Teaching Social Science in Schools - Arvind Gupta

109 Pages·2012·3.98 MB·English

Teaching Social Science in Schools
Teaching Social Science in Schools (cid:122) ii
Teaching Social Science in Schools
NCERT’s New Textbook Initiative
ALEX M. GEORGE
AMMAN MADAN
Copyright © Alex M. George and Amman Madan, 2009
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic
or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage or retrieval system, without
permission in writing from the publisher.
First published in 2009 by
SAGE Publications India Pvt Ltd
B 1/I-1 Mohan Cooperative Industrial Area
Mathura Road, New Delhi 110 044, India
www.sagepub.in
SAGE Publications Inc
2455 Teller Road
Thousand Oaks,
California 91320, USA
SAGE Publications Ltd
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London EC1Y 1SP, United Kingdom
SAGE Publications Asia-Pacifi c Pte Ltd
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#02-01 Far East Square
Singapore 048763
Published by Vivek Mehra for SAGE Publications India Pvt Ltd, typeset in 10/12.5 pt Palatino by Star
Compugraphics Private Limited, Delhi and printed at Chaman Enterprises, New Delhi.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
George, Alex M., 1972–
Teaching social science in schools: NCERT’s new textbook initiative/Alex M. George, Amman Madan.
p. cm.
1. Social sciences—Study and teaching (Secondary)—India. I. Madan, Amman, 1966– II. Title.
H62.5.I5G46 300.71'254—dc22 2009 2008048388
ISBN: 978-81-7829-904-4 (PB)
The SAGE Team: Ashok R. Chandran, Sushmita Banerjee, Amrita Saha and Trinankur Banerjee
To all the teachers who rose above bad textbooks,
poor facilities and oppressive school organizations,
and made a difference in the lives of young people.
May your tribe increase!
Teaching Social Science in Schools (cid:122) vi
CONTENTS
List of Extracts from School Textbooks ix
Preface xi
Acknowledgements xv
Chapter 1 Parents 1
Chapter 2 Teachers 31
Chapter 3 Students 59
Chapter 4 Educationists 65
About the Authors 92
Teaching Social Science in Schools (cid:122) viii
LIST OF EXTRACTS FROM
SCHOOL TEXTBOOKS
1.1 Learning to Think 2
1.2 Broadening their Vision 2
1.3 Learning about the Real World 5
1.4 Eklavya Used Pictures to Teach 9
1.5 Local Contexts: Everyday Work in Kashmir 10
1.6 Local Contexts: The Proud Produce of Kashmir 11
1.7 E-mail from a Teacher 14
1.8 Discuss with Your Child 16
1.9 Questions that Connect to Reality 16
1.10 Learning to See Deeper Truths 19
1.11 Beyond Textbooks 22
1.12 The World Upside Down? 27
1.13 Or, Is this the World Upside Down? 28
2.1 Pictures to Ponder About 38
2.2 Depicting Concepts 39
2.3 Pictures to make you Wonder 40
2.4 Connecting Textbooks with Life 41
2.5 Making Sense of a Complex World 41
2.6 Framing the Noteworthy: Using Boxes 42
2.7 Highlighting Key Ideas 43
2.8 Practising and Consolidating the Grasp
of a Basic Concept 46
2.9 Unforgettable Lessons 51
2.10 Doable Activities 53
ix (cid:122) Teachers