Grade 6 · Social Science

Turn India from an abstraction into a located place.

1. 3 minLocate
   Find India on a globe or world map. Note it is in the northern hemisphere, in South Asia.
2. 6 minThe basics
   Capital: New Delhi. Then find the state you are moving to, and its capital. Mark both.
3. 3 minSay it back
   Country, capital, destination state, destination state capital.

Tutor: NCERT PDFs are free at ncert.nic.in. Verify the current Class 6 book name before buying anything.

The political map — assumed knowledge in an Indian classroom from day one.

1. 3 minHow India is divided
   28 states and 8 union territories. A union territory is governed more directly by the central government.
2. 6 minNeighbours
   Pakistan, China, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, plus Sri Lanka across the water. Find each on the map and say which side of India it is on.
3. 3 minTrace
   Trace India's outline freehand once. Rough is fine — the shape needs to become familiar.

The landforms every Indian geography chapter refers back to.

1. 3 minNorth to south
   Himalayas in the north, the northern plains below them, the Deccan plateau in the centre-south, coasts on both sides.
2. 6 minRivers and desert
   The Ganga and the Brahmaputra in the north, the Godavari and the Krishna in the south. The Thar desert in the west. Locate each.
3. 3 minLabel
   On a blank outline: Himalayas, Ganga, Deccan, Thar. Four labels, from memory.

Latitude and longitude — a Class 6 geography chapter in its own right.

1. 3 minThe lines
   Latitude runs across, longitude runs up and down. The Equator is 0° latitude.
2. 6 minThrough India
   The Tropic of Cancer runs right through the middle of India, at about 23.5°N. Find it. That single line explains most of India's climate — and it is a reliable exam question.
3. 3 minLocate
   Roughly, which latitudes does India sit between? About 8°N to 37°N.

A blank-map test, which is exactly how CBSE assesses this.

1. 3 minReview
   Everything from the week, spoken, rapid.
2. 6 minBlank map test
   On an unlabelled outline: capital, destination state, Himalayas, Ganga, Thar, Deccan, and three neighbouring countries.
3. 3 minMark together
   Go through the misses. Map work rewards repetition more than any other part of this subject.

Tutor: This subject is 🔴 and entirely new content. It needs the full 12 minutes every day, not the leftovers.

Connect Earth's motions to day-night and seasons — foundational for geography and science.

1. 3 minReview map test
   Recall: Week 1 map test asked to label India, its states and union territories count, neighbours, and major physical features — Himalayas, Ganga, Deccan, Thar.
2. 6 minRotation and revolution
   Rotation: Earth spins on its axis once every 24 hours → causes day and night. Revolution: Earth moves around the Sun once every 365¼ days → causes seasons. Axis is tilted at 23½°.
3. 3 minSay it back
   Rotation → day and night (24 hours). Revolution → seasons (365¼ days). Axis tilt → 23½°.

Measure position north and south using latitude, and place the Equator, the two Tropics and the two Polar Circles.

1. 3 minReview
   Yesterday's two motions, spoken back: rotation gives day and night, revolution gives the seasons, and the axis leans 23½°. Hold on to that number — it decides where today's Tropics sit.
2. 6 minParallels on a drawn globe
   They draw a circle for the Earth and rule in the lines across it: Equator 0°, Tropic of Cancer 23½°N, Tropic of Capricorn 23½°S, Arctic Circle 66½°N, Antarctic Circle 66½°S, and the Poles at 90°. Say what latitude measures — how far north or south of the Equator, in degrees — and that the parallels are circles which shrink towards the Poles, the Equator being the longest.
3. 3 minPoint and name
   Cover the labels. They name each line and its degree, then say which one crosses India and which two hemispheres the Equator separates.

Tutor: The 23½° tilt from day 6 and the 23½° Tropics are the same number for the same reason. Say so — it is the one link that makes this stick.

Measure position east and west using longitude, and work out why Indian Standard Time runs 5½ hours ahead of Greenwich.

