CTET -SYLLABUS

CTET- JULY 2013
STRUCTURE AND CONTENT OF SYLLABUS
(Paper I and Paper II)
Paper I (for classes I to V) Primary Stage:
I. Child Development and Pedagogy
30 Questions
a) Child Development (Primary School Child) 15 Questions
 Concept of development and its relationship with learning
 Principles of the development of children
 Influence of Heredity & Environment
 Socialization processes: Social world & children (Teacher, Parents, 
Peers)
 Piaget, Kohlberg and Vygotsky: constructs and critical 
perspectives

 Concepts of child-centered and progressive education
 Critical perspective of the construct of Intelligence
 Multi Dimensional Intelligence
 Language & Thought
 Gender as a social construct; gender roles, gender-bias and 
educational practice
 Individual differences among learners, understanding differences 
based on diversity of language, caste, gender, community, religion 
etc.
 Distinction between Assessment for learning and assessment of 
learning; School-Based Assessment, Continuous & 
Comprehensive Evaluation: perspective and practice
 Formulating appropriate questions for assessing readiness levels 
of learners; for enhancing learning and critical thinking in the 
classroom and for assessing learner achievement.
b) Concept of Inclusive education and understanding children with 
special needs 5 Questions 
 Addressing learners from diverse backgrounds including 
disadvantaged and deprived Addressing the needs of children with learning difficulties, 
‘impairment’ etc.
 Addressing the Talented, Creative, Specially abled Learners
c) Learning and Pedagogy 10 Questions
 How children think and learn; how and why children ‘fail’ to achieve 
success in school performance.
 Basic processes of teaching and learning; children’s strategies of 
learning; learning as a social activity; social context of learning.
 Child as a problem solver and a ‘scientific investigator’
 Alternative conceptions of learning in children, understanding 
children’s ‘errors’ as significant steps in the learning process.
 Cognition & Emotions
 Motivation and learning
 Factors contributing to learning – personal & environmental
II. Language I. 30 Questions
a) Language Comprehension 15 Questions
Reading unseen passages – two passages one prose or drama and 
one poem with questions on comprehension, inference, grammar 
and verbal ability (Prose passage may be literary, scientific, 
narrative or discursive)
b) Pedagogy of Language Development 15 Questions
 Learning and acquisition
 Principles of language Teaching
 Role of listening and speaking; function of language and how 
children use it as a tool
 Critical perspective on the role of grammar in learning a language 
for communicating ideas verbally and in written form
 Challenges of teaching language in a diverse classroom; language 
difficulties, errors and disorders
 Language Skills
 Evaluating language comprehension and proficiency: speaking, 
listening, reading and writing
 Teaching- learning materials: Textbook, multi-media materials, 
multilingual resource of the classroom
 Remedial Teaching
III. Language – II 30 Questions 
a) Comprehension 15 QuestionsTwo unseen prose passages (discursive or literary or narrative or 
scientific) with question on comprehension, grammar and verbal 
ability
b) Pedagogy of Language Development 15 Questions
 Learning and acquisition
 Principles of language Teaching
 Role of listening and speaking; function of language and how 
children use it as a tool
 Critical perspective on the role of grammar in learning a language 
for communicating ideas verbally and in written form;
 Challenges of teaching language in a diverse classroom; language 
difficulties, errors and disorders
 Language Skills
 Evaluating language comprehension and proficiency: speaking, 
listening, reading and writing
 Teaching – learning materials: Textbook, multi-media materials, 
multilingual resource of the classroom
 Remedial Teaching
IV. Mathematics 30 Questions
a) Content 15 Questions
 Geometry
 Shapes & Spatial Understanding
 Solids around Us
 Numbers
 Addition and Subtraction
 Multiplication
 Division
 Measurement
 Weight
 Time
 Volume
 Data Handling
 Patterns
 Money
b) Pedagogical issues 15 Questions
 Nature of Mathematics/Logical thinking; understanding children’s 
thinking and reasoning patterns and strategies of making meaning 
and learning Place of Mathematics in Curriculum
 Language of Mathematics
 Community Mathematics
 Evaluation through formal and informal methods
 Problems of Teaching
 Error analysis and related aspects of learning and teaching
 Diagnostic and Remedial Teaching
V. Environmental Studies 30 Questions
a) Content 15 Questions
I. Family and Friends:
1.1 Relationships
1.2 Work and Play
1.3 Animals
1.4Plants
II. Food
III. Shelter
IV. Water
V. Travel
VI. Things We Make and Do
b) Pedagogical Issues 15 Questions
 Concept and scope of EVS
 Significance of EVS, integrated EVS
 Environmental Studies & Environmental Education
 Learning Principles
 Scope & relation to Science & Social Science
 Approaches of presenting concepts
 Activities
 Experimentation/Practical Work
 Discussion
 CCE
 Teaching material/Aids
Problems
Paper II (for classes VI to VIII) Elementary Stage: 
I. Child Development and Pedagogy 30 Questions
a) Child Development (Elementary School Child) 15 Questions
 Concept of development and its relationship with learning
 Principles of the development of children
 Influence of Heredity & Environment Socialization processes: Social world & children (Teacher, Parents, 
Peers)
 Piaget, Kohlberg and Vygotsky: constructs and critical perspectives
 Concepts of child-centered and progressive education
 Critical perspective of the construct of Intelligence
 Multi Dimensional Intelligence
 Language & Thought
 Gender as a social construct; gender roles, gender-bias and 
educational practice
 Individual differences among learners, understanding differences 
based on diversity of language, caste, gender, community, religion 
etc.
