? Who is the bestcook in the family?

Our likes and dislikesWhich is your favouritecolour? Which is yourfriend’s favourite colour?Which is your favouritefood? What about yourfriends favourite food?Do you know yourfriends’ likes and dislikes?Are there any smells youdon’t like (fish, mustardoils, garlic, eggs etc) ? Doyou eat fish?

Feeling to readDo you know how peopleread with their hands? Doyou know someone whofinds it difficult to walk/speak/see etc.? How doyou think they learn toovercome the problem?

1.2 WORK AND PLAY

Team games – yourheroesDo you play any games in

skills of relatives;observing infants.

Our bodies, our senses,our likes/ dislikes vary e.g.our concept of foul/fragrant smellCultural influences of taste,smell, etc(to be discussed withoutstereotyping).

Awareness andsensitisation towards theproblems of physicallychallenged;

Types of games/sports,

Narratives aboutpreferences in taste,smells, colours indifferent cultural context.

Autobiography of HelenKeller; excerpt from herteacher’s account of howshe learnt; Braille sheet.

Library resources- Indian

Writing exercises about aninfant they have observed.

Observation, discussion,describing and writingabout a friend’s likes/dislikes; a class surveyabout childrens favouritecolour/food etc.

Activity with Braille paper(or simulated Braillepaper).

Collecting information,

Syllabusfor

Classesat the

ElementaryLevel124


teams? Have you everbeen captain of the team?Do boys and girls playtogether? Have you heardof any Indian team playingin another country? Whichis your favourite teamsport? Do you know anyNational level player?

Local games/martialartsWhat are the local games/martial arts of your area?Do you know someonewho is good at them?Have you seen a youngacrobat or wrestlerpracticing? Who taughtthem? For how long havethey learnt the art/game?What are the new gamesin your area that were notplayed earlier?What do you do in theevenings for leisure? Whatif there is no TV? Whodecides what programmesto watch?

Blow hot blow coldHow many times do youbreathe in a minute – onsitting still, just after a run?How much can you expandyour chest by breathing

importance of teamspirit in games, genderstereotyping.Some idea of othercountries and nationalteams.Gender, class stereotypingin play.

Local and traditionalmartial art forms/games.Typical practice routines;teachers/gurus; changingpatterns of local games.

Changing nature ofleisure.

Our breathing – estimatesof different rates; chestexpansion and contractionin the child’s body whileexhaling and inhaling; My

cricket team; narrativeabout some national andinternational players.

Description orphotographs oftraditional martial arts,‘Nat’, acrobat,boat race, etc.

Story by Zakir Hussain –“Usee se thanda usee segaram” – Zubaan books.

making picture albums ;posters of sports persons

Reading, discussion,collecting informationand writing about local/martial games.

Observation, , activity ofbreathing in and out andobserving the difference(mirror/glass/on palm);measuring chest; counting

125Syllabus

forClassesat the

ElementaryLevel


deeply? Can you make aglass cloudy by blowing onit? How do you blow tomake something cold? Doyou also blow to keep a firegoing?

Clean work – dirtywork?Can you list ten differenttypes of work that peopledo for you. In this listwhat work is seen as dirtyand what is seen as clean?What would happen ifthere were no one to -clean our streets/ourhome/clear the garbage?

1.3 ANIMALS

How animals findtheir food?If you leave some foodoutside your house dosome animals take it away?How do they find it?Do these animals alsohear/speak/ see/smell/eat/ sleep?

What we take fromanimals?What animal products dowe use for clothing,shelter, etc.?

breath – hot and humid;tacit understanding ofcooling by blowing andhelping a fire to burn.

Dignity of LabourDependence of society onsuch essential services.Choice of work as asocietal value.

Sense organs; Comparisonwith humans – activitiessuch as eating sleeping etc.

Animal products used byus.

Extract from Gandhi’sautobiography; narrativefrom another country -sweepers treated withdignity; story of a Valmikiboy discriminated inschool because of parents’occupation.

Information about animals’senses and other functions.Narratives about animalssuch as ants, bees, dogs,birds, snakes etc givingideas about their senses.

Child’s daily lifeexperience, informationabout products weobtain from animals.

heart beat and breathingrate , making and using astethoscope

Reading and discussionbased on suggestedresources.

Observation of animalsto study their responsesound, food, light andother stimuli.

Listing and drawing ofitems made from animalproducts.

Syllabusfor

Classesat the

ElementaryLevel126


Why is the tiger indanger?Why do people kill wildanimals? Which are theanimals that are poached?

