NSCE -> NCSE Science Syllabus
Class 6
Questions Key concepts Resources Activities/Processes
1. Food
Sources of food
What are the various sources of our food?
What do other animals eat?		 Plant parts and animal products as sources of food; herbivores, carnivores, omnivores. Examples of food from different parts of plants and of food from animals sources. Germination of seeds such as mung, chick pea etc.; preparing a chart on food habits of animals and food culture of different regions of India.
Components of food
What is our food made up of? Why do we eat a variety of food?
Carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, minerals, fibres, their sources and significance for human health; balanced diet; diseases and disabilities due to food deficiencies.
Mid Day Meal; Charts, pictures/films of children suffering from food deficiencies and disabilities.
Studying the variety of food in different regions in India; preparing a menu of balanced diet in the context of the diversity of foods eaten in different parts of the country.
Classifying foods according to food components; test for starch, sugars, proteins and fats.
Cleaning food
How do we separate the grains after harvesting the wheat /rice crop?
Threshing, winnowing, hand picking, sedimentation, filtration.
Talking to some elders about practices after harvesting the crop; kit materials.
Discussion on threshing, winnowing, handpicking; experiments on sedimentation, filtration. Separating mixture of salt and sand.
2. Materials
Materials of daily use
What are our clothes made of? How did people manage when there were no clothes?

Different types of cloth materials – cotton, wool, silk and synthetics. Development of clothing materials.

Sharing of prior knowledge with parents and community.
Archaeological and historical accounts.

Whole class discussion.
Simple activities to distinguish among different types of cloth.
Are some of our clothes made of materials obtained from plants?
In what kinds of places do these plants grow?
Which parts of the plants are used for making clothes?		 Plant fibre, especially cotton and jute; production of cotton, jute and other locally available plant fibres; types of soil required for the growth of different fibrous plants. Sharing of prior knowledge with parents and community. Whole class discussion. Field survey/ collecting information on locally available plant fibres (coconut, silk cotton, etc.)
Different kinds of materials
What kinds of things do we see around us?		 Grouping things on the basis of common properties. Materials, kit items. Collecting and grouping things on the basis of gross properties e.g. roughness, lustre, transparency, solubility, sinking/floating using prior knowledge, through experiments.
How things change/ react with one another
In what ways do things change on being heated?
Do they change back on being cooled?
Why does a burning candle get
shorter?

Some changes can be reversed and others cannot be reversed.

Prior knowledge, kit items.

Experiments involving heating of air, wax, paper, metal, water to highlight effects like burning, expansion/compression, change of state. Discussion on other changes which cannot be reversed – growing up, opening of a bud, ripening of fruit, curdling of milk.
How much salt can be dissolved in a cup of water? Solubility, saturated solutions.
Amount of substance dissolving varies with temperature.
At the same temperature amounts of different substances that dissolve varies.		 Salt, sugar and other common substances, kit items. Experiments for testing the solubility of commonly available substances. Experiments on the effect of heating and cooling on solubility. Comparison of solubilities of different substances using nonstandard units (eg. spoon, paper cone).
3. The World of the Living
Things around us
Are all things around us living? What is the difference between living and non-living? Are all living things similar? Do all living things move? Where do plants and animals live? Can we grow plants in the dark?

L i v i n g / n o n - l i v i n g characteristics; habitat; biotic, abiotic (light, temperature, water, air, soil, fire)

Recollection of diversity of living organisms and the habitat where they live.

Listing of things around us, listing of characteristics after making observations say on size, colour, shape etc., categorisation; observations on habitat; observing germination of
seeds, also observing under dark conditions; growth and development of domestic animals, hatching of birds’ eggs etc., developing drawing skills.
The habitat of the living
How does habitat affect plants and animals? How do fish live in water?
Habitat varies – aquatic, deserts, mountains etc. – plants and animals show
adaptation; other plant part modifications like tendrils, thorns etc.
Animals in deserts and water.
Potted plants or seeds, pots, etc; thermometer, any water plants, any xerophytic plants, Information on desert and aquatic plants and animals.
Listing the diverse set of living organisms around us; prepare herbarium specimens of different leaves, plants; studying modifications in plants and animals; observing how different environmental factors (water availability, temperature) affect living organisms;
Plants – form and function
What is the structure and function of various parts of the plants - stem, leaf and roots?
How do different flowers differ from one another?
How does one study flowers?
Morphological structure and function of root, stem and leaves. Structure of the flower, differences.
Plants, flowers, blade, hand lens.
Studying plant parts – types of stems, roots, leaves, seeds; experiment to show conduction by
stem, activity to show anchorage by roots, absorption by roots.
Study of any flower, counting number of parts, names of parts, cutting sections of ovary to observe ovules.
Animals – form and function
What is inside our bodies?
How do animals move?
Do all animals have bones in their bodies?
How do fishes move?
And birds fly?
What about snakes, snails, earthworms?
Structure and functions of the animal body; Human skeletal system, some other animals e.g. fish, bird, cockroach, snail.
Observation of nature; model of skeleton, X-rays of arms or legs, chest, hips, jaws, vertebral column (could be given in the textbook).
Activities to study X-rays, find out the direction in which joints bend, feel the ribs, backbone etc.
Observation/ discussion on movement and skeletal system in other animals.
4. Moving Things, People and Ideas
Moving
How did people travel from one place to another in earlier times? How did they know how far they
had travelled?
How do we know that something is moving?
How do we know how far it has moved?


Need to measure distance(length). Measurement of
length. Motion as change in position with time.


Everyday experience; equipment (scale etc.) to measure length. Stories for developing contexts for measuring distances.


Measuring lengths and distances.
Observation of different types of moving objects on land, in air, water and space.
Identification and discrimination of various types of motion.
Demonstrating objects having more than one type of movement (screw motion, bicycle wheel, fan, top etc.)
Observing the periodic motion in hands of a clock / watch, sun, moon, earth.
5. How things work
Electric current and circuits
How does a torch work?

Electric current: Electric circuit (current flows only when a cell and other components are connected in an unbroken loop)

Torch: cell, bulb or led, wires, key.