 Distinction between Assessment for learning and assessment of 
learning; School-Based Assessment, Continuous & Comprehensive 
Evaluation: perspective and practice
 Formulating appropriate questions for assessing readiness levels 
of learners; for enhancing learning and critical thinking in the 
classroom and for assessing learner achievement.
b) Concept of Inclusive education and understanding children with 
special needs 5 Questions 
 Addressing learners from diverse backgrounds including 
disadvantaged and deprived
 Addressing the needs of children with learning difficulties, 
‘impairment’ etc.
 Addressing the Talented, Creative, Specially abled Learners
c) Learning and Pedagogy 10 Questions
 How children think and learn; how and why children ‘fail’ to achieve 
success in school performance.
 Basic processes of teaching and learning; children’s strategies of 
learning; learning as a social activity; social context of learning.
 Child as a problem solver and a ‘scientific investigator’
 Alternative conceptions of learning in children, understanding 
children’s ‘errors’ as significant steps in the learning process.
 Cognition & Emotions
 Motivation and learning
 Factors contributing to learning – personal & environmental
II. Language I. 30 Questions
a) Language Comprehension 15 Questions
Reading unseen passages – two passages one prose or drama and 
one poem with questions on comprehension, inference, grammar and verbal ability (Prose passage may be literary, scientific, 
narrative or discursive)
b) Pedagogy of Language Development 15 Questions
 Learning and acquisition
 Principles of language Teaching
 Role of listening and speaking; function of language and how 
children use it as a tool
 Critical perspective on the role of grammar in learning a language 
for communicating ideas verbally and in written form;
 Challenges of teaching language in a diverse classroom; language 
difficulties, errors and disorders
 Language Skills
 Evaluating language comprehension and proficiency: speaking, 
listening, reading and writing
 Teaching- learning materials: Textbook, multi-media materials, 
multilingual resource of the classroom
 Remedial Teaching
III. Language – II 30 Questions 
a) Comprehension 15 Questions
Two unseen prose passages (discursive or literary or narrative or 
scientific) with question on comprehension, grammar and verbal 
ability
b) Pedagogy of Language Development 15 Questions
 Learning and acquisition
 Principles of language Teaching
 Role of listening and speaking; function of language and how 
children use it as a tool
 Critical perspective on the role of grammar in learning a language 
for communicating ideas verbally and in written form;
 Challenges of teaching language in a diverse classroom; language 
difficulties, errors and disorders
 Language Skills
 Evaluating language comprehension and proficiency: speaking, 
listening, reading and writing
 Teaching – learning materials: Textbook, multi-media materials, 
multilingual resource of the classroom
 Remedial Teaching
IV. (A) Mathematics and Science:60 Questions
(i) Mathematics 30 Questionsa) Content 20 Questions
 Number System
 Knowing our Numbers
 Playing with Numbers
 Whole Numbers
 Negative Numbers and Integers
 Fractions
 Algebra 
 Introduction to Algebra
 Ratio and Proportion
 Geometry
 Basic geometrical ideas (2-D)
 Understanding Elementary Shapes (2-D and 3-D)
 Symmetry: (reflection)
 Construction (using Straight edge Scale, protractor, 
compasses)
 Mensuration
 Data handling
b) Pedagogical issues 10 Questions
 Nature of Mathematics/Logical thinking
 Place of Mathematics in Curriculum
 Language of Mathematics
 Community Mathematics
 Evaluation 
 Remedial Teaching
 Problem of Teaching
(ii) Science 30 Questions
a) Content 20 Questions
I. Food
 Sources of food
 Components of food
 Cleaning food
II. Materials
 Materials of daily use 
III. The World of the Living
IV. Moving Things People and Ideas
V. How things work Electric current and circuits
 Magnets
VI. Natural Phenomena
VII. Natural Resources
b) Pedagogical issues 10 Questions
 Nature & Structure of Sciences
 Natural Science/Aims & objectives
 Understanding & Appreciating Science
 Approaches/Integrated Approach
 Observation/Experiment/Discovery (Method of Science)
 InJULY ation
 Text Material/Aids
 Evaluation – cognitive/psychomotor/affective
 Problems
 Remedial Teaching
V. Social Studies/Social Sciences 60 Questions
a) Content 40 Questions
I. History
 When, Where and How
 The Earliest Societies
 The First Farmers and Herders
 The First Cities
 Early States
 New Ideas
 The First Empire
 Contacts with Distant lands
 Political Developments
 Culture and Science
 New Kings and Kingdoms
 Sultans of Delhi
 Architecture
 Creation of an Empire
 Social Change
 Regional Cultures
 The Establishment of Company Power
 Rural Life and Society
 Colonialism and Tribal Societies
 The Revolt of 1857-58
 Women and reform
 Challenging the Caste System The Nationalist Movement
 India After Independence
II. Geography
 Geography as a social study and as a science
 Planet: Earth in the solar system
 Globe
 Environment in its totality: natural and human environment
 Air
 Water
 Human Environment: settlement, transport and 
communication
 Resources: Types-Natural and Human
 Agriculture
III. Social and Political Life
 Diversity
 Government
 Local Government
 Making a Living
 Democracy
 State Government
 Understanding Media
 Unpacking Gender
 The Constitution
 Parliamentary Government
 The Judiciary
 Social Justice and the Marginalised
b) Pedagogical issues 20 Questions
 Concept & Nature of Social Science/Social Studies
 Class Room Processes, activities and discourse
 Developing Critical thinking
 Enquiry/Empirical Evidence
 Problems of teaching Social Science/Social Studies 
 Sources – Primary & Secondary
 Projects Work
 Evaluation
Note: For Detailed syllabus of classes I-VIII, please refer to NCERT syllabus and textbooks



1. STRUCTURE AND CONTENT OF CTET
All questions in CTET test will be Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs), each 
carrying one mark, with four alternatives out of which one answer will be 
correct. There will be no negative marking.