People who depend onanimalsDo you know peoplewho catch/trap/hunt/entertain using animals?Have you seen how snakecharmers/gujjars dependon animals?What do you understandby cruelty to animals? Doyou think a snake charmeris cruel to the snake?Have you seen scenes ofhunting in rock paintingsor on ancient seals?

1.4 PLANTS

Growing plantsHow does a plant growfrom a seed? Can yougrow a plant withoutseeds? How do you growm a n g o e s / p o t a t o e s ?Where does the seedcome from? Have youseen seeds that fly/stick toyour clothes/drift in thewater?

Protection of wild life;selling of animal parts.

Communities dependentupon animals; huntersrestricted to smallerspaces; changing patternsof wild and domesticanimals.To be sensitive aboutcruelty to animals; realizethat people who dependon animals for theirlivelihood are notnecessarily cruel to them.Basic idea of pre-historichunters and the wildanimals seen at that time.

Seed germination, rootand shoot axis, baby plant,storage of food in theseed; seed dispersal.

Excerpt from ‘Man eatersof Kumaon’ by Corbet.

Library resources;illustrations ofpre-historic huntingscenes (Bhimbetka).Narrative of gujjars’or snake charmers’relationships withanimals.Child’s observation; anstory/narrative about ananimal and its caretaker ,e,g, mahouth/tonga walaFilms/pictures ofshooting, skins (tiger) ofanimals.

Seeds, germinated seeds.

Discussion, reading,poster making activitywith a message to savewild life.

Discussion on peoplewhose livelihood dependon animals; drawing;Discussion on peopleteasing/troubling animalsat the zoo/other places.

Study germination ofsome seeds, experimentto determine conditionssuitable for germination(air and water).

127Syllabus

forClassesat the

ElementaryLevel


Forests and forestpeopleHave you seen or heardabout a forest? How dopeople live in forests?How is their lifethreatened by forestsbeing cut? What kinds offoods do they collectfrom the plants there?What leaves are used foreating on?Do your parentsremember places withtrees/forests where thereare none today? Why werethe trees cut and what isthere today?

Protected treesHave you heard of apark/sanctuary? Wholooks after it? Doesanybody own it?Have you seen a placewhere trees are worshipedor protected by thevillagers?

Plants that have comefrom farDoes tea come from aplant? Where did peoplefirst grow tea and whatdoes the plant look like?Does it grow only in

Tribal life; effects ofdeforestation;communities dependenton forest products e.g.,‘pattals’, bambooproducts, etc.

Public/private ownershipof trees/forests.Sacred groves; people’smovements to protecttheir forests.

Plants from differentcountries.

Information abouttribal life, communitiesdependent on forestproduce, effects ofdeforestation.

Story of the Chipkomovement and thewomen’s role inprotecting trees.

Song/poem fromChakmak: “Alu, mirchi,chaiji; Kaun kahan se aye ji”Story about the Chinartree coming to Kashmir.

Exploring from parents,reading, and discussion.;tracing tree trunks.

Enactment of chipkoandolan; poster – ‘savetrees’; survey and identifyany ‘green belt’ in yourneighbourhood.

Local knowledge, reading,and discussion, reciting thepoem together; makingtea.

Syllabusfor

Classesat the

ElementaryLevel128


some places/climates?What did people drinkwhen there was no tea inIndia?

2. FoodWhen food gets spoiltHow does food spoil?How do we know thatfood is spoilt? Whichfood spoil sooner thanothers? What can we doto prevent food fromgetting spoilt?What do we do to keep itfresh during travel? Whydo we need to preservefood? Do you leave foodin your plate?

Who produces the foodwe eat?Do you know ofdifferent kinds offarmers? Do all farmersown their land?How do farmers get theseeds they plant everyyear? What else besidesseeds is required for a cropto grow?

What did people growearlier?Did your grandparents orany elderly person eat the

Spoilage and wastage offood. Preservation offood, drying and pickling.

On different types offarmers. Hardships facedby subsistence farming,including seasonalmigration. Need forirrigation, fertilizers.

Changing food habits,changing crops grown in

Sharing family experiencesInteraction with a personinvolved with foodproduction/preservation.

Farmers’ narratives -Could take one examplefrom Punjab and the otherfrom AP. Story of a childmissing school because ofhis/her family’s seasonalmigration. Familymembers. Visit to a farm.

Information on foodfrom different places.

