5.

SOCIAL SCIENCE
(CODE NO. 087)
Rationale
Social Science is a compulsory subject upto secondary stage of school education. It is an integral component
of general education because it helps the learners in understanding the environment in its totality and
developing a broader perspective and an empirical, reasonable and humane outlook. This is of crucial
importance because it helps them grow into well-informed and responsible citizens with necessary attributes
and skills for being able to participate and contribute effectively in the process of development and nationbuilding.
The Social Science curriculum draws its content mainly from Geography, History, Political Science and
Economics. Some elements of Sociology and Commerce are also included. Together they provide a
comprehensive view of society-over space and time, and in relation to each other. Each subjects distinct
methods of enquiry help the learners to understand society from different angles and form a holistic view.

Objectives
The main objectives of this syllabus are:
N

to develop an understanding of the processes of change and development-both in terms of time and
space, through which human societies have evolved.
to make learners realise that the process of change is continuous and any event or phenomenon or issue
cannot be viewed in isolation but in a wider context of time and space.
to develop an understanding of contemporary India with its historical perspective, of the basic
framework of the goals and policies of national development in independent India, and of the process of
change with appropriate connections to world development.
to deepen knowledge about and understanding of Indias freedom struggle and of the values and ideals
that it represented, and to develop an appreciation of the contributions made by people of all sections
and regions of the country.
to help learners understand and cherish the values enshrined in the Indian Constitution and to prepare
them for their roles and responsibilities as effective citizens of a democratic society.
to deepen the knowledge and understanding of Indias environment in its totality, their interactive
processes and effects on the future quality of people's lives.
to facilitate the learners to understand and appreciate the diversity in the land and people of the
country with its underlying unity.
to develop an appreciation of the richness and variety of Indias heritage-both natural and cultural and
the need for its preservation.
to promote an understanding of the issues and challenges of contemporary India-environmental,
economic and social, as part of the development process.
to help pupils acquire knowledge, skills and understanding to face the challenges of contemporary
society as individuals and groups and learn the art of living a confident and stress-free life as well as
participating effectively in the community.
to develop scientific temper by promoting the spirit of enquiry and following a rational and objective
approach in analysing and evaluating data and information as well as views and interpretations.

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to develop academic and social skills such as critical thinking, communicating effectively both in visual
and verbal forms- cooperating with others, taking initiatives and providing leadership in solving others'
problems.

to develop qualities clustered around the personal, social, moral, national and spiritual values that make
a person humane and socially effective.

COURSE STRUCTURE
CLASS IX
Time: 3 Hrs.

Marks: 90

No.

Units

Term I

Term II

India and the Contemporary World - I

23

23

II

Contemporary India - I

23

23

III

Democratic Politics - I

22

22

IV

Economics

22

12+10(OTBA)

Disaster Management (Through Project & Assignments)

90

90

Total

The Formative Assessment will comprise of projects, assignments, activities and class tests/periodic tests for
which Board has already issued guidelines to the schools. The Summative Assessment will comprise of Theory
paper as per the prescribed design of the Question Paper.
Note: The text of OTBA for SA-II will be from Unit-IV; Economics (Chapter-4: Food Security in India) for
2015-2016.

Unit 1: India and the Contemporary World - I

40 Periods

Themes

Objectives

Term I

Two themes from the first sub-unit and one each

from the second and third sub-units could be
studied.
Sub-unit 1.1 : Events and processes:
In this unit the focus is on three events and
processes that have in major ways shaped the
identity of the modern world. Each represents a
different form of politics, and a specific
combination of forces. One event is linked to the
growth of liberalism and democracy, one with
socialism, and one with a negation of both
democracy and socialism.
Two themes of the following:
I.

The French Revolution:

(a)The Ancient Regime and its crises. (b) The

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In each of the themes in this unit students

would be made familiar with extracts of
speeches, political declarations, as well as the
politics of caricatures, posters and engravings.
Students would learn how to interpret these
kinds of historical evidences.
Familiarize students with the names of people
involved, the different types of ideas that
inspired the revolution, the wider forces that
shaped it.
Show how written, oral and visual material can
be used to recover the history of revolutions.
Explore the history of socialism through a study
of the Russian revolution.

social forces that led to the revolution. (c) The

different revolutionary groups and ideas of the
time. (d) The legacy. (Compulsory Chapter-1)

any one

II.