1. 3 minReview
   Yesterday's parallels, named with degrees, from memory. Then the contrast to hold on to: a parallel runs east–west but measures north–south, and longitude will do the opposite.
2. 6 minMeridians and the 15° rule
   On the same drawn globe they add lines from Pole to Pole: the Prime Meridian at 0° through Greenwich, then 180°E and 180°W meeting on the far side. Unlike the parallels, every meridian is the same length. Then the arithmetic that makes time zones — the Earth turns 360° in 24 hours, so 15° in an hour and 1° in four minutes.
3. 3 minWork out IST
   They do the sum rather than being told the answer: India's standard meridian is 82½°E, so 82½ × 4 minutes = 330 minutes = 5 hours 30 minutes ahead of Greenwich. Finish on why a country that wide keeps a single clock.

Tutor: Deriving 5:30 from 82½°E is worth more than memorising it — the same arithmetic answers every time-zone question the exam asks.

Name and distinguish the four Earth domains using concrete examples.

1. 3 minReview
   Earth's rotation causes day and night; revolution around the Sun takes 365 days.
2. 7 minThe four domains
   Lithosphere: solid land — mountains, plains, deserts. Hydrosphere: water — oceans, rivers, lakes. Atmosphere: air — gases surrounding Earth. Biosphere: where life exists — overlaps the other three.
3. 2 minMatch
   Say which domain each belongs to: Himalayas, Ganga river, Thar Desert, monsoon winds, tigers.

A blank-globe test of the week's grid lines and Earth motions, marked the way the exam marks it.

1. 3 minReview
   Rapid and spoken, nothing written: the two motions and what each causes, the parallels with their degrees, what longitude measures, the 15°-per-hour rule, and the four domains named in order. No new ground today.
2. 6 minBlank globe test
   On an unlabelled circle: Equator, both Tropics, both Polar Circles, the Prime Meridian, and India's standard meridian — degrees written beside each. Then three written answers: what rotation causes, what revolution causes, and how far ahead of Greenwich IST runs.
3. 3 minMark together
   Go through the misses out loud. A line drawn without its degree counts as wrong — the mark is on the number as much as the line.

Tutor: Second blank-map test of the month; the first was day 5. Compare the two scores rather than reading this one alone.

Distinguish between archaeological sources (artifacts, buildings) and written sources (manuscripts, inscriptions).

1. 2 minReview
   Recall day 10: the blank-globe test — Equator, both Tropics, both Polar Circles, the Prime Meridian and 82½°E, each with its degree. Name any three. Geography was where; history is when.
2. 3 minWhat is history
   History is what happened in the past. We know through two kinds of sources: things people made (tools, buildings) and things they wrote (books, inscriptions).
3. 4 minArchaeological sources
   These are physical items: pots, tools, coins, buildings. Archaeologists dig them up. They tell us about daily life — what people ate, how they lived.
4. 3 minWritten sources
   Manuscripts (handwritten books) and inscriptions (writing on stone or metal). They often record important events, laws, or religious teachings.

Understand how early humans lived as hunter-gatherers and why they moved from place to place.

1. 2 minReview
   Recall day 11: the two kinds of source. Name one archaeological source and one written source, and say what each can tell us.
2. 3 minWhat hunter-gatherers did
   They hunted animals, fished and gathered plant food — fruits, roots, nuts. They moved because animals migrated and plants grew in different places at different times.
3. 4 minEvidence
   Archaeologists find tools, bones and cave paintings. These tell us: what they ate, how they cooked (stone hearths), and that they used fire.
4. 3 minCompare
   How is hunter-gatherer life different from today? No permanent homes, no farming, no cities. Why did they move? Follow the seasons and animal herds.

Understand the urban planning of Indus Valley cities: grid layout, drainage, and standardized bricks.

