CTET Paper 2 Syllabus: Full Topic List and Exam Pattern

CTET exam pattern for paper 2

Paper 2 is a single objective test. The CDP section is fixed for everyone, the two language sections are picked by you from the languages CBSE offers, and the last part is the subject block that matches what you will teach. Language II must be different from Language I.

In recent sessions candidates have filled bubbles on an OMR sheet with a pen, with paper 2 in the morning shift. Teachers of other subjects can choose either the maths and science block or the social studies block.

How the questions split inside each section

Every section mixes subject knowledge with questions on how to teach it. Knowing this split tells you how much time to give to pedagogy, which many candidates underrate.

The content questions sit at the upper primary level, though CBSE notes that the depth may go as far as the senior secondary stage, so do not stop at the middle school textbook alone.

Child Development and Pedagogy syllabus

This section is about the adolescent learner in classes 6 to 8, not a small child, so read every theory with a 12 or 13 year old in mind.

• Child development: what development means and how it links with learning, the pull of heredity versus surroundings, how school and peers socialise a child, what Piaget, Vygotsky and Kohlberg said about growth, with critical views, progressive and child-centred teaching, the many-sided view of intelligence, how thinking and language grow together, gender roles and bias, differences among learners, and the two faces of evaluation, one that guides learning and one that measures it at the end.
• Inclusive education: meeting the needs of children from deprived homes, of learners who struggle or live with an impairment, and of gifted and creative students in the same room.
• Learning and pedagogy: the ways young people think, the reasons behind poor school performance, children as problem solvers and little scientists, treating mistakes as a window into thinking, the link between feeling and learning, and what keeps a learner motivated.

CTET paper 2 English and Hindi language syllabus

Most candidates take Hindi and English as their two languages, but the bulletin lists many more. The structure is the same whichever you pick.

Language I

• Two unseen passages: one prose or drama passage and one poem, with questions on comprehension, inference, grammar and verbal ability.
• Pedagogy of language development: how a language is picked up and learnt, sound principles for teaching it, why talk and listening matter, how much grammar a teacher should stress, handling many home languages in one class, testing reading, writing, speaking and listening, choosing textbooks and other resources, and helping weak readers.

Language II

• Two unseen prose passages (discursive, literary, narrative or scientific) with questions on comprehension, grammar and verbal ability.
• The same pedagogy areas as Language I.

The CTET English syllabus for paper 2 has no fixed grammar list. Tenses, voice, narration, parts of speech and vocabulary all appear through the passages, so read them closely.

Mathematics and Science syllabus

Mathematics (30 questions)

• Content: number system (knowing our numbers, playing with numbers, whole numbers, negative numbers and integers, fractions), algebra (introduction, ratio and proportion), geometry (basic shapes, 2D and 3D, symmetry, constructions), mensuration, and data handling.
• Pedagogy: why maths builds logical thinking, where it sits in the school plan, maths as a language with its own symbols, maths found in the community, testing, remedial help and the usual hurdles a maths teacher faces.

Science (30 questions)

• Content: food and its sources and nutrients, everyday materials, plants and animals, motion with people and ideas behind it, electricity, circuits and magnets, phenomena such as light and sound, and resources from nature.
• Pedagogy: nature and structure of science, natural science aims, understanding science, the integrated approach, observation and experiment, innovation, text material and aids, evaluation, and remedial teaching.

Social Studies syllabus

• 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, the 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 to 1858, women and reform, challenging the caste system, the nationalist movement and India after independence.
• Geography: geography as a social study and as a science, the planet earth in the solar system, the globe, environment in its totality, air, water, human environment (settlement, transport and communication), resources and agriculture.
• Social and Political Life: living with diversity, how local, state and central governments work, earning a livelihood, democracy, the media, gender, the Constitution and Parliament, courts, and justice for marginalised groups.
• Pedagogy: concept and nature of social science, classroom processes and activities, critical thinking, enquiry and empirical evidence, problems of teaching, sources (primary and secondary), project work and evaluation.

A 12 week plan built around the weightage

Since pedagogy carries close to half the marks in the languages and a third in your subject block, plan it as a daily habit, not a last fortnight job.

1. Weeks 1 to 3: the class 6 to 8 NCERT books of your subject block, one chapter a day, with short notes of formulas, dates and terms.
2. Weeks 4 to 6: the CDP topics from the official syllabus, linking each theorist to one classroom example.
3. Weeks 7 and 8: language pedagogy for both languages, plus two unseen passages a day.
4. Weeks 9 to 12: full timed papers twice a week from the CTET paper 2 previous papers, and revision of every wrong answer.

CTET paper 2 syllabus in Hindi

जो उम्मीदवार छठी से आठवीं कक्षा को पढ़ाना चाहते हैं, उन्हें सीटीईटी पेपर 2 देना होता है। इसमें कुल 150 बहुविकल्पीय प्रश्न होते हैं, हर प्रश्न 1 अंक का है और समय ढाई घंटे है। गलत जवाब का कोई नुकसान नहीं है। बाल विकास और शिक्षाशास्त्र से 30 प्रश्न, भाषा 1 से 30 प्रश्न और भाषा 2 से 30 प्रश्न आते हैं। इसके बाद गणित और विज्ञान से 60 प्रश्न अथवा सामाजिक अध्ययन से 60 प्रश्न पूछे जाते हैं। हर विषय में लगभग एक तिहाई या आधे प्रश्न शिक्षण विधि पर होते हैं, इसलिए पेडागॉजी को रोज़ पढ़ें। कक्षा 6 से 8 की एनसीईआरटी किताबें मुख्य आधार हैं।

Books and official material

For the syllabus of CTET paper 2, start with the bulletin CBSE posts on ctet.nic.in, since it carries the official syllabus for every section. For content, the NCERT textbooks of classes 6 to 8 cover nearly everything, and the class 9 and 10 books help with harder science and maths items. For pedagogy, read the NCERT position papers on teaching of your subject and any standard teacher education text you used in B.Ed or D.El.Ed. For a wider view of the test, see the CTET syllabus overview and the CTET eligibility rules.