There will be two papers of CTET.
(i) Paper I will be for a person who intents to be a teacher for classes I to V.
(ii) Paper II will be for a person who intents to be a teacher for classes VI to 
VIII.
Note: A person who intents to be a teacher for both levels (classes I to V and 
classes VI to VIII) will have to appear in both the papers (Paper I and Paper 
II).
1.1 Paper I (for classes I to V) Primary Stage : Duration of examination-oneand-a-half hours
Structure and Content (All Compulsory): (Appendix 1)
(i) Child Development and Pedagogy 30 MCQs 30 Marks
(ii) Language I 30 MCQs 30 Marks
(iii) Language II 30 MCQs 30 Marks
(iv) Mathematics 30 MCQs 30 Marks
(v) Environmental Studies 30 MCQs 30 Marks
Total 150 MCQs 150 Marks
Nature and standard of questions:
 The test items on Child Development and Pedagogy will focus on educational 
psychology of teaching and learning relevant to the age group of 6-11 years. 
They will focus on understanding the characteristics and needs of diverse 
learners, interaction with learners and the attributes and qualities of a good 
facilitator of learning.
 The Test items in Language I will focus on the proficiencies related to the 
medium of instruction.
The Test items in language II will focus on the elements of language, 
communication and comprehension abilities.
Language II will be a language other than Language I. A candidate may 
choose any one language as Language I and other as Language II from the 
available language options and will be required to specify the same in the 
Confirmation Page.
 The Test items in Mathematics and Environmental Studies will focus on the 
concepts, problem solving abilities and pedagogical understanding of the 
subjects. In all these subject areas, the test items will be evenly distributed over different divisions of the syllabus of that subject prescribed for classes 
I – V by the NCERT/CBSE.
 The questions in the test for Paper I will be based on the topics prescribed in 
syllabus of the NCERT/CBSE for classes I – V but their difficulty standard as 
well as linkages, could be up to the Secondary stage.
1.2 Paper II (for classes VI to VIII) Elementary Stage : Duration of 
examination – one-and-a-half hours
Structure and Content (All Compulsory): (Appendix 1)
(i) Child Development & Pedagogy(compulsory) 30 MCQs 30 Marks
(ii) Language I (compulsory) 30 MCQs 30 Marks
(iii) Language II (compulsory) 30 MCQs 30 Marks
(iv) (a) For Mathematics and Science teacher : 60 MCQs 60 Marks
Mathematics and Science
(b) For Social Studies/Social Science teacher: 60 MCQs 60 Marks
Social Science
(c) For any other teacher – either (a) or (b)
Total 150 MCQs 150 Marks
Nature and standard of questions:
 The test items on Child Development and Pedagogy will focus on educational 
psychology of teaching and learning, relevant to the age group of 11-14 years. 
They will focus on understanding the characteristics, needs and psychology of 
diverse learners, interaction with learners and the attributes and qualities of a 
good facilitator of learning.
 The Test items in Language I will focus on the proficiencies related to the 
medium of instruction.
The Test items in language II will focus on the elements of language, 
communication and comprehension abilities.
Language II will be a language other than Language I. A candidate may 
choose any one language as Language I and other as Language II from the 
available language options and will be required to specify the same in the 
Confirmation Page.
 The Test items in Mathematics and Science, and Social Studies/Social 
Science will focus on the concepts, problem solving abilities and pedagogical 
understanding of the subjects. The test items of Mathematics and Science 
will of 30 marks each. The test items will be evenly distributed over different 
divisions of the syllabus of that subject as prescribed for classes VI - VIII by 
the NCERT/CBSE.
 The questions in the test for Paper II will be based on the topics prescribed in 
syllabus of the NCERT/CBSE for classes VI - VIII but their difficulty standard 
as well as linkages, could be up to the Secondary stage.


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