1. 3 minReview
   Recall hunter-gatherers from Day 12. What changed with cities? Permanent homes, planning, and specialized work.
2. 5 minCity planning
   The best-known cities are Harappa and Mohenjo-daro. Indus Valley cities had a grid layout, streets running north-south and east-west. Houses had private wells and bathrooms with covered drains that connected to city drains.
3. 4 minStandardisation
   Bricks were burned and used in a 4:2:1 ratio. This uniformity across distant cities suggests central planning. What does this tell us about their society?

Understand the theories about why Indus Valley declined and identify its lasting contributions.

1. 2 minReview
   Recall day 13: grid streets, covered drains, private wells, bricks in a 4:2:1 ratio. Name three planning features before we ask what became of the cities.
2. 3 minWhat happened
   About 3900 years ago, Indus Valley cities were abandoned. Possible reasons: river changes, climate change (drought), or invasion. We don't know for sure.
3. 4 minWhat they left
   Seals with animal figures, standardized weights and measures, bead-making techniques. Their city planning influenced later cities.
4. 3 minLegacy
   The script is still undeciphered. What survives: advanced drainage, burnt bricks, and trade with Mesopotamia.

Review hunter-gatherers, Indus Valley, and early civilisation in a CBSE-style test format.

1. 3 minReview: Hunter-gatherers
   Why did they move? What tools did they use? Name three things archaeologists find at hunter-gatherer sites.
2. 4 minReview: Indus Valley
   Name two important cities. What did they use for bricks? Name three features of their city planning.
3. 5 minWritten test practice
   Five one-mark questions, all from days 11-14: name one archaeological source; name one written source; name two Indus Valley cities; give one reason the Indus cities may have been abandoned; name two things hunter-gatherers ate.

Connect diversity to everyday life — not as abstract ideas but as visible, tangible realities.

1. 3 minReview
   Recall the Tropic of Cancer and India’s latitude — it runs through eight states, creating varied climates across the country.
2. 6 minDiversity in action
   Language: Hindi, Tamil, Bengali, Marathi, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam — seven of the many languages spoken in India. Religion: Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism — six major religions. Food: rice in the east/south, wheat in the north/west. Dress: saree/dhoti in many regions, phulkari in Punjab, mekhela chador in Assam.
3. 3 minSay it back
   Name one language, one religion, one food grain region, and one traditional dress — all different from each other.

Understand what government is and identify its key functions.

1. 2 minReview diversity
   Recall day 16: India's many languages, religions, food grains and dresses. Name one of each. Today asks who makes the rules that hold all of that together.
2. 5 minWhat is government
   Government is the system that makes rules and provides services. It keeps order, protects citizens, and builds infrastructure.
3. 5 minWhat government does
   Government: 1) Makes laws, 2) Provides schools and hospitals, 3) Builds roads, 4) Keeps the country safe.

Introduce the panchayat as India’s basic unit of rural local government.

1. 3 minReview diversity
   Recall day 16: India has many languages, religions, foods, and dresses — yet one system of government connects all villages.
2. 6 minThe panchayat
   In every village, the panchayat is the local government. It has elected members (panch), a head called the sarpanch, and answers to the Gram Sabha — the assembly of every adult in the village.
3. 3 minSay it back
   Name three things: the name of the local body in villages (panchayat), its head (sarpanch), and the assembly of all adult villagers it answers to (Gram Sabha).

Understand how towns are managed and compare rural vs urban livelihoods.

1. 2 minReview
   Panchayat at village level. Who is the head? What does a panchayat do?
2. 5 minMunicipality
   In towns, the municipality handles water supply, garbage collection, schools, and roads. Elected council runs it.
3. 5 minLivelihoods
   Rural: farming, fishing, handicrafts. Urban: jobs in offices, shops, factories, services.

Comprehensive month-end test covering all three sections of Social Science.

1. 4 minGeography
   Five one-mark questions: Tropic of Cancer, Himalayas/Ganga/Deccan, Indian Ocean, capital, states.
2. 4 minEarly history
   Five one-mark questions: Indus Valley cities, manuscripts, tools, fire, trade.
3. 4 minCivics
   Five one-mark questions: government, panchayat, municipality, livelihoods.