Activity using a bulb, cell and key and connecting wire to show flow of current and identify closed and open circuits. Making a switch.
Opening up a dry cell.
Do all materials allow current to flow through them? Conductor, Insulator. Mica, paper, rubber, plastic, wood, glass metal clip, water, pencil (graphite), etc. Experiment to show that some objects (conductors) allow current to flow and others (insulators) do not.
Magnets
What is a magnet?
Magnet.
Magnet, iron pieces.


Demonstrating how things are attracted by a magnet. Classification of objects into magnetic/ non-magnetic classes.
Where on a magnet do things stick? Poles of a magnet. Magnet, iron pieces, iron filings, paper. Activity to locate poles of a magnet; activity with iron filings and paper.
How is a magnet used to find direction? A freely suspended magnet always aligns in a particular direction. North and South poles. Bar magnet, stand, thread, compass. Activities with suspended bar magnet and with compass needle.
How do two magnets behave when brought close to each other? Like poles repel and unlike poles attract each other. Two bar magnets, thread, stand. Activities to show that like poles repel and unlike poles attract.
6. Natural Phenomena
Rain, thunder and lightning
Where does rain come from? How do clouds form?

Evaporation and condensation, water in different states. Water cycle.

Everyday experience; kit items.

Condensation on outside of a glass containing cold water; activity of boiling water and condensation of steam on a spoon. Simple model of water cycle. Discussion on three states of water.
Light
Which are the things we can see through?
Classification of various materials in terms of transparent, translucent and opaque.
Previous experience, candle/torch/lamp, white paper, cardboard box, black paper.
Discussion, observation; looking across different materials at a source of light.
When are shadows formed? Do you get a shadow at night – when there is no light in the room, no moonlight or other source of light?
What colour is a shadow?		 A shadow is formed only when there is a source of light and an opaque material obstructs a source it.
A shadow is black irrespective of the colour of the object.		 Child’s own experience, candle/torch/lamp, white paper, black paper, coloured objects. Discussion; observing shadow formation of various objects of different shapes, and of same shape and different colours; playing and forming shadows with
the hands in sunlight, in candle light, and in a well lit region during daytime; making a pinhole camera and observing static and moving objects.
On what kinds of surfaces can we see images? Reflecting surfaces; images are different from shadows. Experience, objects with polished surfaces, mirror etc. Observing differences between the image and the shadow of the same object.
7. Natural Resources
Importance of water
What will happen to soil, people, domestic animals, rivers, ponds and plants and animals if it does not rain this year?
What will happen to soil, people, domestic animals, plants and animals living in rivers and ponds, if it rains heavily?

Importance of water, dependence of the living on water.
Droughts and floods.

Experience, newspaper reports. Experience

Estimation of water used by a family in one day, one month, one year.
Difference between need and availability.
Discussion.
Activity: plant growth in normal, deficient and
excess water conditions.
Importance of air
Why do earthworms come out of the soil when it rains?
Some animals and plants live in water; some live on land and some live in upper layers of soil; but all need air to breath/to respire.
Experience.
Discussion.
Waste
Do you throw away fruit and vegetable peels and cuttings? Can these be reused?
If we dump them anywhere, will it harm the surroundings? What if we throw them in plastic bags?
Waste; recycling of waste products; things that rot and things that don’t. Rotting is supported by animals/animal and plant products.
Observation and experience.
Survey of solid waste generation by households; estimation of waste accumulated (by a house/
village/colony etc.) in a day, in a year; discussion on ‘what is waste’; Activity to show that materials rot in soil, this is affected by wrapping in plastics.
Class 7
Questions Key concepts Resources Activities/Processes
1. Food
Food from where
How do plants get their food?

Autotrophic and heterotrophic nutrition; parasites, saprophytes; photosynthesis.

Coleus or any other plant with variegated leaves, alcohol, iodine solution, kit materials.

Need for light, green leaf for photosynthesis, looking at any
saprophyte/parasite and noting differences from a green plant.
Utilisation of food
How do plants and animals utilise their food?
Types of nutrition, nutrition in amoeba and human beings, Digestive system – human, ruminants; types of teeth; link with transport and respiration.
Model of human teeth, charts of alimentary canal, types of nutrition etc., chart and model of amoeba. The story of the stomach with a hole.
Effect of saliva on starch, permanent slide of Amoeba.
Role play with children.
2. Materials
Materials of daily use
Do some of our clothes come from animal sources?
Which are these animals?
Who rears them?
Which parts of the animals yield the yarn?
How is the yarn extracted?
What kinds of clothes help us to keep warm?
What is heat?
What is the meaning of ‘cool’/‘cold’ and ‘warm’ ‘hot’?
How does heat flow from/to our body to/ from the surroundings?

Wool, silk – animal fibres. Process of extraction of silk; associated health problems.




Heat flow; temperature.

Samples of wool and silk; brief account of silkworm rearing and sheep breeding.




Potassium permanganate, metal strip or rod, wax, common pins, spirit lamp, matches, tumblers, Thermometer etc.

Collection of different samples of woollen and silk cloth. Activities to differentiate natural silk and wool from artificial fibres.
Discussion.


Experiment to show that ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ are relative. Experiments to show conduction, convection and radiation.

Reading a thermometer.
Different kinds of materials
Why does turmeric stain become red on applying soap?
Classification of substances into acidic, basic and neutral; indicators.
Common substances like sugar, salt, vinegar etc, test tubes, plastic vials, droppers, etc.
Testing solutions of common substances like sugar, salt, vinegar, lime juice etc. with turmeric, litmus, china rose. Activity to show neutralisation.
How things change/ react with one another
What gets deposited on a tawa/khurpi /kudal if left in a moist state?
Why does the exposed surface of a cut brinjal become black?

Chemical substances; in a chemical reaction a new substance is formed.

Test tubes, droppers, common pins, vinegar, baking powder, CuSO4, etc.

Experiments involving chemical reactions like rusting of iron, neutralisation (vinegar and baking soda), displacement of Cu from CuSO4 etc.
Introduce chemical formulae without explaining them.
Why is seawater salty? Is it possible to separate salt from seawater? Substances can be separated by crystallisation. Urea, copper sulphate, alum etc, beaker, spirit lamp, watch glass, plate, petridish etc. Making crystals of easily available substances like urea, alum, copper sulphate etc. using supersaturated solutions and evaporation.
3. The World of the Living
Surroundings affect the living
Why are nights cooler?
How does having winters and summers affect soil?
Are all soils similar? Can we make a pot with sand?
Is soil similar when you dig into the ground? What happens to water when it falls on the cemented/ bare ground?

