ALTERNATIVE ACADEMIC CALENDAR FOR STUDENTS AT THE PRIMARY STAGE

ALTERNATIVE ACADEMIC CALENDAR FOR

STUDENTS AT THE PRIMARY STAGE

Guidelines for Studying at Home for Teachers,

Parents and School Principals

INTRODUCTORY NOTE

India and the world are facing an enormous crisis due to COVID-19. India as

a country is under lockdown, while most of the cities and states in the world

are under lockdown too. Medical care professionals, security personnel and

personnel related to delivering essential services are working round the clock

to tide over the crisis. Schools, Colleges and Universities have been closed.

Students are confined to their homes, and so are teachers and parents.

Teacher educators, teachers and p rents need to find ways to deal with this

unprecedented situation arising out of lockdown in order to engage students

meaningfully through educational activities at home. While we are putting in

all efforts to flatten the epidemic curve, learning can continue at home too,

and the learning curve of children must continue to move upwards.

How should this be done? This question would be uppermost in the

minds of teachers and parents. The first thought would perhaps be

homework or home assign ents. However, the concept of homework is that of

a task done individually; moreover, it carries with it the pressure of

completion rather than that of joyful learning. Further, as educationists, we

prefer not to recommend homework over a long duration for very young

children. We have to therefore seek alternative methods.

Currently, there are various technological tools and social media tools

available for imparting education in fun-filled, interesting ways, which can be

used by children to learn even while at home. Yet, we understand the need to

structure it for you. Keeping in mind the varying levels of access to such tools

and the variety of their content, NCERT has developed General Guidelines for

Implementing Weekly Plan (for four weeks) for Learning of Students at