III.

Socialism in
Revolution:

Europe

and

the

Russian

(a)The crises of Tzarism. (b) The nature of

social movements between 1905 and 1917. (c)
The First World War and foundation of Soviet
state. (d) The legacy.
(Chapter 2)

Familiarize students with the names of people

involved, the different types of ideas that
inspired the revolution.
Discuss the critical significance of Nazism in
shaping the politics of modern world.
Familiarize students with the speeches and
writings of Nazi leaders.

Nazism and the Rise of Hitler:

(a)The growth of social democracy (b) The
crises in Germany. (b) The basis of Hitler's rise
to power. (c) The ideology of Nazism. (d) The
impact of Nazism.
(Chapter 3)

Map Work - Theme one only

(3 marks)

Term II
Sub-unit 1.2:
Societies:

Livelihoods,

Economies

and

The themes in this section will focus on how

different social groups grapple with the changes in
the contemporary world and how these changes
affect their lives.

Any one theme of the following:

IV.

Forest Society and Colonialism:

between
forests
and
(a)Relationship
livelihoods. (b) Changes in forest societies
under colonialism.
Case studies : Focus on two forest movements
one in colonial India (Bastar) and one in
Indonesia.
(Chapter 4)

V.

Pastoralists in the Modern World:

Discuss the social and cultural world of forest

communities through the study of specific
revolts.
Understand how oral traditions can be used to
explore tribal revolts.
Point to the varying patterns of developments
within pastoral societies in different places.
Look at the impact of colonialism on forest
societies, and the implication of scientific
forestry.
Show the different processes through which
agrarian transformation may occur in the
modern world.

(a)Pastoralism as a way of life. (b) Different

forms of pastoralism. (c) What happens to
pastoralism under colonialism and modern
states?
Case studies: Focus on two pastoral groups,
one from Africa and one from India. (Chapter 5)
VI.

Peasants and Farmers:

(a) Histories of the emergence of different
forms of farming and peasant societies.
(b) Changes within rural economies in the
modern world.

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Consider what happens to pastoralists and

pastoralism in the modern world, with the
formation of modern states, marking of
boundaries, processes of sedentarization,
contraction of pastures, and expansion of
markets.

Case studies: focus on contrasting forms of

rural change and different forms of rural
societies (expansion of large-scale wheat and
cotton farming in USA, rural economy and the
Agricultural Revolution in England, and small
peasant production in colonial India) (Chapter 6)

Understand how agricultural systems in India

are different from that in other countries.
Familiarize students with the idea that large
scale farming, small scale production, shifting
agriculture operate on different principles and
have different histories.

Map Work Based on theme 4/5/6. (Internal choice

will be provided)
(3 marks)
Term II
Sub-unit 1.3: Everyday Life, Culture and Politices:
The themes in this unit will consider how issues of
culture are linked up to the making of contemporary
world.
Any one of the following:
VII. History and Sport: The Story of Cricket:
(a) The emergence of cricket as an English
sport. (b) Cricket and colonialism. (c) Cricket
nationalism and de-colonialization. (Chapter 7)
VIII. Clothing: A Social History:
(a) A short history of changes in clothing. (b)
Debates over clothing in colonial India. (c)
Swadeshi and the movement for Khadi.
(Chapter 8)

Suggest how sports also have a history and that

it is linked up with the politics of power and
domination.
Introduce students to some of the stories in
cricket that have historical significance.
Show how clothing has a history, and how it is
linked to questions of cultural identity.
Discuss how clothing has been the focus of
intense social battles.

Unit 2: Contermporary India - I

Themes

Objectives

Term I

1&2.India - Size and Location & Physical Features

of India: relief, structure, major physiographic
units.
(Chapter 1&2)
3. Drainage: Major rivers and tributaries, lakes and
seas, role of rivers in the economy, pollution of
rivers, measures to control river pollution.
(Chapter 3)
Map Work

(3 marks)

Term II
4. Climate:

Factors

influencing

the

climate;

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To understand the major landform features and

the underlying geological structure; their
association with various rocks and minerals as
well as nature of soil types.
To identify the various factors influencing the
climate and explain the climatic variaton of our
country and its impact on the life of the people.
To understand the river systems of the country
and explain the role of rivers in the evolution of
human society.

