1st class syllabus: what your child learns in English, Hindi and maths

How class 1 fits into the foundational stage

Under the new school structure, the foundational stage covers ages three to eight: three years of pre school followed by class 1 and class 2. The aim for these five years is strong reading, early writing and basic number sense, built through stories, rhymes, games and objects children can touch.

That is why the class 1st syllabus looks light on paper. A child is not expected to memorise answers. They are expected to listen, speak in full sentences, recognise letters and sounds, read short words, count objects, compare sizes and spot simple patterns.

1st class English syllabus: the Mridang units

Mridang is organised into four themed units. Each unit mixes a poem or rhyme with a short story and picture talk.

The class 1st English syllabus is less about grammar rules and more about skills:

• Naming body parts, family members, animals, birds, fruits and vegetables
• Letter recognition with the sound each letter makes
• Reading two and three letter words and common sight words like the, is, a, my
• Reciting rhymes with actions and retelling a story from pictures
• Greeting people politely and following one or two step instructions

1st class Hindi syllabus: Sarangi lessons

Sarangi has 19 short lessons in the current edition, a blend of family stories, festival pieces and nature poems. A few titles give the flavour: मीना का परिवार, दादा दादी, मिठाई, भुट्टे, मेला, होली, हवा and चाँद का बच्चा.

Through these lessons children work on:

• Recognising swar and vyanjan, then joining them into simple words
• Matras introduced gradually, starting with the aa and i sounds
• Listening to a story and answering who, what and where questions
• Reciting a poem with expression and naming things in a picture
• Writing their own name and a few familiar words

Schools where Hindi is the second language may move slower in class 1 and focus on listening and speaking first.

Maths: the 13 chapters of Joyful Mathematics

Every chapter starts from a story or a scene, so the child meets numbers inside a situation before seeing a sum.

A typical term split for the 1st class syllabus

Many schools divide the year into two terms. One common plan, used for example in Delhi government schools, finishes maths chapters 1 to 6 before the mid term and chapters 7 to 13 before the annual assessment. English often follows the same idea, with units 1 and 2 in the first term and units 3 and 4 in the second.

Private schools may reorder chapters or add their own reader and cursive writing book. Look at the school diary or the session plan shared at the parent teacher meeting for your school's exact split.

Is there anything beyond these three books?

Environmental studies is not a separate NCERT book in class 1. Ideas about family, food, plants, animals and seasons are carried inside the English, Hindi and maths lessons. The first separate book on the world around us, Our Wondrous World, starts in class 3.

Schools also give regular time to art, music, free play, physical activity and storytelling. These do not have a fixed chapter list, but they are part of the 1st standard syllabus as the framework sees it, because fine motor skills and confidence matter as much as letters at this age.

Helping your child at home

• Read aloud daily: five to ten minutes from the English or Hindi book, letting your child point at pictures and guess what comes next.
• Count real things: spoons, steps, coins. Use the Joyful Mathematics chapter of the week as your guide.
• Talk in both languages: ask about the day in Hindi or your home language and in English. Spoken vocabulary feeds reading later.
• Keep writing short: a few letters or a name traced neatly is enough. Pressure on handwriting at six often backfires.
• Skip extra guides: the NCERT books are designed to be enough at this level.

When your child moves up the classes, the syllabus gradually becomes more formal. See our school boards section for later classes, such as our pages on CBSE class 9 or the UP board course.