Climate, soil types, soil profile, absorption of water in soil, suitability for crops, adaptation of
animals to different climates.

Data on earth, sun – size, distance etc, daily changes in temperature, humidity from the newspaper, sunrise, sunset etc.

Graph for daily changes in temperature, day length, humidity etc.; texture of various soils by wetting and rolling; absorption / percolation of water in different soils, which soil can hold more water.
The breath of life
Why do we/animals breathe? Do plants also breathe? Do they also
respire? How do plants/ animals live in water?
Respiration in plants and animals.
Lime water, germinating seeds, kit materials.
Experiment to show plants and animals respire; rate of breathing; what do we breathe out? What do plants ‘breathe’ out?
Respiration in seeds; heat release due to respiration. Anaerobic respiration, root respiration.
Movement of substances
How does water move in plants? How is food transported in plants?
Why do animals drink water? Why do we sweat?
Why and how is there blood in all parts of the body? Why is blood red?
Do all animals have blood?
What is there in urine?
Herbs, shrubs, trees; Transport of food and water in plants; circulatory and excretion system in animals; sweating.
Twig, stain; improvised stethoscope; plastic bags, plants, egg, sugar, salt, starch, Benedicts solution, AgNO3 solution.
Translocation of water in stems, demonstration of transpiration, easurement of pulse rate, heartbeat;after exercise etc. Discussion on dialysis, importance; experiment on dialysis using egg membrane.
Multiplication in plants
Why are some plant parts like potato, onion swollen – are they of any use to the plants? What is the function of flowers?
How are fruits and seeds formed? How are they dispersed?
Vegetative, asexual and sexual reproduction in plants, pollination - cross, self pollination; pollinators, fertilisation, fruit, seed.
Bryophyllum leaves, potato, onion etc.; yeast powder, sugar.
Study of tuber, corm, bulb etc; budding in yeast; T.S./ L.S. ovaries, w.m.pollen grains; comparison of wind pollinated and insect pollinated flowers; observing fruit and seed development in some plants; collection and discussion of fruits/seeds dispersed by different means.
4. Moving Things, People and Ideas
Moving objects
Why do people feel the need to measure time?
How do we know how fast something is moving?


Appreciation of idea of time and need to measure it. Measurement of time using periodic events. Idea of speed of moving objects – slow and fast motion along a straight line.


Daily-life experience; metre scale, wrist watch/ stop watch, string etc.


Observing and analysing motion (slow or fast) of common objects on land, in air, water and space. Measuring the distance covered by objects moving on a road in a given time and calculating their speeds. Plotting distance vs. time graphs for uniform motion. Measuring the time taken by moving objects to cover a given distance and calculating their speeds. Constancy of time period of a pendulum.
5. How Things Work
Electric current and circuits
How can we conveniently represent an electric circuit?


Electric circuit symbols for different elements of circuit.


Recollection of earlier activities. Pencil and paper.


Drawing circuit diagrams.
Why does a bulb get hot? Heating effect of current. Cells, wire, bulb. Activities to show the heating effect of electric current.
How does a fuse work? Principle of fuse. Cells, wire, bulb or LED, aluminium foil. Making a fuse.
How does the current in a wire affect the direction of a compass needle? A current-carrying wire has an effect on a magnet. Wire, compass, battery. Activity to show that a current-carrying wire has an effect on a magnet.
What is an electromagnet? A current-carrying coil behaves like a magnet. Coil, battery, iron nail. Making a simple electromagnet.
Identifying situations in daily life where electromagnets are used.
How does an electric bell work? Working of an electric bell. Electric bell. Demonstration of working of an electric bell.
6. Natural Phenomena
Rain, thunder and lightning
What causes storms? What are the effects of storms?
Why are roofs blown off?


High-speed winds and heavy rainfall have disastrous consequences for human and other life.


Experience; newspaper reports. Narratives/stories.


Making wind speed and wind direction indicators. Activity to show “lift” due to moving air.
Discussion on effects of storms and possible safety measures.
Light
Can we see a source of light through a bent tube?
Rectilinear propagation of light.
Rubber/plastic tube/ straw, any source of light.
Observation of the source of light through a straight tube, a bent tube.
How can we throw sunlight on a wall? Reflection, certain surfaces reflect light. Glass/metal sheet/metal foil, white paper. Observing reflection of light on wall or white paper screen.
What things give images that are magnified or diminished in size? Real and virtual images. Convex/concave lenses and mirrors. Open ended activities allowing children to explore images made by different objects, and recording observations.
Focussed discussions on real and virtual images.
How can we make a coloured disc appear white? White light is composed of many colours. Newton’s disc. Making the disc and rotating it.
7. Natural Resources
Scarcity of water
Where and how do you get water for your domestic needs? Is it enough? Is there enough water for agricultural needs? What happens to plants when there is not enough water for plants?
Where does a plant go when it dies?

Water exists in various forms in nature. Scarcity of water and its effect on life.

Experience; media reports; case material.