monsoon- its characteristics, rainfall and

temperature distribution; seasons; climate and
human life.
(Chapter 4)
5. Natural Vegetation and Wild Life: Vegetation
types, distribution as well as altitudinal
variation, need for conservation and various
measures. Major species, their distribution,
need for conservation and various measures.
6. Population:
Size,
distribution,
a-ge-sex
composition, population change-migration as a
determinant of population change, literacy,
health, occupational structure and national
population policy : adolescents as under-served
population group with special needs. (Chapter 6)
Map Work

(3 marks)

To explain the importance and unifying role of

monsoons.
To find out the nature of diverse flora and fauna
as well as their distribution.
To develop concern about the need to protect
the bio-diversity of our country.
To analyse the uneven nature of population
distribution and show concern about the large
size of our population;
To understand the various occupations of people
and explain various factors of population change;
To explain various dimension of national policy
and understand the needs of adolescents as
under served group.

Project/Activity: Learners may identify songs, dances, festivals and special food preparations associated
with certain seasons in their particular region, and whether they have some commonality with other regions
of India.
Collection of material by learners on the flora and fauna of the region in which their school is situated. It
should include a list of endangered species of the region and also information regarding efforts being made
to save them.
Posters:
River pollution
Depletion of forests and ecological imbalance.

Unit 3: Democratic Politics - I

40 Periods

Themes

Objectives

Term I

1&2.Democracy in the Contemporary World &

What is Democracy? Why Democracy?:
What are the different ways of defining
democracy? Why has democracy become the
most prevalent form of government in our
times? What are the alternatives to democracy?
Is democracy superior to its available
alternatives? Must every democracy have the
same institutions and values? (Chapter 1&2)
(Part 1.3 and 1.4 (pages 10-18 of prescribed
NCERT Textbook) will be assessed through
formative assessment only)
3.

Constitutional Design:
How and why did India become a democracy?

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Develop conceptual skills of defining democracy

Understand how different historical processes
and forces have promoted democracy.
Developing a sophisticated defence
democracy against common prejudices

of

Develop a historical sense of the choice and

nature of democracy in India.
Introduction to the process of Constitution
making
Develop respect for the Constitution and
appreciation for Constitutional values
Recognise that constitution is a living document
that undergoes changes.
Introduce the idea of representative democracy

How was the Indian constitution framed? What

are the salient features of the Constitution?
How is democracy being constantly designed
and redesigned in India?
(Chapter 3)

via competitive party politics

N

Term II
4.

Electoral Politics:

Familiarise with our electoral system and

reasons for choosing this
Develop an appreciation of citizens increased
participation in electoral politics
Recognise the
Commission

significane

of

the

Election

Why and how do we elect representatives? Why

do we have a system of competition among
political parties? How has the citizens
participation in electoral politics changed?
What are the ways to ensure free and fair
elections?
(Chapter 4)
5.

Working of Institutions:
How is the country governed? What does
Parliament do in our democracy? What is the
role of the President of India, the Prime
Minister and the Council of Ministers? How do
these relate to one another?
(Chapter 5)

6.

Democratic Rights
Why do we need rights in a constitution? What
are the Fundamental Rights enjoyed by the
citizen under the Indian constitution? How does
the judiciary protect the Fundamental Rights of
the citizen? How is the independence of the
judiciary ensured?
(Chapter 6)

N
N

Provide an overview of central governmental

structures
Sensitise to the key role of the Parliament and
its procedures
Distinguish between nominal and real executive
authorities and functions
Understand the parliamentary system
executives accountability to the legislature

of

Develop citizens awareness of their rights

Introduction to and
Fundamental Rights

appreciation

of

the

Recognition of the ways in which these rights

are exercised and denied in real life situations.
Introduction to judicial system and key
institutions like the Supreme Court, High Courts
and National Human Rights Commission.

Unit 4: Economics

40 Periods
Themes

Objectives

Term I
1. The Story of Village Palampur: Economic
transactions of Palampore and its interaction
with the rest of the world through which the
concept of production (including three factors
of production (land, labour and capital) can be
introduced.
(Chapter 1)

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Familiarising the children with some basic

economic concepts through an imaginary story of
a village.

2. People as Resource: Introduction of how people

become resource / asset; economic activities
done by men and women; unpaid work done by
women; quality of human resource; role of
health and education; unemployment as a form
of nonutilisation of human resource; sociopolitical implication in simple form. (Chapter 2)

Familiarisation of a few population related

concepts and sensitization of child that people
as asset can participate and contribute in nation
building.

