NCERT has released alternative academic calendar for primary school students. The calendar covers subjects like English, Hindi, Urdu, Math and Environmental Studies for class 1 to 5. Art Education and Health and Physical Education have also been included in this calendar.
NCERT has prepared subject-wise weekly academic calendar with relevant learning outcomes. The calendar also comes with list of suggested resources like reference to textbooks, chapters, themes, e-resources, web links etc. that teachers can refer to for designing contextual activities for children.
The alternative academic calendar relies heavily on teachers for implementation, for instance it suggests that teachers call up parents of students to inform about the conduct of suggested activities.
Where parents have access to internet, teachers can forward them the guidelines with adequate explanation over WhatsApp, Facebook, Google Hangout, Gmail, telegram etc. In areas where internet connectivity is a hurdle, teachers can explain the curricular activities to be done by a student to their parents or guardians over the phone or through SMS. It is the teacher's responsibility to ensure that the activity was conducted through a follow-up later.
"The activities mentioned are suggestive and can be modified based on the availability of the resources and the prior knowledge of the student," says NCERT in its guideline.
The week-wise plan is also flexible. Teachers can guide parents about the activities in context of their strengths and weaknesses, and resources available to them.
In continuing the education during the lockdown, the onus also falls upon parents who must impart verbal and visual instructions clearly so that all children, including Children with Special needs, are able to follow the suggested activities.
For classes 1-4, parents may conduct the given activities under the guidance of teachers. For class 5, teachers would need to talk directly to the students through mobile phone and using WhatsApp etc. under the supervision of their parents.
Students should be given ample opportunity for development of logical reasoning and language skills. Asking good questions and encouraging the student to think will help in achieving this objective.
Chapter-wise e-content for teaching students is available on e-pathshala, NROER, and DIKSHA portal which can be used whenever required.
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