Class 1 is where formal schooling begins, and the CBSE Class 1 syllabus 2026-27 is designed to make that first step joyful, gentle and confident. Built on the National Curriculum Framework 2023 and the National Education Policy 2020, the new syllabus moves away from rote learning and focuses on language readiness, early numeracy, and a genuine love of stories, songs and play.
This page covers the complete CBSE Class 1 syllabus for the 2026-27 academic year – the prescribed NCERT textbooks, subject-wise chapters for English, Hindi and Mathematics, and the assessment pattern at the foundational stage. You will also find how EuroSchool teaches this curriculum in the classroom.
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The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) follows the NCERT curriculum for Class 1, which sits within the foundational stage of school education under NEP 2020. Children entering Class 1 are typically five to six years old, and the curriculum is built around how children of this age actually learn – through stories, pictures, songs, conversations and hands-on activities rather than textbook drills.
Three core subjects shape the year: English, Hindi and Mathematics. Environmental awareness, art, music and physical activity are not taught as separate subjects with their own textbooks. Instead, they are woven into language and Maths lessons and into daily classroom activity, which is a deliberate NEP 2020 design choice for this age group.
There are no formal board-style examinations in Class 1. Assessment is continuous, observation-based, and focuses on whether the child is reading with confidence, understanding numbers, and enjoying school – not on marks.
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Here is the complete subject and textbook list for the 2026-27 academic year, aligned to the latest NCERT releases under NEP 2020:
Subject | Prescribed NCERT Textbook | Number of Chapters | Focus Area |
English | Mridang | 9 chapters across 4 units | Phonics, vocabulary, listening, speaking, early reading |
Hindi | Sarangi | 23 chapters across 5 units | Devanagari script, matras, simple sentences, rhymes |
Mathematics | Joyful Mathematics | 13 chapters | Numbers up to 99, addition, subtraction, shapes, patterns, measurement |
Environmental awareness | Integrated into English, Hindi & Maths | No separate textbook | Family, food, seasons, animals, nature – taught through stories |
Art, music & physical activity | Activity-based, no formal textbook | Continuous | Drawing, colouring, rhymes, movement and play-based learning |
The Class 1 English syllabus uses Mridang, the new NCERT textbook that replaces the older Marigold and Raindrops books. Mridang is built around themes children already understand – their family, the world around them, food and seasons – and uses poems, picture-based stories and short conversations to introduce English in a low-pressure way.
The textbook has nine chapters organised into four thematic units:
Unit | Theme | Chapters |
Unit 1 | My Family and Me | Two Little Hands; Greetings; My Family |
Unit 2 | Life Around Us | Picture Time; The Cap-Seller and the Monkeys |
Unit 3 | Food | Fun with Pictures; The Food We Eat |
Unit 4 | Seasons | The Four Seasons; Anandi’s Rainbow |
For chapter-by-chapter detail, see our complete CBSE Class 1 English Syllabus guide.
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The Class 1 Hindi syllabus uses Sarangi, the new NCERT textbook that replaces the older Rimjhim Part 1. For most children, Class 1 is their first real introduction to the Devanagari script, matras and simple sentence formation in Hindi. Sarangi handles this gently – the chapters are short, the rhymes are catchy, and every theme connects to something the child already knows from home.
Sarangi has 23 chapters organised into five thematic units:
Unit | Theme | Sample Chapters |
Unit 1 | Parivaar (Family) | Meena ka Parivaar; Dada-Dadi; Reena ka Din; Rani Bhi |
Unit 2 | Jeev-Jagat (Living World) | Chapters introducing animals, birds and the natural world around the child |
Unit 3 | Hamara Khaan-Paan (Our Food) | Stories and rhymes around everyday food, taste and family meals |
Unit 4 | Tyohaar aur Mele (Festivals and Fairs) | Chapters on Indian festivals, fairs and shared celebrations |
Unit 5 | Hari-Bhari Duniya (Green World) | Plants, trees, weather and the world outside |
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For all 23 chapters with summaries, see our complete CBSE Class 1 Hindi Syllabus guide.
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The Class 1 Maths syllabus uses Joyful Mathematics, the NCERT textbook designed under NEP 2020 to make early numeracy genuinely playful. The book uses real-life scenes, picture puzzles and hands-on activities to build the foundations of counting, shapes, addition, subtraction and measurement – all without flashcard-style drills.
The textbook is organised into 13 short, themed chapters:
# | Unit | What Children Learn |
1 | Finding the Furry Cat (pre-number concepts) | Inside-outside, near-far, big-small, more-less – vocabulary that prepares the child to count |
2 | What is Long, What is Round? (shapes) | Recognising 2D and 3D shapes – circles, squares, triangles, balls, boxes |
3 | Mango Treat (numbers 1-9) | Counting, writing, comparing numbers up to 9 |
4 | Making 10 and addition | Building 10 in different ways; simple addition with objects and pictures |
5 | How Many Times to Hop? | Number line, counting on and counting back |
6 | Numbers from 10 to 20 | Reading, writing and comparing two-digit numbers up to 20 |
7 | Subtraction | Take-away through real-life situations and pictures |
8 | Numbers from 21 to 99 | Counting in tens and ones, place value introduction |
9 | Data handling | Sorting, classifying and reading simple picture data |
10 | Patterns | Recognising and creating patterns in shapes, numbers and sounds |
11 | Measurement | Comparing length, weight and capacity using non-standard units |
12 | Time | Day and night, days of the week, sequencing events |
13 | How Many? | Money – identifying coins and notes, simple buying and selling |
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For chapter-by-chapter detail, see our complete CBSE Class 1 Maths Syllabus guide.