Keep some bread, otherfood for a few days – seehow they spoil.

Study germination ofseeds, experiment todetermine conditionssuitable for germination;Observations in any farm.

Collection of samples orpictures of food from

129Syllabus

forClassesat the

ElementaryLevel


same food you eat today?Do all of us eat the samekind of food? Why dowe eat different kinds offood?

When people do notget foodDo you know of timeswhen many people do notget enough food to eat?Have you seen where extragrain is stored?How do you know whenyou are hungry?Do you know of peoplewho get ill because they donot have enough to eat?

Our mouth – tastesand even digests food!How do we taste food?What happens in themouth to the food weeat? Why do we giveglucose to patients? Whatis glucose?

Food for plants?What do plants need forfood? Do you know ofany plants that eat insects?What do animals eat? Doall animals eat the samefood? Do animals eatother animals?

some areas.Different food habits indifferent places/cultures.

Hunger, famine (as botha natural and man-madephenomenon); grainbeing spoilt in storage;nutrition deficiencydiseases.

Tasting food; chappati/rice becomes sweeter onchewing; digestion beginsin the mouth; glucose is asugar.

Water, manure, air forplants; Insectivorousplants e.g. pitcher plant,Venus fly trap; basic ideaof food chain/web.

Print material on differentcalamities; Narrative ofthe Bengal famine as aman-made calamity; TVnews bulletins etc.

Child’s experience; somesamples of food items;story of someone on aglucose drip.

Pictures/visuals ofinsectivorous plants.

different places/cultures.

Collection of picturesrelated to natural calmities;discussion on affects.

Tasting activity, action ofsaliva on rice/chappati.

Observations anddiscussion on food forplants; making amodel ofa food chain/web.

Syllabusfor

Classesat the

ElementaryLevel130


3. ShelterWhy different housesWhy do you have differentkind of houses indifferent places? Differenthouses in the same place?

A shelter for everyone?Does everyone have ashelter to live in? Why dopeople live together invillages, hamlets, colonies,neighborhoods?

Ants live in colonies?Do you know how bees/ants live together incolonies?

Times of emergencyHave you heard of housesbeing damaged byf loods/ear thquakes/cyclones/fires/storms/lightening? What would ithave felt like? Who are thepeople who come to help?What can you do to helpothers before the doctorcomes? Where can welook for help at suchtimes? Who runs suchinstitutions?

Variation in shelter :regional difference,difference due to climateand materials available,economic status, etc.

Need for living close toothers, the idea ofneighbourhoods.Need for sharingresources and spaces,division of spaces.

Ant or bee colony, socialbehaviour in insects.

Disaster and trauma oflosing one’s home;community help;Hospitals, police stations,ambulance, shelters, firestation, first aid.

Different houses indifferent climates andregions.

Pictures of villages,colonies etc.

A case study of socialorganisation in bees/ants.

Newspaper clippings.

Making models of houses;collection of materialsused to make houses indifferent places.

Write and draw the areayou live in, find out aboutpeople who work foreverybody.

Observations anddrawings of ant colonies,different types of ants.

Discussion, finding outabout the hospital, policestation, fire station, etc.

131Syllabus

forClassesat the

ElementaryLevel


4. WaterWater from where inearlier times?From where and how fardid your grandparents getwater? How far do youhave to go for water?What are undergroundwells/’baolis’? Do you stillsee them being used? Haveyou seen a ‘piaao ’?

Water flowFrom where do farmersget water to grow crops?Do all crops need thesame amount of water?Have you seen waterflowing upwards? Whatare the different ways inwhich you have seen waterbeing lifted? How isflowing water used togrind grain?

Plants and animals inwaterWhat kinds of animals andplants live in water? Arethere weeds that arecovering your pond/lake/ river? Can youclassify all the animals yousee around you to showwhich ones live in waterand which live on land?

Estimates of distancemeasurement; changes insources and wateravailability over time;community serviceespecially for long-distance travellers.

Sources for irrigation;different quantities ofwater for different crops;Different methods oflifting water; the use of awaterwheel.

Animals and plant life inwater; classification interms of similarities anddifferences.

Illustrations, story of a‘baoli’/stepwell

Farmer/any local personwho works in fields, aplant/crop.

Weeds of different kinds;pictures of plants andanimals living in differenthabitats.

Enquiry from grandparents/ other elders;drawing, model makingof a step well.

Interaction with a farmer,visit to a field, makingwater wheel., activity withwater wheel.