Term II
3. Poverty as a Challenge: Who is poor (through
two case studies: one rural, one urban);
indicators; absolute poverty (not as a concept
but through a few simple examples) - why
people are poor ; unequal distribution of
resources; comparison between countries; steps
taken by government for poverty alleviation.
Chapter 3)
4. Food Security in India: Source of Foodgrains,
variety across the nation, famines in the past,
the need for self sufficiency, role of government
in food security, procurement of foodgrains,
overflowing of granaries and people without
food, public distribution system, role of
cooperatives in food security (foodgrains, milk
and vegetables ration shops, cooperative shops,
two-three examples as case studies) (Chapter 4)

Understanding of poverty as a challenge and

sensitization of the learner;
Appreciation of the government initiative to
alleviate poverty;

Exposing the child to an economic issue which is

basic necessities of life;
Appreciate and critically look at the role of
government in ensuring food supply.

Suggested Activities / Instructions:

Theme I: Give more examples of activities done by different workers and farmers.
Numerical problems can also be included.
Some of the ways through which description of villages are available in the writings of Prem Chand, MN
Srinivas and RK Narayan. They may have to be referred.
Theme II: Discuss the impact of unemployment.
Debate on whether all the activities done by women should be included or not.
Is begging an economic activity? Discuss.
Is it necessary to reduce population growth or family size? Discuss.
Theme IV: Visit a few farms in a village and collect the details of foodgrains cultivated.
Visit a nearby ration shop and collect the details of goods available.
Visit a regulated market yard and observe how goods are transacted and get the details of the places where
the goods come and go.

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Unit 5: Disaster Management

25 Periods
Themes

Term I
1. Introduction to Disaster Management

(Chapter 1)

2. Common Hazards - Prevention and Mitigation

(Chapter 2)

Term II
3. Man made disasters - Nuclear, Biological and Chemical.

(Chapter 3)

4. Community Based Disaster Management

(Chapter 4)

Note: Projects, activities and other exercises in Unit 5 should encourage students to place 'disasters' and
"disaster management" in:
(i) The wider context of Social Science knowledge as covered through History, Geography, Political Science
and Economics textbooks of class IX/X.
(ii) Other problems faced by our country and the world from time to time.
PRESCRIBED BOOKS:
1.

India and the Contemporary World - I History - Published by NCERT

2.

Contemporary India - I Geography - Published by NCERT

3.

Democratic Politics - I Published by NCERT

4.

Economics - Published by NCERT

5.

Together, Towards a Safer India - Part II, a textbook on Disaster Management for Class IX - Published by
CBSE

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QUESTION PAPER DESIGN FOR SOCIAL SCIENCE (CODE NO. 087)

Class-IX (2015-16)
Time: 3 Hours
S.
No.

Max. Marks: 90
Typology of Questions

Very
Short
Answer
(VSA)
1 Mark

Short
Answer
(SA)
3 Marks

Long
Answer
(LA)
(5 Marks)

Total
Marks

%
Weightage

Remembering (Knowledge based simple

recall questions, to now specific facts,
terms, concepts, principles, or theories,
Identify, define or recite, information)

18

20%

Understanding (Comprehension - to be
familiar with meaning and to understand
conceptually, interpret, compare,
contrast, explain, paraphrase, or
interpret information)

15

17%

Application (Use abstract information in

concrete situation, to apply knowledge to
new situations, use given content to
interpret a situation, provide an
example, or solve a problem)

24

26%

High Order Thinking Skills (Analysis &

Synthesis - Classify, compare, contrast,
or differentiate between different pieces
of information, Organize and/or integrate
unique pieces of information from a
variety of sources)

18

20%

Creating, Evaluation and Multi-Creating

Evaluation and Multi-Disciplinary
(Generating new ideas, product or ways
of viewing things Appraise, judge, and/or
justify the value or worth of a decision or
outcome, or to predict outcomes based
on values)

3*

10%

Map

7%

8x1=8

14x3=42

8x5=40

90

100%

Total

Note: The question paper will include a section on Open Text based assessment (questions of 10 marks). The case
studies will be supplied to students in advance. These case studies are designed to test the analytical and higher
order thinking skills of students.
*One question of 3 marks will be included to assess the values inherent in the texts.

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