CBSE Class 9 English Language and Literature Syllabus 2026–27 – Updated Curriculum

ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

Code No. 184

(2022-23)

1. Background

At the secondary stage of English language learning the textual materials and other resources should represent a wide range of learning experience. Literature has always played a significant role in learning language. However it is felt that pupils should be apprised with contemporary issues, read authentic literature and experiences of people to reflect and build their personality traits.

While there is a trend for inclusion of a wider range of contemporary and authentic texts, accessible and culturally appropriate pieces of literature should play a pivotal role at the secondary stage of education. The English class is meant for reading literature from different perspectives and to engage in activities for developing communicative competence, creativity and enrichment of language skills It should not be seen as a place merely to read poems and stories in, but an area of activities to develop the learner’s imagination as a major aim of language study, and to equip the learner with communicative skills to perform various language functions through speech and writing.

2. Objectives:

Objectives of the course are to enable learners to:

• build greater confidence and proficiency in oral and written communication
• develop the ability and knowledge required in order to engage in independent reflection and inquiry
• make appropriate usage of English language
• to communicate in various social settings
• equip learners with essential language skills to question and to articulate their point of view
• build competence in the different aspects of the Language
• develop sensitivity to, and appreciation of world literature representing varieties of English and cultures embedded in lt.
• enable the learner to access knowledge and information through reference skills (consulting a dictionary / thesaurus, library, internet, )
• develop curiosity and creativity through extensive reading
• facilitate self-learning to enable them to become independent learners
• review, organise and edit their own work and work done by peers
• integrate listening and speaking skills in the
• give a brief oral description of events / incidents of topical interest
• retell the contents of authentic audio texts (weather reports, public announcements, simple advertisements, short interviews, )
• participate in conversations, discussions, , on topics of mutual interest in non-classroom

situations

• narrate a story which has been depicted pictorially or in any other non-verbal mode
• respond, in writing, to business letters, official communications email
• read and identify the main points / significant details of texts like scripts of audio-video interviews, discussions, debates,
• write without prior preparation on a given topic and be able to defend or explain the stand taken / views expressed in the form of article, speech, or a debate
• write a summary of short lectures on familiar topics by making / taking notes
• write an assessment of different points of views expressed in a discussion / debate
• read poems effectively (with proper rhythm and intonation)
• transcode information from a graph / chart to a description / report and write a dialogue, short story or report
• Develop appreciation for Indian languages(multilingualism), translations and Indian

3. Language Items

In addition to consolidating the grammatical items practised earlier, the courses at thesecondary level seek to reinforce the following explicitly:

• sequence of tenses
• reported speech in extended texts
• modal auxiliaries (those not covered at upper primary)
• non-finites (infinitives, gerunds, participles)
• conditional clauses
• complex and compound sentences
• phrasal verbs and prepositional phrases
• cohesive devices
• punctuation (semicolon, colon, dash, hyphen, parenthesis or use of brackets and exclamation mark)

4. Methods and Techniques

The methodology is based on a multi-skill, activity-based, learner-centered approach. Care istaken to fulfill the functional (communicative), literary (aesthetic) and cultural (sociological) needs of the learner. In this situation, the teacher is the facilitator of learning, She/hepresents language items, create situations which motivates the child to use English for thepurposes of communication and expression. Aural-oral teaching and testing is an integral feature of the teaching-learning process. The electronic and print media could be used extensively. A few suggested activities are:

• Role play
• Simulating real life situations
• Dramatising and miming
• Problem solving and decision making
• Interpreting information given in tabular form and schedule
• Using newspaper clippings as a resource for comprehending and analysing
• Borrowing situations and registers from the world around the learners, from books and from otherdisciplines
• Using language games, riddles, puzzles and jokes
• Interpreting pictures / sketches / cartoons
• Debating and discussing
• Narrating and discussing stories, anecdotes,
• Reciting poems
• Working in pairs and groups
• Using media inputs – computer, television, video cassettes, tapes, software packages

ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE (Code No. 184) SYLLABUS CLASS – IX (2022-23)

Section A Reading Skills

Reading Comprehension through Unseen Passage 20 Marks

1. Discursive passage of 400-450 (10 marks)
2. Case-based passage (with visual input- statistical data, chart ) of 200-250 words.

(10 marks)

(Total length of two passages to be 600-700 words)

Multiple Choice Questions / Objective Type Questions will be asked to assess inference, analysis, interpretation, evaluation and vocabulary.

Section B

III Grammar 10 Marks

• Tenses
• Modals
• Subject – verb concord
• Reported speech
  • Commands and requests
  • Statements
  • Questions
  • Determiners

The courses at the secondary level seek to cement high professional grasp of grammatical items and levels of accuracy. Accurate use of spelling, punctuation and grammar will be assessed through Gap Filling/ Editing/Transformation exercises. Ten out of 12 questions will be attempted.

IV Creative Writing Skills 10 marks

This section will have short as well as long writing tasks including compositions.