Discussions.
Case study of people living in conditions of extreme scarcity of water, how they use water in a judicious way.
Projects exploring various kinds of water resources that exist in nature in different regions in India; variations of water
availability in different regions.
Forest products
What are the products we get from forests? Do other animals also benefit from forests? What will happen if forests disappear?
Interdependence of plants and animals in forests. Forests contribute to purification of air and water.
Case material on forests.
Case study of forests.
Waste Management
Where does dirty water from your house go? Have you seen a drain? Does the water stand in it sometimes? Does this have any harmful effect?
Sewage; need for drainage/sewer systems that are closed.
Observation and experience; photographs.
Survey of the neighbourhood, identifying locations with open drains, stagnant water, and possible contamination of ground water by sewage. Tracing the route of sewage in your building, and trying to understand whether there are any problems in sewage disposal.
Class 8
Questions Key concepts Resources Activities/Processes
1. Food
Crop production
Crop production: How are different food crops produced? What are the various foods we get from animal sources?		 Crop production: Soil preparation, selection of seeds, sowing, applying fertilizers, rrigation, weeding, harvesting and storage; nitrogen fixation, nitrogen cycle. Interaction and discussion with local men and women farmers about farming and farm practices; visit to cold storage, go- downs; visit to any farm/ nursery/ garden. Preparing herbarium specimens of some crop plants; collection of some seeds etc; preparing a table/chart on different irrigation practices and sources of water in different parts of India; looking at roots of any legume crop for nodules, hand section of nodules.
Micro-organisms
What living organisms do we see under a microscope in a drop of water? What helps make
curd? How does food go bad? How do we preserve food?		 Micro organisms – useful and harmful. Microscope, kit materials; information about techniques of food preservation. Making a lens with a bulb; Observation of drop of water, curd, other sources, bread mould, orange mould under the microscope; experiment showing fermentation of dough – increase in volume (using yeast) – collect gas in balloon, test in lime water.
2. Materials
Materials in daily life
Are some of our clothes synthetic? How are they made? Where do the raw materials come from? Do we use other materials that are synthetic?		 Synthetic lothing
materials. Other synthetic materials,
especially plastics;usefulness of plastics and problems associated
with their excessive use.		 Sharing of prior knowledge, source materials on petroleum products. Survey on use of synthetic materials. Discussion.
Do we use cloth (fabric) for purposes other than making clothes to wear? What kind of fabric do we see around us? What are they used for? There are a variety of fibrous materials in use. A material is chosen based on desired property. Collection of material from neighbourhood or should be part of the kit. Testing various materials – for action of water, reaction on heating, effect of flame, electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, tensile strength.
Different kinds of
materials and
their reactions. Can a wire be drawn out of wood? Do copper or aluminium also rust like iron? What is the black material inside a pencil? Why are electrical wires made of aluminium or copper?
 Metals and
non-metals.		 Kit items. Simple observations relating to physical properties of metals and
non-metals, displacement reactions, experiments involving reactions with acids and bases. Introduction of word equations.

How things change/ react with one another What happens to the wax when a candle is burnt? Is it possible to get this wax back?

 

Combustion, flame

 

“The Chemical History of a Candle”, by M. Faraday, 1860.

Experiments with candles.
What happens to kerosene/natural gas when it is burnt? Which fuel is the best? Why? All fuels release heat on burning. Fuels differ in efficiency, cost etc. Natural resources are limited. Burning of fuels leads to harmful by products. Collecting information from home and other sources.

Collecting information. Discussions involving whole class.
3. The World of the Living
Why conserve
What are reserve forests/ sanctuaries etc? How do we keep track of our plants and animals? How do we know that some species are
in danger of disappearing? What would happen if you continuously cut trees?		 Conservation of biodiversity/wild life/ plants; zoos, sanctuaries, forest reserves etc. flora,
fauna endangered species, red data book; endemic species, migration.		 Films on wild life, TV programmes, visit to zoo/ forest area/sanctuaries etc.; case study with information on disappearing tigers; data on endemic and endangered species from MEF, Govt. of India, NGOs . Discussion on whether we find as many diverse plants/ animals in a ‘well kept area’ like a park or cultivated land, as compared to any area left alone. Discussion on
depletion of wild life, why it happens, on poaching, economics.
The cell
What is the internal structure of a plant – what will we see if we look under the microscope? Which cells from our bodies can be
easily seen? Are all cells similar?		 Cell structure, plant and animal cells, use of stain to observe, cell organelles – nucleus, vacuole,
chloroplast, cell membrane, cell wall.		 Microscope, onion peels, epidermal peels of any leaves, petals etc, buccal cavity cells, Spirogyra; permanent slides of animal cells. Use of a microscope, preparation of a slide, observation of onion peel and cheek cells, other cells from plants e.g. Hydrilla leaf, permanent slides showing different cells, tissues, blood smear; observation of T.S. stem
to see tissues; observing diverse types of cells from plants and animals (some permanent slides).
How babies are formed
How do babies develop inside the mother? Why
does our body change when we reach our teens? How is the sex of the child determined? Who
looks after the babies in your homes? Do all animals give birth to young ones?		 Sexual reproduction and endocrine system in animals, secondary sexual characters, reproductive health; internal and
external fertilisation.		 Counsellors, films, lectures. Discussion with counsellors on secondary sexual characters, on how sex of the child is determined, safe sex, reproductive health; observation on eggs, young ones, life cycles.Discussion on Gender issues and social taboo’s.
4. Moving things, People and Ideas
Idea of force
What happens when we push or pull anything? How can we change the speed, direction of a moving object? How can we shape the shape of an object?		 Idea of force-push or pull; change in speed, direction of moving objects and shape of objects by applying force; contact and non-contact forces. Daily-life experience, kit items. Observing and analysing
the relation between force and motion in a variety of daily-life situations. Demonstrating change in speed of a moving object, its direction of motion and shape by applying force.
Measuring the weight of an object, as a force (pull) by the earth using a spring balance.
Friction
What makes a ball rolling on the ground slow down?		 Friction – factors affecting friction, sliding and rolling friction, moving; advantages and disadvantages of friction for the movement of automobiles, airplanes and boats/ships;
increasing and reducing friction.		 Various rough and smooth surfaces, ball bearings. Demonstrating friction between rough/smooth surfaces of moving objects in contact, and wear and tear of moving objects by rubbing (eraser on paper, card board, sand paper).
Activities on static, sliding and rolling friction. Studying ball bearings. Discussion on other methods of reducing friction and ways of increasing friction.
Pressure
Why are needles made pointed? Why does a balloon burst if too much air is blown into it? Why does an inverted glass/ bottle/pitcher resist being pushed down into water? How can air/liquids exert pressure?		 Idea of pressure; pressure exerted by air/liquid; atmospheric pressure. Daily-life experiences;
E x p e r i m e n t a t i o n - improvised manometer and improvised pressure detector.		 Observing the dependence of pressure exerted by a force on surface area of an object. Demonstrating that air exerts pressure in a variety of situations.
Demonstrating that liquids exert pressure. Designing an improvised
manometer and measuring pressure exerted by liquids. Designing improvised pressure detector and demonstrating increase in pressure exerted by a liquid at greater depths.
Sound
How do we communicate through sound? How is sound produced? What characterises different sounds?		 Various types of sound; sources of sound; vibration as a cause of sound; frequency; medium for propagation of sound; idea of noise as unpleasant and unwanted sound and need to minimise noise. Daily-life experiences; kit items; musical instruments. Demonstrating and distinguishing different types (loud and feeble, pleasant/ musical and unpleasant / noise, audible and inaudible) of sound. Producing different types of sounds. using the same
source. Making a ‘Jal Tarang’. Demonstrating
that vibration is the cause of sound. Designing a toy telephone. Identifying various sources of noise. (unpleasant and unwanted sound) in the

5. How Things Work
Electric
current and circuits Why do we get a shock when we touch an electric appliance with wet hands?