Listing and classification;drawing of water body.

Syllabusfor

Classesat the

ElementaryLevel132


What floats, sinks ormixes?Have you ever seenanything floating in water?Can you classify as manythings around you to seewhich float, which sinkand which mix with water?Does oil mix with water?What are the similaritiesand differences in water,oil, milk, cold drink, etc.?How do we measurethese?

Mosquitoes andmalariaIs their any stagnant waterin your locality? Do youfind more mosquitoes instagnant water? Is there anyway to reduce themosquitoes in water?Have you heard ofmalaria? In what season doyou find more peoplegetting ill with malaria?

5. TravelPetrol or dieselDo all vehicles need petrolto run on? What otherfuels do you know thatare used for vehicles?What do trains run on? Inthe past what did they run

Basic observations andclassification related tofloatation and solubility inwater; oil and water areliquids that do not mix;basic concepts aboutliquids; litre as unit ofmeasurement of volume.

Stagnant and flowingwater; mosquitoes andmalaria.

Fuels used in vehicles; Fuelis costly. Non renewablesource.

Various materials toexperiment with, such as,sugar, stone, oil, salt, sandetc.Story of the donkey andthe salt/cotton bag.

Health worker or a doctor.Newspaper articles onmalaria etc.

Poems and songs abouttrains/cars etc.; Enquiryfrom adults; the story of‘petrol’.

Hands-on activity toobserve solubility in water,floatation; discussion,interpretation.

Interaction with acommunity doctor;observation of site ofstagnant/flowing water.

Discussion, finding outdifferent fuels used,comparison of cost ofpetrol and diesel.

133Syllabus

forClassesat the

ElementaryLevel

on? What do tractors useas fuel? For what otherpurposes are petrol anddiesel used?Find out the cost of a litreof petrol/diesel in yourarea? Do all vehicles runan equal distance on a litreof fuel?

Rough and toughHave you seen or been toa mountain? How andwhy do you think peoplemake such difficult trips?How do you think theytrain for it?

Ride on a spacecraftWhat all do you see in thesky – at day time? And atnight? How many of thethings you see in the skyare man-made?Have you heard of peopletraveling in a space craft?

Oldest buildingsIs there any well-knownmonument/historical placein your area that peoplecome to visit? What are theoldest buildings aroundyour area? Have youtraveled far to see anyhistorical monuments?


Mountains, expeditionsand the spirit ofadventure; some idea oftraining for high altitude;national flag.

The sky in the day andnight.Basic exposure to theaerial view of the earthand what India looks likefrom there.

Heritage buildings as asource of knowledgeabout our past; to be ableto understand how theywere built; materialsusedcome from a varietyof places, skills of thecrafts person; Some

Excerpt from theautobiography ofBachendri Pal; Flag ofIndia atop mountEverest; flags of somecountries

Story of Rakesh Sharma/Kalpana Chawla.

Oral narratives frompeople; pictures.

Act/dance to showclimbing on a difficultmountain;Designing a flag for yourschool; identifying someother flags

Observation from aterrace to draw its aerialview.Imagine yourself in aspacecraft giving aninterview to the PM aboutwhat you see from there!

Drawing pictures of thebuilding or the monumentin your neighbourhood ormemory or imagination.

Syllabusfor

Classesat the

ElementaryLevel134


Have you heard of thosepersonalities who lived inthese monuments or whobuilt these?

6. Things we Make and DoGrowing FoodHow do we grow food?What tools do we use forpreparing the field? Forcutting and harvesting?For cutting and cookingdifferent vegetables/dishes?How do we water thecrops? How do we liftwater through a pump ora waterwheel? Can wemake a water wheel,sprinkler, etc.?

historical personalities.

After basic needs met,exploration leading toimproving and overcominghuman limitations;greater expression ofcreativity; overuse ofnatural resources needs tobe checked.Some idea of the story ofa grain from the field toour plate – in terms ofprocesses and the toolsused. Different thingsmade from the samegrain, say, wheat/rice.Simple observations ofwater lifting in fields or inhomes; making of a waterwheel, sprinkler, etc.

Narratives; talking toelders, farmers, thoseinvolved in growing andcooking food.‘Dump se pump’ by ArvindGupta.

Observing and talkingabout processes ofgrowing food; drawingtools used in differentprocesses; finding outabout different dishesmade from the same grain,say, wheat/rice.Making a simplewaterwheel, sprinkler,pump.

Documents

ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES - CSE, IIT Bombay