1. Writing a Descriptive Paragraph (word limit 100-120 words) on a person/event/situation based on visual or verbal cue/s. One out of two questions is to be answered. 5 marks
2. Writing a Diary Entry/ Story on a given title in 100-120 words. One out of two questions is to be answered. 5 marks

Section C

1. Reference to the Context 40 Marks
2. One extract out of two from Drama /
3. One extract out of two from (5+5 = 10 Marks)

Multiple Choice Questions / Objective Type Questions will be asked to assess inference, analysis, interpretation, evaluation and vocabulary.

1. Short & Long Answer Questions

1. Four out of Five Short Answer Type Questions to be answered in 40-50 words from the book 4×3=12 marks
2. Two out of Three Short Answer Type Questions to be answered in 40-50 words from the book 3×2=6 marks

• One out of two Long Answer Type Questions from BEEHIVE to be answered in about 100-120 words to assess creativity, imagination and extrapolation beyond the text and across the texts. This can also be a passage-based question taken from a situation/plot from the 6 marks

1. One out of two Long Answer Type Questions from MOMENTS on theme or plot involving interpretation, extrapolation beyond the text and inference or character sketch to be answered in about 100-120 6 marks

Prescribed Books: Published by NCERT, New Delhi Beehive

Prose

1. The Fun They Had
2. The Sound of Music
3. The Little Girl
4. A Truly Beautiful Mind
5. The Snake and the Mirror
6. My Childhood
7. Reach For The Top
8. Kathmandu
9. If I were You

Poems-

1. The Road Not taken
2. Wind
3. Rain on The Roof
4. The Lake Isle of Innisfree
5. A Legend of The Northland
6. No Men Are Foreign
7. On killing a tree
8. A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal

Moments

1. The Lost Child
2. The adventures of Toto
3. Iswaran the Storyteller
4. In the kingdom of fools
5. The Happy Prince
6. The Last Leaf
7. A House is not a Home
8. The Beggar

3. WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS – II (WORKBOOK FOR CLASS X) – Units 1 to 6 and Units 8, 10 & 11

• NOTE: Teachers are advised to:
• encourage classroom interaction among peers, students and teachers through activitiessuch as role play, group work
• reduce teacher-talk time and keep it to the minimum,
• take up questions for discussion to encourage pupils to participate and to marshal theirideas and express and defend their

Besides measuring learning outcome, texts serve the dual purpose of diagnosing mistakesand areas of non-learning. To make evaluation a true index of learners’ knowledge, each language skill is to be assessed through a judicious mixture of different types of questions.

Guidelines for the Assessment of Listening and Speaking Skills are given at Annexure I.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE (Code No. 184)

CLASS – IX (2022 – 23) Marks-80

For the details of Internal Assessment of 20 marks, please refer to the circular no.

Acad-11/2019, dated March 06, 2019.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE (Code No. 184)

CLASS – X (2022-23) SECTION – WISE WEIGHTAGE

Section A

Reading Skills

Reading Comprehension through Unseen Passage 20 Marks

1. Discursive passage of 400-450 (10 marks)
2. Case-based passage (with visual input- statistical data, chart ) of 200-250 words.

(10 marks)

(Total length of two passages to be 600-700 words)

Multiple Choice Questions / Objective Type Questions will be asked to assess inference, analysis, interpretation, evaluation and vocabulary.

The courses at the secondary level seek to cement high professional grasp of grammatical items and levels of accuracy. Accurate use of spelling, punctuation and grammar in context will be assessed through Gap Filling/ Editing/Transformation exercises. Ten out of 12 questions will have to be attempted.

IV Creative Writing Skills 10 marks

This section will have short as well as long writing tasks including compositions.

1. Formal Letter based on a given situation in 100-120 words. One out of two questions is to be answered. 5 marks
2. Writing an Analytical Paragraph (100-120 words) on a g i ven Map / Chart / Graph /

Cue/ s . One out of two questions is to be answered. 5 marks

Section C 40 Marks

1. Reference to the Context

1. One extract out of two from Drama /
2. One extract out of two from (5+5 = 10 Marks)

Multiple Choice Questions / Objective Type Questions will be asked to assess inference, analysis, interpretation, evaluation and vocabulary.

VI. Short & Very Long Answer Questions 30 Marks

1. Four out of Five Short Answer Type Questions to be answered in 40-50 words from the book FIRST FLIGHT 4×3=12 marks
2. Two out of Three Short Answer Type Questions to be answered in 40-50 words each from FOOTPRINTS WITHOUT 2×3=6 marks

• One out of two Long Answer Type Questions from FIRST FLIGHT to be answered in about 100-120 words each to assess creativity, imagination and extrapolation beyond the text and across the This can be a passage-based question taken from a situation/plot from the texts. 6 marks

1. One out of two Long Answer Type Questions from FOOTPRINTS WITHOUT FEET on theme or plot involving interpretation, extrapolation beyond the text and inference or character sketch to be answered in about 100-120 6 marks

Prescribed Books: Published by NCERT, New Delhi

First Flight Prose

1. A letter to God
2. Nelson Mandela – Long Walk to Freedom
3. Two Stories About Flying
4. From the Diary of Anne Frank
5. Glimpses of India
6. Mijbil the Otter
7. Madam Rides the Bus
8. The Sermon at Benares
9. The Proposal (Play)