 

Water conducts electricity depending on presence/ absence of salt in it. Other liquids may or may not conduct electricity.

 

Rubber cap, pins, water, bulb or LED, cells, various liquids.

 

Activity to study whether current flows through various liquid samples (tap water, salt solution, lemon juice, kerosene, distilled water if available).

 
What happens to a conducting solution when electric current flows through it?

Chemical effects of
current.

 Carbon rods, beaker, water, bulb, battery. Emission of gases from salt solution. Deposition
of Cu from copper sulphate solution. Electric pen using KI and starch solution.
How can we coat an object with a layer of metal? Basic idea of electroplating. Improvised electrolytical
cell, CuSO4		 Simple experiment to show electroplating.
6. Natural Phenomena
Rain, thunder
and lightning
What is lightning? What safety measures should we take against lightning strikes?
 Clouds carry electric charge. Positive and negative charges, attraction and repulsion. Principle of lightning conductor. Articles on clouds and lightning; kit items. Discussion on sparks. Experiments with comb and paper to show positive and negative charge. Discussion on lightning conductor.

Light
What are the differences between the images formed on a new utensil and an old one? Why is there this difference?

Laws of reflection.

 

 

 

Mirror, source of light,ray source (mirror covered with black paper with a thin slit).

Exploring laws of reflection using ray source and another mirror.

 
When you see your image in the mirror it appears as if the left is on the right – why? Characteristics of image formed with a plane mirror. Plane glass, candle, scale. Locating the reflected
image using glass sheet
and candles.
Why don’t we see images on all surfaces around us? What makes things visible? Regular and diffused reflection. Reflection of light from an object to the eye. Experience. Discussion with various examples. Activity of observing an object through an object through a straight and bent tube; and discussion.
How do we see images of our back in a mirror? Multiple reflection. Mirrors and objects to be seen. Observing multiple images formed by mirrors placed at angles to each other.Making a kaleidoscope.
Why do we sometimes see colours on oil films on water? Dispersion of light. Plane mirror, water. Observing spectrum obtained on a white sheet of paper/wall using a plane mirror inclined on a water surface at an angle of 45°.
What is inside our eye that enables us to see? Structure of the eye. Model or chart of the
human eye.		 Observing reaction of
pupil to a shining torch.
Demonstration of blind
spot.
Why are some people unable to see? Lens becomes opaque, light not reaching the eye. Visually challenged use other senses to make sense of the world around.Alternative technology available. Role of nutrition in relation to blindness Experiences of children;
case histories. Samples of Braille sheets.		 Description of case histories of visually challenged people who have been doing well in their studies and careers. Activities with Braille sheet.
Night sky
What do we see in the sky at night? How can we identify stars and planets?		 Idea about heavenly bodies/celestial objects and their classification – moon, planets, stars, constellations.
Motion of celestial objects in space; the solar system.		 Observation of motion of objects in the sky during the day and at night; models, charts, role-play and games, planetarium. Observing and identifying the objects moving in the sky during the day and at night.
Observing and identifying some prominent stars and constellations.
Observing and identifying some prominent planets, visible to the naked eye, (Venus, Mars, Jupiter ) in the night sky and their movement. Design and preparing models and charts of the solar system, constellations, etc. Roleplay and games for understanding movement
of planets, stars etc.
Earthquakes
What happens during an earthquake? What can we do to minimise its effects?		 Phenomena related to earthquakes. Earthquake data; visit to seismographic centre. Looking at structures/ large objects and guessing what will happen to them in the event of an earthquake; activities to explore stable and unstable structures.

7. Natural Resources
Man’s ntervention
in phenomena of
nature
What do we do with wood? What if we had no wood? What will happen it we go on cutting trees/grass without limit?

 

Consequences of deforestation: scarcity of
products for humans and other living beings, change in physical properties of soil, reduced rainfall. Reforestation; recycling of paper.

 

Data and narratives on deforestation and on movements to protect forests.

 

Narration and discussions. Project- Recycling of paper.

 

 
What do we do with coal and petroleum? Can we create coal and petroleum artificially? Formation of coal and petroleum in nature. (fossil fuels?). Consequences of over extraction of coal and petroleum. Background materials,
charts etc.		 Discussion.
Pollution of air and water
What are the various activities by human beings that make air impure? Does clear, transparent
water indicate purity?		 Water and air are increasingly getting
polluted and therefore become scarce for use. Biological and chemical contamination of water; effect of impure water on soil and living beings; effect of soil containing excess of fertilisers and insecticides on water resources. Potable water.		 Description of some specific examples of extremely polluted rivers. Case study and discussion. Purification of water by physical and chemical methods including using sunlight.
Discussion on other methods of water purification.
Class 9
Theme/Sub-theme Questions Key concepts Resources Activities/Processes
1. Food
Higher yields		 What do we do to get higher yields in our farms? Plant and animal breeding and selection for quality improvement, use of fertilizers, manures; protection from
pests and diseases; organic farming.		 Visit to any fish/ bee/dairy/pig etc farms; data showing harmful effects of insecticides; process for the preparation of compost, vermicompost. Collection of weeds found in fields of different crops; collection of diseased crops; discussion and studying composting/vermicomposting
2. Materials Material in our clothing What kinds of clothes help us keep cool?
Why do wet clothes feel cool?		 Cooling by evaporation. Absorption of heat. Work done in Class VII; glassware, heat source, black paper, thermometers. Experiments to show cooling by evaporation. Experiments to show that the white objects get less hot.
Different kinds of materials In what way are materials different from each other? Is there some similarity in materials? All things occupy space, possess mass. Definition of matter. Everyday substances like wood, salt, paper, ice, steel, water, etc. To feel the texture, observe the colour and lustre, effect of air, water and heat, etc. on each of the materials
  In how many ways can you group the different materials you see around? How do solids, liquids and gases differ from each
other?
Can materials exist
in all the three
states?		 Solid, liquid and gas; characteristics – shape, volume, density; change of
state – melting, freezing, evaporation,
condensation,
sublimation.		 Wax, water, ice, oil, sugar, camphor/ ammonium chloride/
naphthalene.

