Social Studies is often measured to be one of the most difficult subjects of CBSE Class 10 by majority of the students. The misconception about the subject is that it only offers facts and memorization of answers. Social Studies is actually one of the most interesting subjects for those who want to learn about the major events in the history of the mankind which have changed the world, how our civilization began and where will it lead to, what the topographic arrangements of our world are and how they change with time and so on. In this article we will help you in understanding the requirements to perform the best for Class 10 SST Board.
Units of CBSE Class 10 Social Science
The Class 10 SST syllabus has four main units having equal weightage in terms of marks:
- India and the Contemporary World -II
- Contemporary India-II
- Democratic Politics II
- Understanding Economic Development
All the chapters in these units are relevant in terms of Class 10 SST Boards. As per the latest sample paper, released by the CBSE Board, the new examination pattern for CBSE Class 10 SST (Social Science) Board Exam 2024 will be according to the following format:
| Type of Questions | No. of Questions | Marks per question |
|---|---|---|
| Very Short Answer Type | 1-7 | 1 |
| Short Answer Type | 8-18 | 3 |
| Long Answer Type | 19-25 | 5 |
| Map Question (History) | 26 (A) | 2 |
| Map Question (Geography) | 26 (B) | 3 |
| Total | 26 | 80 |
From the Board Examination point of view let us focus on the following aspects:
Typology of Questions and their implications
- You are not likely to get any 1-mark question based on remembering (knowledge-based simple recall). The variety of the 7 one-mark questions will be, 3 understanding based/ 2 application based / and 2 HOTS. It implies that you should be able to quickly arrange your thoughts and write the answers in one or two lines. As most of us answer these questions first – usually more time gets allocated to them. You will do well to curb this tendency.
- Questions of 3 marks. There will be a total 11 question of 3 marks in SST question paper 2024. Out of total 11, 2 questions will be remembering based, 1 understanding based, 3 application based, 3 HOTS, and 2 Evaluation based. These questions can take more time if you are not well-prepared. The way to answer these questions is to first put down your quick thoughts in rough and then write the answers. This kind of questions are more likely from Chapter 4 (Geography – Contemporary India) and Chapter 4 (Economics-Understanding Economic development).
- Only 4 questions (out of 26) will be ‘knowledge-based or remembering type’, (3+3, 5+5). These have to be answered with facts and will not take much time. Looking at the previous year’s questions these questions are more likely from (History- “India and the Contemporary world II) chapter 1 or 2 and chapter 3. To get all last 10 year’s questions, you can check out CBSE Champion Social Science. It gives you chapterwise topicwise authentic solutions to all the questions (VSA, SA, LA) asked in previous 10 years’ Board examinations. Also, it gives you topic-wise Graphical analysis to give a fair idea about chapter weightage.
- Questions of 5 marks – There would be 7 five marks questions in all (covering 44% of the total marks). Remember to allocate about 90 minutes to 5-marks questions. These should be written well, and you should also compulsively revise the answers.These would be 2 remembering type as mentioned above. Others will be 2-understanding based/2-application based/ and 1-HOTS. These five marks questions usually take more time and need your time management skills.
- Map based questions– You have to locate and label the entity asked on the map of India. Usually two (1+1) map-based questions are asked from chapter 3 (India and the Contemporary World- II), syllabus given. One 3 marks question is also asked from geography section (Contemporary India II. Here one should practice the last few years map-based questions.
Social Science Important Topics for Class 10 2024
Looking at the trend of the last few years we suggest the following topics in a generalized fashion for the 5 marks questions, and even the 3 marks questions:
- Unification of Germany/ Italy
- Treaty of Vienna 1815
- Civil disobedience/ Salt March of Gandhiji
- Characteristics of Democracy
- Effects of Globalization, contribution of technology/ Liberalization
- Conservation of Mineral resources/ water
- Impacts of Great depression (1930)
- Impacts of the First World War:
- Sectors of Indian economy/ condition of employment
- Employment in rural sector
- Agriculture – Rice/Wheat/Pulses
- Conservation of Energy/ Minerals
- Network of Railways and Roadways
- Manufacturing Industries in India
- Pressure groups and Movements – in Politics
- Role of banking/Credit in Business
- Discrimination against Women
- Biodiversity and Sustainability
Important Points to Remember while Preparing for Class 10 SST
- First thing first – take breaks from studies often. Do something else such as organize your room and study table, listen to music etc.
- Know the syllabus well particularly the optional chapters and plan accordingly. Try preparing and using flow charts/concept maps, they are a great help in reflecting and connecting the ideas.
- In order to gain expertise in subjects like history, civics and geography, it is necessary to be clear about the facts. Remembering all the facts is undoubtedly a tedious task but preparing separate notes for each chapter can prove fruitful.
- Revising from your own notes or the book you have been reading and underlined, will take less time.
- Besides mugging up the facts, it is also important to have good writing skills in order to get good marks in lengthy questions.
- Refer to Score More 15 Sample Papers Class 10 CBSE is imperative. It will give you good result even if you refer to the book few days day the Class 10 SST examination. It helps you in getting familiar with the latest pattern of questions asked in the Class 10 SST board exam and help you in keeping a check on speed and the writing skills for the exam.
- Remember “understanding based questions” will ask you to interpret, compare, explain etc. It would be prudent to arrange your thoughts well, so the answers do not become too lengthy.
- In “application-based questions” examples or some kind of solution to a problem are asked. Thinking up an example can kill time, so you should be well-prepared for it.
- Refer at map questions from previous years papers . It is easy to get full marks in these. It may not be a good idea to start a new topic; revise what you have learnt.
- Place maps in your room, and whenever you get bored of reading your books, just look to the map and try finding places for fun and to change your mood.
- Revising the easy chapters first is always a good plan and works as a confidence booster.
We at MTG, are sure that the above inputs will facilitate your exam preparation for Social Science (SST) paper. If you want to get an effective study plan for Class 10 board exam , then you must check out 5 Exam Hacks to score 99 % in class 10.
Kindly note, apart from working hard to prepare for the run up to exams, the most important work is yet to be done. What to do and not do on the exam day? Irrespective of how much you have studied, it is possible that your exam performance may not reflect your hard work on the exam day.
Wishing you all the best for your Class 10 Board Exams !
