CTET Syllabus 2026: Paper 1 and Paper 2 Topic-wise (Official)
CTET Syllabus 2026: Paper 1 and Paper 2 Topic-wise (Official)
The CTET syllabus is short on paper and long in practice. The official list fits on seven pages of the Information Bulletin, but every line in it points to a set of NCERT chapters or a teaching idea you need to understand properly, not just memorise.
This page gives you the full CTET syllabus 2026 for Paper 1 and Paper 2, taken from Appendix I of the CTET September 2026 Information Bulletin. You get the question split for every section, the complete topic lists, the NCERT books to read, and my view on which topics give the best return for your time.
If you want the bigger picture first (dates, eligibility, admit card, validity), start with the CTET complete guide and come back here when you sit down to plan your study.
Live status
The exam moved by roughly 14 weeks. That is extra time. Use it to finish the syllabus once and revise it twice, instead of rushing through it once in panic.
How the CTET syllabus is built
Three things decide what CBSE can ask you. Once you understand them, the topic lists below will make much more sense.
1. Appendix I of the bulletin
Appendix I, titled "Structure and Content of Syllabus", lists every section of Paper I and Paper II, the number of questions from each part, and the topics under each part. This is the only official CTET syllabus. Coaching PDFs that add extra chapters are guessing.
2. NCERT syllabus and textbooks
The bulletin itself says that for the detailed syllabus of Classes I to VIII you should refer to the NCERT syllabus and textbooks. So when Appendix I says "Fractions" or "Food", the depth and examples come from the NCERT books of those classes.
3. Difficulty level
In plain words: the topic is from a primary or middle-school book, but the question can test it at a level a Class 10 (Paper 1) or Class 12 (Paper 2) student would handle. Do not assume Class 3 content means Class 3 difficulty.
All questions are MCQs with four options, one mark each, and there is no negative marking. Each paper has 150 questions for 150 marks and runs for 2 hours 30 minutes. The full breakdown is on our exam pattern page.
CTET syllabus at a glance
In Paper 2 you take either Mathematics and Science (60) or Social Studies (60). Maths and Science teachers take the first, Social Studies teachers take the second, and any other teacher can pick either.
CTET Paper 1 syllabus (Classes I to V, Primary stage)
Paper 1 is for people who want to teach Classes I to V. Every section carries 30 questions. For eligibility, strategy and section-wise tips, see our Paper 1 detail page.
Paper 1: Child Development and Pedagogy (30 questions)
The CTET CDP syllabus in Paper 1 focuses on the primary school child, roughly the 6 to 11 age group. It has three parts.
Part A: Child Development (15 questions)
- Concept of development and its relationship with learning
- Principles of the development of children
- Influence of heredity and environment
- Socialization processes: social world and children (teacher, parents, peers)
- Piaget, Kohlberg and Vygotsky: constructs and critical perspectives
- Concepts of child-centred and progressive education
- Critical perspective of the construct of intelligence
- Multi-dimensional intelligence
- Language and thought
- Gender as a social construct; gender roles, gender bias and educational practice
- Individual differences among learners; differences based on diversity of language, caste, gender, community, religion etc.
- Distinction between assessment for learning and assessment of learning; school-based assessment; CCE: perspective and practice
- Formulating appropriate questions for assessing readiness levels of learners, for enhancing learning and critical thinking in the classroom, and for assessing learner achievement
Part B: Inclusive Education and Children with Special Needs (5 questions)
- Addressing learners from diverse backgrounds, including disadvantaged and deprived
- Addressing the needs of children with learning difficulties, "impairment" etc.
- Addressing talented, creative and specially abled learners
Part C: Learning and Pedagogy (10 questions)
- How children think and learn; how and why children "fail" to achieve success in school performance
- Basic processes of teaching and learning; children's strategies of learning; learning as a social activity; social context of learning
- Child as a problem solver and a "scientific investigator"
- Alternative conceptions of learning in children; understanding children's "errors" as significant steps in the learning process
- Cognition and emotions
- Motivation and learning
- Factors contributing to learning: personal and environmental
CDP questions rarely ask you to define a term. They describe a classroom situation and ask what a good teacher would do. So read the theories, then ask yourself how each one changes what you do on a Monday morning in Class 3. The free CTET Paper 1 Pedagogy Master Book is built around that kind of situation-based thinking, and it is a good second read after your notes.
Paper 1: Mathematics (30 questions)
Content topics (NCERT Classes I to V)
- Geometry
- Shapes and spatial understanding
- Solids around us
- Numbers
- Addition and subtraction
- Multiplication
- Division
- Measurement
- Weight
- Time
- Volume
- Data handling
- Patterns
- Money
Pedagogical issues
- Nature of mathematics and logical thinking; understanding children's thinking and reasoning patterns and their strategies of making meaning and learning
- Place of mathematics in the curriculum
- Language of mathematics
- Community mathematics
- Evaluation through formal and informal methods
- Problems of teaching
- Error analysis and related aspects of learning and teaching
- Diagnostic and remedial teaching
Half of Paper 1 Maths is pedagogy. Many candidates from a science background lose marks here because they treat it like an arithmetic test. Error analysis is a good example: you are shown how a child solved something wrongly and asked what the mistake tells the teacher. If you want content and pedagogy in one place, the free CTET Paper 1 Mathematics Complete ebook covers both halves.