Sorting out a medley of materials, in various ways. Observe shape and physical state of different materials.

Observe effect of heat on each of the resources. (Teacher to perform the experiment for camphor, ammonium chloride and naphthalene.)
What are things made of ? What are things around you made of ?
What are the various types of chemical substances?		 Elements, compounds and mixtures. Heterogeneous and homogeneous mixtures. Colloids and suspensions. Samples of commonly available elements, compounds and mixtures. Samples of solution, suspension and colloid. Discussion on claims ‘Air is a mixture’ (Mixture of what? How can these be separated?), ‘Water is compound’ and ‘Oxygen is an element’.
  Do substances combine in a definite manner? Equivalence – that x grams of A is chemically not equal to x grams of B. Historical accounts. Glassware, chemicals (oxalic acid, sodium hydroxide, magnesium ribbon). Titration using droppers or syringes, quantitative experiments.
  How do things combine with each other? Particle nature, basic units: atoms and molecules. Kits for making molecular models.  
  Are there any patterns which can help us guess how things will combine with each other? Law of constant proportions. Atomic and molecular masses. Historical account including experiments of
Lavoisier and Priestley.		 Discussion on the fact that elements combine in a fixed proportion through
discussion on chemical formulae of familiar compounds.
  How do chemists weigh and count particles of matter? Mole concept.
Relationship of mole to mass of the particles and
numbers.
Valency.
Chemical formulae of common compounds.		   Simple numericals to be done by the students. A game for writing formulae. e.g. criss crossing of valencies to be taught through dividing students into pairs. Each student to hold two placards: one with the symbol and the other with the valency. Keeping symbols in place, teacher to move only valencies to form the formula of a compound.
What is there inside an atom? Can we see an atom or a molecule under a microscope or by some other means?
What is there inside an atom?		 Atoms are made up of smaller particles: electrons, protons, and neutrons. These smaller particles are present in all the atoms but their numbers vary in different atoms. Isotopes and isobars. Charts, films etc. Brief historical account of Rutherford’s experiment.
3. The World of the Living
Biological Diversity		 How do the various plants around us differ from each other? How are they similar?
What about animals? How are they similar to and different from each other?		 Diversity of plants and animals – basic issues in scientific naming, Basis of classification, Hierarchy of
categories/groups, Major groups of plants (salient features) (Bacteria, Thallophyta, Bryophyta, Pteridophyta, Gymnosperms and Angiosperms). Major groups of animals (salient features) (Nonchordates up to phyla and Chordates up to classes).		 Specimens of some animals, and plants not easily observable around you. Discussion on diversity and the characteristics associated with any group.
What is the living being made up of? What are we made up of?
What are the different parts of our body? What is the smallest living unit?		 Cell as a basic unit of life; Prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, multicellular organisms; cell membrane and cell wall, cell organelles: chloroplast, mitochondria, vacuoles, ER, Golgi Apparatus; nucleus, chromosomes – basic structure, number.
Tissues, organs, organ systems, organism.		 Permanent slides, model of the human body. Observation of model of human body to learn about levels of organization – tissue, organ, system, and organism, observe blood smears (frog and human), cheek cells, onion peel cell,
Spirogyra, Hydrilla leaves (cyclosis).
How do we fall sick? What are the various causes of diseases?
How can diseases be prevented?
How can we remain healthy?		 Health and its failure. Disease and its causes. Diseases caused by microbes and their prevention – Typhoid, diarrhoea, malaria, hepatitis, rabies, AIDS, TB, polio; pulse polio programme.

Newspaper articles, information from health centres, photographs of various causal organisms.
Photographs, permanent slides of bacteria.

 Surveying neighbourhood to collect information on disease occurrence pattern.
Studying the life cycle of the mosquito and
malarial parasite. Discussion on how malaria is spread, how to prevent mosquito breeding.
How do substances move from cell to cell? How do food and water move from cell to cell?
How do gases get into the cells?
What are the substances that living organisms exchange with the external world?
How do they obtain these substances?		 Diffusion/exchange of substances between cells and their environment, and between the cells themselves in the living system; role in nutrition, water and food transport, excretion, gaseous exchange. Egg membrane, Rhoeo leaves, sugar, microscope, slides.

Looking at closed and open stomata, plasmolysis in Rhoeo leaf peels.

 
4. Moving Things, People and Ideas
Motion		 How do we describe motion? Motion – displacement, velocity; uniform and non uniform motion along a straight line, acceleration, distance time and velocity time graphs for uniform and uniformly accelerated motion, equations of motion by graphical method; elementary idea of uniform circular motion.   Analysis of motion of different common objects. Drawing distancetime and velocitytime graphs for uniform motion and for uniformly accelerated motion.
Force and Newton’s laws What makes things change their state of motion? Force and motion, Newton’s laws of motion: inertia of a body, inertia and mass, momentum, force and acceleration. Elementary idea of conservation of momentum, action and reaction forces. Historical accounts; Experiences from daily life; wooden and glass boards, sand, balls; wooden support, some coins (say of Rs. 2 or Rs. 5); tumbler; balloons etc. Demonstrating the effect of force on the state of motion of objects in a variety of daily-life situations. Demonstrate the change in direction of motion of an object by applying force.
Gravitation What makes things fall? Gravitation; universal law of gravitation, Spring balance Analysis of motion of ball falling down
  Do all things fall in the same way? force of gravitation of the earth (gravity), acceleration due to gravity; mass and weight; free fall.   and of ball thrown up. Measuring mass and weight by a spring balance.
Work, energy and power How do we measure work done in moving anything?
How does falling water make a mill run?		 Work done by a force, energy, power; kinetic and potential energy; law of conservation of energy. Rope (or string), board or plank, wooden block, ball, arrow, bamboo stick, spring, etc. Experiments on body rolling down inclined plane pushing another body. Experiments with pendulum. Experiments with spring. Discussion.
Floating bodies How does a boat float on water? Thrust and pressure. Archimedes’ principle, buoyancy,
elementary idea of relative density.		 Cycle pump; board pins, bulletin board, mug, bucket, water etc. Experiments with floating and sinking objects.
How do we hear from a distance? How does sound travel?
What kind of sounds can we hear?
What is an echo?
How do we hear?		 Nature of sound and its propagation in various media, speed of sound, range of hearing in humans; ultrasound; reflection of sound; echo and sonar. Structure of the human ear (auditory aspect only).

