CBSE Board English Core Syllabus for Class 10

CBSE BOARD CLASS 10 SYLLABUS FOR ENGLISH

SECTION A: READING 15 Marks
30 periods

Qs 1-3 This section will have three unseen passages of a total length of 600 words.  The arrangement within the
reading section is as follows:

Q 1&2:  Five Multiple Choice Questions on each passage carrying 5 marks 1 mark for each questions.

Q 3: Five Supply Type Questions carrying 5 marks on each passage.
Out of the 15 marks, 3 marks will be for vocabulary.  The questions will test inference, evaluation and analysis.  The passages may be extracts from poetry/ factual/ literary/ discursive texts.
At least one passage will be an extract from a poem.

SECTION B: WRITING 15 Marks
40 periods

Q 4 Letter Writing: One out of two letters (formal/informal/email) in not more than 120-150 words based on verbal stimulus and context provided.
Types of letter:
• Informal - personal, such as to family and friends etc.
• Formal - letters to the principal of a school or to the editor of a Newspaper or a Magazine etc
• Email - formal or informal 6 Marks

Q 5 Writing an article, speech or debate based on a visual or verbal stimulus in not more than 120 words (One
out of two). 6 Marks

Q 6 Writing a short composition in the form of story or report for a school magazine of minimum 80 words (One out of two). 3 Marks106

SECTION C: GRAMMAR 15 Marks
45 Periods

Q. 7. Gap filling

Q. 8. Sentence completion
Questions 9, 10 and 11(carrying 3 marks each ie total 9 marks) will be based on response supplied by students.  (Supply Type Questions) These test types which will not be tested as MCQs include

Q. 9. Sentence reordering

Q. 10. Editing / Omission

Q. 11 Sentence transformation (including combining sentences)
The Grammar syllabus will include the following areas in class IX:

1. Tenses

2. Modals (have to/had to, must, should, need, ought to and their negative forms)

3. Use of passive voice

4. Subject - verb concord

5. Reporting
(i). Commands and requests
(ii). Statements
(iii). Questions

6. Clauses:
(i) Noun clauses
(ii) Adverb clauses of condition and time
(iii) Relative clauses

7. Determiners, and

8. Prepositions

Note: No separate marks are allotted for any of the grammar items listed above.107
SECTION D: TEXT BOOKS 25  Marks
95 periods
First Flight and Footprints without Feet (NCERT)

Q12 and Q13 Two extracts for reference to context (based on prose or play). These extracts would require effort on the part of the students to supply the responses.
Up to one mark in each extract will be for vocabulary.  At least one question will be used for testing local and global comprehension and one question will be on interpretation. The extracts will carry 3 marks each. 3+3=6 Marks

Q 14 One out of two reference to context stanzas (based on poetry) followed by three questions to test local and global comprehension of the set text. These extracts will carry 3 marks. 6 Marks

Q15. Five out of six short answer type questions based on First Flight and Footprints without Feet (three questions each)  to test local and global comprehension of theme and ideas - 2 marks each. 2 x 5 = 10 Marks

Q16. One out of two long answer type questions extrapolative in nature from First Flight and Footprints without Feet  (Upto 80 words). 6 Marks NOTE: Teachers are advised to:

i. encourage classroom interaction among peers, students and teachers through activities such as role play,
group work etc,
ii. reduce teacher-talking time and keep it to the minimum,
iii. take up questions for discussion to encourage pupils to participate and to marshal their ideas and express and defend their views, and

iv. use the scale of assessment for conversation skills to test the students for continuous assessment.
Besides measuring attainment, texts serve the dual purpose of diagnosing mistakes and areas of non-learning. To make evaluation a true index of learners' attainment, each language skill is to be assessed through a judicious mixture of different types of questions.  In addition to the summative tests, formative assessment is essential to measure the level of attainment in the four language skills and the learners' communicative competence.  Formative assessment should be done through 'in class' activities throughout the year. Novel/Long Reading Text 5+5=10 Marks

Q 17 Types of Questions:
Global question on theme, plot involving interpretation and inference 5 Marks

Q 18 One out of two character sketches in 100 words       5Marks