Class IX : Paribesh Siksha Syllabus
I. Understanding Ecosystem
• Types of ecosystem - forest, grassland, desert, aquatic, coastal, marine
• Interaction between biotic and abiotic factors in an ecosystem
• Energy flow and its importance, cycles of nutrients in terrestrial and aquatic ( fresh water and marine ) ecosystems, nature's mechanism in maintaining balance
• Destruction of ecosystem due to changing patterns of land use; factors responsible for this-population growth,migration, industrialization and urbanization, dwelling units, transport, encroachment on water bodies, forests and agricultural land, shifting cultivation, facilities for tourism, pilgrimage, recreation and adventure; construction of large dams, war and mining
• Impact of ecosystem destruction - loss of habitat, stress on resources
• Conservation of ecosystem - alternative practices including indigenous conservation practices, planning for proper land use
• Role of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in maintaning the quality of the environment
II. Depletion of Resources
• Natural resources :- air, water, soil, metals, minerals, forests and fuels
• Causes of depletion of resources - over-use/irrational use, non-equitable distribution of resources, technological and industrial development, population growth
• Impact of resource depletion - imbalance in nature, shortage of materials, struggle for existence; slackening of economic growth
• Practices for conservation of resources - search for alternatives, promotion of renewable resources
III. Waste Generation and Management
• Sources of waste - domestic, industrial, agricultural, commercial and other establishments
• Classification of waste - bio-degradable, non-bio-degradable; toxic, non-toxic, bio¬medical
• Impact of waste accumulation - spoilage of landscape, pollution, health hazards, effect on terrestrial, aquatic (fresh water and marine) life
• Need for management of waste
• Methods of safe disposal of waste - segregation, dumping, composting, drainage, treatment of effluents before discharge, incineration, use of scrubbers and electrostatic precipitators
• Need for reducing, reusing and recycling waste
• Legal provisions of handling and management of waste
IV. Environmental Values and Ethics
• Human rights, fundamental duties and value education
• Women and Child Welfare
Exemplar Activities
The activities suggested below are neither exhaustive nor prescriptive. Teachers may design their own set of activities keeping in view the overall objectives of teaching and learning of EE at this stage. They will have to make use of local flora and fauna and the available resources and facilities and take cognizance of local environmental problems. The learners should be encouraged to initiate action on their own.
• Arranging visits to a few establishments in the locality like motor repair workshops, kilns, pottery making units, fish and vegetable markets, restaurants, dyeing units and helping learners to find out the types of waste and methods prevalent for its disposal. Organizing discussions on the information collected to suggest measures to improve the environmental conditions.
• Helping learners prepare report on changing patterns of land use during the last five years in the village, city, region and state through collection of information from different sources about the area of land utilized for:
- housing,
- markets, hospitals, schools and other facilities,
- construction of roads, and
- industries.
• Discussing the possibility of finding economically and environmentally-friendly alternatives to deal with the scarcity of resources like fuels in the locality.
• Organizing visits of learners to nearby hospitals or health centers and helping them collect information about diseases caused due to the prevailing environmental conditions.
• Helping learners plan and execute awareness campaigns through community participation on major environmental problems at the local and/or national levels like deforestation, energy conservation, air pollution due to automobiles and noise pollution.
• Encouraging learners disseminate information through bulletin boards, school magazines about the impact of construction of large dams, natural disasters like floods, droughts or cyclones on ecosystem.
• Helping learners list different types of industries in the states and collect information about the types of raw materials used, modes of their procurement and disposal of wastes generated. Organizing discussion to classify these industries as polluting or environment friendly and suggesting possible ways of reducing pollution caused by these units.
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