String, ball or stone as bob, water tank, stick, slinky, rope, echo tube, rubber pipe etc.

Model or chart showing structure of the ear.

 Experiment on reflection of sound.
5. How Things Work
6. Natural Phenomena
7. Natural Resources Balance in Nature		 Why do air, water and soil seem not to be consumed?
How does the presence of air support life on earth?
How have human activities created disturbances in the atmosphere?
How does nature work to maintain balance of its components?		 Physical resources: air, water, soil. Air for respiration, for combustion, for moderating temperatures, movements of air and its role in bringing rains across India.
Air, water and soil pollution (brief introduction).
Holes in ozone layer and the probable damages. Bio-geo chemical cycles in nature: water, oxygen, carbon, nitrogen.		 Daily newspapers, magazines and other reading materials. Weather reports over a few months and air quality reports over the same time period. Case study material. Case studies of actual situation in India with more generalised overview of inter relationship of air, water, soils, forests. Debates on these issues using resources mentioned alongside, visit to/ from an environmental NGO; discussion.
         
Class 10
Theme/Sub-theme Questions Key concepts Resources Activities/Processes
1. Food
2. Materials
Different kinds of materials		 Why are some substances our and some bitter in taste? Acids, bases and salts: General properties, examples and uses. Orange juice, lemon juice, soap solution, litmus solution, zinc, Testing different substances with indicators.
  Why does soap solution feel slippery?
Why does seawater taste salty?		   copper and aluminium metals. Acids: hydrochloric acid, sulphuric acid, nitric acid. Bases: sodium hydroxide. Common salt. Neutralisation reactions
  Why does iron rust?
Why does painted iron not rust?
Why is burning sensation removed when one takes
antacids?
Why do substances stop burning in the absence of air?
Why is flame seen when substances burn?
Can substances burn without flame?
Why does a matchstick kept in the blue part of the flame not burn?
Why is a red coating formed on the zinc rod when it is kept in copper sulphate solution?
What is the material of the coating?		 Types of chemical reactions: combination, decomposition, displacement, double displacement, precipitation, neutralisation, oxidation and reduction in terms of gain and loss of oxygen and hydrogen. Turmeric, limejuice, vinegar, baking soda, washing soda, yeast, hot water. Materials such as iron nails, copper strip, aluminium strip, zinc strip, galvanised strip, petri dishes with and without covers, container that can be filled with water, cotton wool, etc. Mixing pairs of substances mentioned alongside, to see the reactions – discussion on chemistry in the kitchen, chemistry inside our bodies. Carrying out simple reactions that encompass decomposition,
displacement, double displacement, recipitation, neutralisation, oxidation and reduction.
How things change/react with one another? How do copper, silver, iron exist in nature? Brief discussion of basic metallurgical processes.
Properties of common metals. Elementary idea
about bonding.		 Samples of metals: iron, copper, lead, silver, zinc, aluminium, gold; of non-metals: sulphur, graphite; of alloys: steel, brass Discussions on metallurgical processes and simple experiments involving metals, with chemical reactions.
  What is the composition of natural gas used for cooking?
What is petrol?
What is vinegar?		 Carbon compounds, elementary idea about bonding. Saturated hydrocarbons, alcohols, carboxylic acids: (no preparation, only properties). Models Experiments involving reactions of carbon and its compounds with chemical reactions. Use of models.
Materials of common use How is common salt obtained?
Besides its use in food, is it used for other purposes?
What makes washing soda and baking soda different materials?
How does bleaching powder make paper and cloth white?
What is the white material that is used for making casts?
How do soaps clean clothes?
Can some other material be used for cleaning clothes?
Why does a man lose control on his body after drinking alcohol?
Why do people become blind on drinking denatured alcohol?		 Soap – cleansing action of soap. Kit containing various materials like common salt, washing soda, baking soda, lime, lime stone, bleaching powder, plaster of Paris, soaps; alcohol. Use of kit materials for demonstration as well as performing of experiments by student of properties.Visits to factories.
How are elements classified? How do chemists study such a large number of elements? Gradations in properties: Mendeleev periodic table. Brief historical account, charts, films etc. Predicting trends on the basis of the table.
3. The World of the Living
Our Environment		 What will happen if we bury different materials in the soil?
What will happen if we kill all insects?
Some of us eat meat; some do not – what about animals?		 Our Environment: Environmental problems, what can we do? Bio degradable, nonbiodegradable. Ozone depletion. Discussion on food habits of animals, finding out the various waste materials produced and their disposal in different parts of the country. Activity of burying different materials in the soil and studying periodically what happens; construction of food web using models, classification of some common plants and animals as consumers etc.
How do we stay alive? What are the processes needed for living? Define ‘living’ things; Basic concept of nutrition, respiration, transport and excretion in plants and animals. Models and charts of various systems in animals, and parts in plants. Study various things around to decide whether they are living/non living.
Control in the living Why do roots grow towards the ground? Can we make them grow upwards? Why do stems grow upwards? Tropic movements in plants; Introduction to plant hormones; Control and coordination in animals: voluntary, involuntary and reflex action, nervous system; chemical coordination: animal hormones. Young plants for experiments, seeds; Kit materials; Pavlov’s experiment on conditioned
reflex.		 Experiments on tropic movements in plants – geotropism, hydrotropism, phototropism, interaction of factors; experiment on apical dominance; demonstration of reflex action.
Reproduction in the living Do plants and animals have similar reproductive cycles?
Can we decide how many children are born in a family?		 Reproduction in plants and animals. Need for and methods of family planning.
Safe sex vs. HIV/ AIDS.
Childbearing and women’s health.		 Permanent slide L.S. grain; charts/ specimens of embryos, egg. Charts and other materials on family planning.
Newspaper reports on HIV/AIDS.		 Study pollen tube growth and pollen tubes on a stigmatic mount, mount soaked seeds to see embryonal axis, cotyledons etc., seed germination – epigeal and hypogeal; structure of the hen’s egg.
Discussion on family planning and responsible parenting.
Heredity and evolution Why are we like our parents? Did similar plants and animals exist in the past?
Did life always exist?		 Heredity; Origin of life: brief introduction; Basic concepts of evolution. Data and worksheet from Mendel’s experiments, specimen of fossil. Phenotypic ratio 3:1, 2:1., 9:3:3:1
4. Moving Things, People and Ideas
5. How things work
Electric Circuits		 In which direction does current flow inside a conductor? Potential difference, potential. Battery, conductor voltmeter, ammeter, connecting wire, key. Using a simple electric circuit, show that charges flow from higher potential to lower potential. Use the analogy of flow of water from higher (potential to highest energy) lower height (lower potential energy).
  How is potential difference across a conductor related to current through the conductor? Ohm’s law Series -do- And rheostats Using a circuit consisting of a conductor, battery, key, voltmeter and ammeter, establish a relationship between potential difference and current and hence Ohm’s law.
  How can you arrange a given set of resistors so that the same current flows through all? Series combination of resistances.