Paper 1: Environmental Studies (30 questions)
Content themes
- Family and Friends: Relationships; Work and Play; Animals; Plants
- Food
- Shelter
- Water
- Travel
- Things We Make and Do
Pedagogical issues
- Concept and scope of EVS
- Significance of EVS, integrated EVS
- Environmental Studies and Environmental Education
- Learning principles
- Scope and relation to Science and Social Science
- Approaches of presenting concepts
- Activities
- Experimentation and practical work
- Discussion
- CCE
- Teaching material and aids
- Problems
The six EVS themes are not chapter names. They are threads that run through the NCERT EVS books of Classes III to V, so a single theme like "Water" can pull facts from several chapters. Read the books theme by theme, not page by page. For theme-wise notes plus the pedagogy half, the free CTET Paper 1 EVS Complete guide is a sensible pick.
Paper 1: Language I (30 questions)
Comprehension: two unseen passages, one prose or drama and one poem, with questions on comprehension, inference, grammar and verbal ability. The prose passage may be literary, scientific, narrative or discursive.
Pedagogy of Language Development
- Learning and acquisition
- Principles of language teaching
- Role of listening and speaking; function of language and how children use it as a tool
- Critical perspective on the role of grammar in learning a language for communicating ideas verbally and in written form
- Challenges of teaching language in a diverse classroom; language difficulties, errors and disorders
- Language skills
- Evaluating language comprehension and proficiency: speaking, listening, reading and writing
- Teaching-learning materials: textbook, multi-media materials, multilingual resource of the classroom
- Remedial teaching
Language I is meant to test your proficiency in the language you will teach in (the medium of instruction).
Paper 1: Language II (30 questions)
Comprehension: two unseen prose passages (discursive, literary, narrative or scientific) with questions on comprehension, grammar and verbal ability. Note the difference: Language II has no poem.
Pedagogy of Language Development: the same nine points as Language I (learning and acquisition, principles of language teaching, listening and speaking, role of grammar, diverse classroom challenges, language skills, evaluating LSRW, teaching-learning materials, remedial teaching).
Language II must be different from Language I. It focuses on elements of language, communication and comprehension. You choose both languages from the list in the bulletin, which includes Hindi, English, Sanskrit, Urdu, Bengali, Maithili and many more.
For topic-wise reading across all five Paper 1 sections, the free CTET Paper 1 study material on ExamAtlas has notes on Child Development and Pedagogy, Mathematics, EVS and Language and Pedagogy. Use it as your base notes and the NCERT books as your source.
CTET Paper 2 syllabus (Classes VI to VIII, Elementary stage)
Paper 2 is for Classes VI to VIII. CDP and the two languages look almost the same as Paper 1, but the subject section is bigger and the difficulty can go up to Senior Secondary. Section-wise strategy is on our Paper 2 detail page.
Paper 2: Child Development and Pedagogy (30 questions)
The CTET CDP syllabus for Paper 2 is about the elementary school child, the 11 to 14 age group. The topic list is the same as Paper 1; the child you are thinking about is older.
All three parts carry the same topics listed under Paper 1 CDP above (development and learning, heredity and environment, Piaget, Kohlberg and Vygotsky, intelligence, gender, assessment, inclusive education, how children think and learn, motivation and so on). The difference shows in the examples: adolescence, peer pressure, abstract thinking and identity matter more for an 11 to 14 year old.
ExamAtlas does not have Paper 2 subject material live yet. For the CDP and language pedagogy parts, which are common in both papers, Paper 1 CDP notes still help, as long as you keep the age group difference in mind.
Paper 2: Mathematics (30 questions)
Content topics (NCERT Classes VI to VIII)
Pedagogical issues
- Nature of mathematics and logical thinking
- Place of mathematics in the curriculum
- Language of mathematics
- Community mathematics
- Evaluation
- Remedial teaching
- Problem of teaching
Note the shift: Paper 2 Maths is 20 content and 10 pedagogy, the opposite weight of Paper 1 where it is 15 and 15. Your calculation speed matters more here.
Paper 2: Science (30 questions)
Content themes
- Food: sources of food, components of food, cleaning food
- Materials: materials of daily use
- The World of the Living
- Moving Things, People and Ideas
- How Things Work: electric current and circuits, magnets
- Natural Phenomena
- Natural Resources
Pedagogical issues
- Nature and structure of sciences
- Natural science: aims and objectives
- Understanding and appreciating science
- Approaches and integrated approach
- Observation, experiment, discovery (method of science)
- Innovation
- Text material and aids
- Evaluation: cognitive, psycho-motor, affective
- Problems
- Remedial teaching
Maths and Science together make the 60-question block for Maths and Science candidates.