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This is one of the most common questions parents ask, and the answer surprises many: under NEP 2020, Environmental Studies is not a separate subject in Class 1. The board has deliberately integrated environmental awareness – learning about family, food, plants, animals, festivals, weather and the neighbourhood – into the English and Hindi textbooks and into Maths activities.
So when your child reads about seasons in Mridang, learns rhymes about animals in Sarangi, or sorts pictures of fruits in Joyful Mathematics, they are doing what was previously labelled EVS. A separate EVS textbook reappears from Class 3 onwards. This integrated approach reduces the number of subjects a six-year-old has to manage and makes learning feel more connected to real life.
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CBSE does not conduct any formal board examinations at the foundational stage. There are no unit tests with marks out of 100 in Class 1, and no pass-or-fail outcomes. Instead, assessment is continuous, observation-based and built into everyday classroom activity. Teachers track each child’s progress through:
Most schools share progress through descriptive report cards or parent-teacher meetings rather than mark sheets. The focus at this stage is on whether the child is settling in, building reading readiness and developing comfort with numbers – not on competitive scoring.
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Reading the syllabus tells you what gets covered. It does not tell you how a six-year-old actually learns it. At EuroSchool, the Class 1 classroom is built around four ideas that turn the syllabus into something children genuinely look forward to:
Every English and Hindi chapter starts with a story or a song before any letter or grammar rule appears. Children meet the language through meaning first, which is how reading actually develops at this age. Phonics and writing follow, never lead.
Joyful Mathematics is taught with real objects – bottle caps, leaves, beads, paper cut-outs – so addition and subtraction make physical sense before they appear on paper. Children spend a lot of Class 1 Maths counting things they can hold.
Class 1 teachers at EuroSchool work with manageable group sizes so they can actually observe each child – who is settling in, who needs extra reading time, who is racing ahead. The continuous-assessment model the syllabus assumes only works if teachers know each child individually.
Because Class 1 is not about marks, regular parent updates focus on what the child is reading, how they are speaking up in class, what they enjoyed, and what they are finding hard. Parents leave each meeting with something specific they can do at home.
Want to see how this works in practice? Visit a EuroSchool campus near you
CBSE Class 1 has three core subjects with prescribed NCERT textbooks: English (Mridang), Hindi (Sarangi) and Mathematics (Joyful Mathematics). Environmental awareness, art, music and physical activity are part of the curriculum but are integrated into the language and Maths lessons rather than taught as separate subjects.
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Children typically join CBSE Class 1 at the age of five to six years. Most CBSE-affiliated schools in India follow a cut-off where the child should have completed 5 to 6 years of age by 31 March or 30 April of the academic year. Exact cut-off dates can vary slightly by school and state, so always check with the school you are applying to.
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The prescribed NCERT textbooks for CBSE Class 1 in 2026-27 are Mridang for English, Sarangi for Hindi and Joyful Mathematics for Maths. These books are aligned to the National Curriculum Framework 2023 and the National Education Policy 2020. They have replaced the older books (Marigold, Raindrops and Rimjhim) that earlier batches used.
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No. CBSE does not conduct any board examinations in Class 1. Under NEP 2020, Class 1 sits within the foundational stage where assessment is continuous and activity-based. Teachers track progress through daily observations, oral activities and simple worksheets – there are no formal pass-or-fail tests at this stage.
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Across the three core textbooks, CBSE Class 1 has 9 chapters in Mridang (English), 23 chapters in Sarangi (Hindi) and 13 chapters in Joyful Mathematics. The chapters are short, picture-rich and designed to be covered comfortably across a full academic year of around 200 instructional days.
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In most CBSE schools, Hindi is taught as a core language in Class 1 along with English. However, the second language requirement can vary by school and by state – some schools offer a regional language as an additional or alternative second language at the foundational stage. Confirm the language policy directly with the school you are considering.
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Yes. EuroSchool offers a free downloadable PDF of the complete CBSE Class 1 syllabus for 2026-27, covering all subjects, prescribed NCERT textbooks, chapter lists and the assessment pattern. The PDF is free to download, share and print, and does not require any signup.
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NEP 2020 has reshaped Class 1 in three meaningful ways. New NCERT textbooks (Mridang, Sarangi, Joyful Mathematics) replace the older books and follow a story-first, activity-based approach. Environmental Studies is integrated into language and Maths rather than taught separately. And assessment is fully continuous, with no formal exams at the foundational stage – the focus shifts from marks to genuine reading readiness, numeracy and confidence.
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Mridang is the updated NCERT textbook for Class 1 English under NEP 2020, replacing the earlier Marigold and Raindrops set. Mridang has fewer, shorter chapters organised around child-centric themes (family, life around us, food, seasons), more diverse Indian contexts in the stories and illustrations, and a stronger emphasis on listening and speaking before writing. The older Marigold book is no longer the prescribed text for the current academic session.
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The most effective home support for Class 1 is reading aloud together for 10 to 15 minutes a day, talking with the child in full sentences in both English and Hindi, and giving them everyday counting practice (stairs, fruits, coins). Avoid worksheet-style drilling at this age – it works against how the syllabus is designed.Â