-do-
and given set of resistors.

 Using the Ohm’s law circuit, establishing the properties of series combination and the rule for resistance.
  How are appliances connected in a house? Parallel combination of resistances. -do-
and given set of resistors.		 Establishing the rule for parallel combination of resistors.
  How much heat is generated when a current I flows through a resistor? Power dissipated due to current. Inter relation between P, V, I and R. Appliances based on heating effect of current in daily life. Identification of appliances in daily life base on heating effect of current. Calculation of power in daily life situations.
Magnets How does the needle of a compass change direction when placed at different points near a magnet? Magnetic field Field lines A magnet, compass, white sheet, drawing board, drawing pins. Drawing magnetic field lines in vicinity of a bar magnet.
  Does a current carrying conductor produce a magnetic field? Field due to a current carrying wire. Field due to current carrying coil or solenoid. A battery, a conductor, compass, key, A coil, A
solenoid.		 Demonstrating that a current carrying conductor produces a magnetic field. Demonstrating the magnetic field produced by a current carrying coil or solenoid.
  What happens to a current carrying conductor when it is placed in a magnetic field? Force on current carrying conductor Fleming’s left hand rule. A small rod, stand and two wires for suspe-nding the rod, a strong horseshoe magnet. Demonstrating that a current carrying conductor when placed in a magnetic
field experiences force.
  How does the above effect help us to design machines to do work? Electric motor. Appliances using motors. Demonstrating the working of a motor.
Identifying the appliances based on electric motors.
  What do you observe when a magnet is moved towards a wire connected to a galvanometer?

Electromagnetic induction.


Induced potential differences, induced current.

Two coils of wire, a magnet, a galvanometer.

Iron nails, battery, switch.

 Demonstrating the phenomenon of electromagnetic induction.
Demonstrating that current is induced in a coil kept near a coil in which current changes.
  How can the phenomenon of electromagnetic induction be used to design a device to generate electricity? Electric generator. principle and working. A simple model of electric generator. Demonstrating the principle and working of a generator.
  Does the current produced by a generator have the same direction all the time? Direct current.
Alternating current;
frequency of AC.
Advantage of AC
over DC.		 Model of electric generator. Familiarising with voltage and frequency of AC in our homes.
  How are the bulbs etc. connected to the AC source in our homes? Domestic electric circuits. Demonstration board for domestic electric circuit. Explaining the working of domestic electric circuits. Demonstrating the use of a fuse in domestic circuit.
6. Natural Phenomena Why is paper burnt when light passing through a lens strikes it? Convergence and divergence of light. Experience. Double convex lens. Observation of convergence and divergence with lenses.
  Does a spherical mirror also exhibit similar phenomenon?
Can we see a full image of a tall building using a small mirror?		 Images formed by a concave mirror; related concepts centre of curvature, principal axis. Optical centre, focus, focal
length.		 A candle, stand to hold a mirror, meter scale. Exploring and recording features of images formed
by a concave mirror, by placing an object beyond c.c., between c.c. and focus, and between pole and focus; ray diagrams.
  Why does a spoon partly immersed in water in a transparent glass appear broken at the level of water when viewed from the sides? Refraction; laws of refraction. Glass slab, pins. Activity to explore laws of refraction.
  What do lenses do?
How do they correct defects in vision?		 Images formed by a convex lens; functioning of lens in human eye; problems of vision and remedies.
Application of spherical mirrors and lenses.		 Convex lens. Activity exploring and recording features of images formed by convex lens. Ray diagrams. Studying the glasses used by human beings to correct different vision defects.
  Why does the path of light change on entering a different medium? Appreciation of concept of refraction; velocity of light; refractive index; twinkling of stars; dispersion of light. Concepts learnt earlier. Activities studying refraction.
  Why or how does a prism disperse light? Dispersion of light. Prism, pins. Observation of objects through prisms; tracing rays refracted through a prism; discussion.
  Why is the sky blue? Scattering of light. Observations and experience. Activity showing scattering of light in emulsion etc.
7. Natural Resources
Conservation of Natural
Resources		 How can we contribute to
protect environment in our
locality?
What are the major global
environmental issues of direct relevance to us?		 Management of natural resources. Conservation and judicious use of natural resources. Forest and wild life, coal and petroleum conservation. Articles/stories on conservation; Posters on environmental awareness. Case studies with focus on
commercial activities exploiting natural resources. Effect of these on varies cycles in natures.
  What are the steps expected on the part of local administration to maintain balances in nature in your region? How can we help? People’s participation. Chipko movement.
Legal perspectives in conservation and international scenario.		 Case studies on Chipko movement; CNG use. Making posters/ slogans for creating awareness.
The regional environment How does the construction of big dams affect the life
of the people and the regional environment?
Are rivers, lakes, forests and wild life safe in your area?		 Big dams: advantages and
limitations; alternatives if any. Water harvesting.
Sustainability of natural resources.		 Case study material on dams.
Resource material on water harvesting.		 Case studies with focus on issues of construction of
dams and related phenomena (actual/ probable).
Debates on issues involved.
Sources of energy What are the various sources of energy we use? Are any of these sources limited? Are there reasons to prefer some of them over others? Different forms of energy, leading to different sources for human use: fossil fuels, solar energy; biogas; wind, water and tidal energy; nuclear energy. Renewable versus
non-renewable sources.		 Experience; print material on various sources of energy; materials to make a solar heater. Discussion. Making models and charts in groups. Making a solar heater/cooker.