Paper 2: Social Studies / Social Science (60 questions)
The bulletin does not split the 40 content questions between History, Geography and Social and Political Life, so do not trust any source that gives fixed numbers for each.
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
- 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 1857-58
- Women and reform
- Challenging the caste system
- The nationalist movement
- India after independence
Geography
- Geography as a social study and as a science
- Planet: Earth in the solar system
- Globe
- Environment in its totality: natural and human environment
- Air
- Water
- Human environment: settlement, transport and communication
- Resources: types, natural and human
- Agriculture
Social and Political Life
- Diversity
- Government
- Local government
- Making a living
- Democracy
- State government
- Understanding media
- Unpacking gender
- The Constitution
- Parliamentary government
- The judiciary
- Social justice and the marginalised
Pedagogical issues (20 questions)
- Concept and nature of Social Science / Social Studies
- Classroom processes, activities and discourse
- Developing critical thinking
- Enquiry and empirical evidence
- Problems of teaching Social Science / Social Studies
- Sources: primary and secondary
- Project work
- Evaluation
The History list follows the old NCERT Class VI to VIII history books closely, from "When, Where and How" to "India After Independence". If you read those three books in order, you have covered the list.
Paper 2: Language I and Language II (30 + 30 questions)
The pedagogy topics are the same nine points listed under Paper 1 Language I. If you are taking both papers, your language preparation serves both, which is a real time saver.
NCERT books to read for the CTET syllabus
Since the bulletin sends you to NCERT for detail, this is the reading list that matches each section.
One caveat: NCERT has been revising its textbooks, and chapter names in newer editions may not match the older names used in Appendix I. Use the bulletin topic as your checklist and the books as your source. If a chapter is not in your edition, cover the topic from an older edition or reliable notes.
Which topics give the most return (my opinion)
This section is opinion, based on the question split in the bulletin, not an official ranking.
Start with a simple count. In Paper 1, pedagogy-type questions add up to 90 of 150: CDP 30, Maths pedagogy 15, EVS pedagogy 15, and language pedagogy 15 + 15. In Paper 2, it is 80 of 150 for both options (CDP 30, subject pedagogy 20, language pedagogy 30). Comprehension adds another 30 in both papers.
What I would prioritise, in this order:
- CDP, fully. 30 questions, same topics in both papers, and pedagogy questions in other sections borrow its ideas (constructivism, errors as learning steps, assessment for learning).
- Language pedagogy. Nine topics, 30 questions across two languages. Small syllabus, high yield.
- Comprehension practice. No syllabus to learn, only reading speed and accuracy. Two passages a day for a few weeks makes a visible difference.
- Subject pedagogy. Error analysis and remedial teaching in Maths, activity-based and integrated approach in EVS and Science, sources and enquiry in SST.
- Subject content last, but not least. In Paper 2 content is 40 questions, so SST and Maths-Science candidates cannot skip it. Just do it after the blocks above are stable.
Honest caveat: if your content base is weak (say, fractions or basic geography), fix that early. Pedagogy questions often hide a content idea inside, and you cannot judge the best teaching method for a concept you do not understand.
How to use the extra time before December
With the exam now on 12 and 13 December 2026, you have about three months. A simple plan:
Print the topic lists on this page and tick each line when you can explain it to someone else. That checklist will tell you more about your readiness than any number of hours.
FAQs
What is the official source of the CTET syllabus 2026?
Appendix I, "Structure and Content of Syllabus", in the CTET September 2026 Information Bulletin. For detail, the bulletin refers you to the NCERT syllabus and textbooks of Classes I to VIII.
Has the CTET syllabus changed after the postponement to December 2026?
The CBSE public notice dated 14 September 2026 gives the new dates (12 and 13 December 2026) and says nothing about the syllabus. Prepare from Appendix I of the September 2026 bulletin.
Is the CDP syllabus the same in Paper 1 and Paper 2?
The topic list and the 15 + 5 + 10 split are the same. Paper 1 is about the primary school child (6 to 11 years) and Paper 2 is about the elementary school child (11 to 14 years), so the examples and situations differ.
Is there EVS in CTET Paper 2?
No. EVS is only in Paper 1. Paper 2 has either Mathematics and Science (30 + 30) or Social Studies (60).
How many pedagogy questions are there in the CTET Paper 1 syllabus?
Counting CDP (30), Maths pedagogy (15), EVS pedagogy (15) and language pedagogy (15 + 15), 90 of the 150 questions are pedagogy-based.
Which NCERT books should I read for CTET Paper 2?
NCERT Mathematics and Science of Classes VI to VIII for the Maths and Science option, or NCERT History, Geography and Social and Political Life of Classes VI to VIII for the SST option. Add NCERT Hindi and English books for comprehension practice.
Is there negative marking in CTET?
No. Each question carries one mark and there is no negative marking, so attempt every question you can narrow down.
Your next step
Pick your paper, copy the relevant topic lists from this page into your notebook, and mark each topic as strong, weak or not started. Then read our Paper 1 detail or Paper 2 detail page for section-wise strategy, and keep the CTET complete guide bookmarked for date updates.