Poems

1. Dust of Snow
2. Fire and Ice
3. A tiger in the Zoo
4. How to Tell Wild Animals
5. The Ball Poem
6. Amanda!
7. The Trees
8. Fog
9. The Tale of Custard the Dragon
10. For Anne Gregory

FOOTPRINTS WITHOUT FEET

1. A triumph of Surgery
2. The Thief’s Story
3. The Midnight Visitor
4. A Question of Trust
5. Footprints Without Feet
6. The making of a Scientist
7. The necklace
8. Bholi
9. The Book That Saved the Earth

3. WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS – II (WORKBOOK FOR CLASS X) – Units 1 to 4 and Units 7 to 11

Note: Teachers are advised to:

• encourage interaction among peers, students and teachers through activities such as roleplay, discussions, group work
• reduce teacher-talking time and keep it to the minimum,
• take up questions for discussion to encourage pupils to participate and to marshal theirideas and express and defend their views, and
• follow the Speaking and Listening activities given in the NCERT

Besides measuring learning outcome, texts serve the dual purpose of diagnosing mistakesand areas of non-learning. To make evaluation a true index of learners’ knowledge, each language skill is to be assessed through a judicious mixture of different types of questions.

Guidelines for the Assessment of Listening and Speaking Skills are given at Annexure I.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

Code no. (184)

CLASS – X (2022-23) Marks 80

For the details of Internal Assessment of 20 marks, please refer to the circular no.

Acad-11/2019, dated March 06, 2019.

Annexure I

Guidelines for Assessment of Listening and Speaking Skills (ALS)

ALS is a component of the Subject Enrichment Activity under Internal Assessment. ALS must be seen as an integrated component of all four language skills rather than a compartment of two. Suggested activities, therefore, take into consideration an integration of the four language skills but during assessment, emphasis will be given to speaking and listening, since reading and writing are already being assessed in the written exam.

Assessment of Listening and Speaking Skills: (5 Marks)

1. Activities:
   • Subject teachers must refer to books prescribed in the
   • In addition to the above, teachers may plan their own activities and create their own material for assessing the listening and speaking
2. Parameters for Assessment: The listening and speaking skills are to be assessed on the following parameters:

1. Interactive competence (Initiation & turn taking, relevance to the topic)
2. Fluency (cohesion, coherence and speed of delivery)
3. Pronunciation
4. Language (grammar and vocabulary)

A suggestive rubric is given below:

Interaction

Pronunciation

1.

• Contributions are mainly unrelated to those of other speakers
• Shows hardly any initiative in the development of conversation
• Very limited interaction
• Insufficient accuracy in pronunciation; many grammatical errors
• Communication is severely affected

2.

• Contributions are often unrelated to those of the other speaker
• Generally passive in the development of conversation
• Frequently unintelligible articulation
• Frequent phonological errors
• Major communication problems

3.

• Develops interaction adequately, makes however minimal effort to initiate conversation
• Needs constant prompting to take turns
• Largely correct pronunciation & clear articulation except occasional errors
• Some expressions cause stress without compromising with understanding of spoken

4.

• Interaction is adequately initiated

and develop

• Can take turn but needs little prompting
• Mostly correct pronunciation & clear articulation
• Can be clearly understood most of the time; very few phonological errors

5.

• Can initiate & logically develop simple conversation on familiar topics
• Can take turns appropriately
• Can pronounce correctly & articulate clearly
• Is always comprehensible

; uses appropriate intonation

Vocabulary & Grammar

• Frequent repetition and/or self- correction
• Links only basic sentences; breakdown of coherence evident
• Demonstrates almost no flexibility, and mostly struggles for appropriate words
• Uses very basic vocabulary to express view-

but loses coherence in complex communication

• Often hesitates and/or resorts to slow speech
• Topics partly developed; not always concluded logically
• Communicates with limited flexibility and appropriacy on some of the topics
• Complex forms and sentence structures are rare; exhibits limited vocabulary to express new ideas

however repetition is noticeable

• Hesitates and/or self corrects; occasionally loses coherence
• Topics mainly developed, but usually not logically concluded
• Communicate s with limited flexibility

and appropriacy on most of the topics

• Sometimes uses complex forms and sentence structures; has limited vocabulary to describe/ express new points

little repetition

• Demonstrates hesitation to find words or use correct grammatical structures and/or self- correction
• Topics not fully developed to merit

• Can express with some flexibility and appropriacy on most of the topics
• Demonstrates ability to use complex forms and sentence structures most of the time; expresses with adequate vocabulary

minimal hesitation

• Develops topic fully & coherently

• Can express with some flexibility and appropriacy on a variety of topics such as family, hobbies, work,

travel and current events

• Frequently uses complex forms and sentence structures; has enough vocabulary to express himself/ herself
• Schedule:
• The practice of listening and speaking skills should be done throughout the academic year.
• The final assessment of the skills is to be done as per the convenience and schedule of the