India — NCERT Social Science (Grades 6–8)
Map projections in NCERT Grades 6–8 Social Science (India)
How well this site fits
This is one of the two strongest matches. The Grade 8 Part 2 chapter “World Geography: Some Glimpses” explains what a map projection is, contrasts Mercator with Robinson and sets Greenland against India, and the labs here let pupils test those claims for themselves. Grade 6 Chapter 1 asks why a flat map cannot show a sphere without tearing, which is the same orange-peel idea the site is built on. The site does not teach scale, time zones or reading coordinates, and Equal Earth is not named in any NCERT textbook we read.
Objectives and how the site meets them
Strong fit: a pupil can meet the objective on this site alone. Partial fit: the site covers part of it. Context: related background only.
| Where in the curriculum | What it says | What pupils do here |
|---|---|---|
Exploring Society: India and Beyond, Grade 8 Part 2 (NCERT, 2026), Ch 1 “World Geography: Some Glimpses”, “The Complexity of Mapping the Earth”, pp. 2–3 Fit: Strong fit | What it says Summary in our words The chapter says every flat map distorts and calls the process of drawing the Earth on a flat surface a map projection. It shows that some maps keep shapes but not sizes, and others the reverse. It sets Mercator (good for navigation, but it inflates areas near the poles) beside Robinson (a compromise) and asks pupils to compare Greenland with India. Its message: no single map is enough, so look at several. | What pupils do here Pupils: Morphs the world from Mercator to Robinson and on to Equal Earth, drags Greenland and India to compare their true sizes, then checks their estimates in the quiz or the Africa jigsaw. Use on this site
|
Exploring Society: India and Beyond, Grade 6 (NCERT), Ch 1 “Locating Places on the Earth”, “Mapping the Earth”, pp. 12–13 Fit: Strong fit | What it says Summary in our words The Grade 6 chapter explains that a sphere cannot be laid flat without tearing, using an orange-peel activity, and concludes that a globe represents the Earth better than any flat map. | What pupils do here Pupils: Cuts the globe into strips, lays them flat and sees the gaps, then colours, cuts and folds a paper globe to compare with a flat map. Use on this site |
Exploring Society: India and Beyond, Grade 6 (NCERT), Ch 1 “Locating Places on the Earth”, Big Question 1, p. 7, and the three components of maps, p. 9 Fit: Partial fit | What it says Summary in our words Big Question 1 asks what a map is, how we use it and what its main components are (distance, direction and symbols). The chapter is mostly about local maps. | What pupils do here Pupils: Reads a world map critically: drags countries to see their apparent size change, and uses real distance and compass direction to find a country. Use on this site |
Exploring Society: India and Beyond, Grade 6 (NCERT), Ch 1 “Locating Places on the Earth”, Big Question 2 and the sections on latitude, longitude and hemispheres, pp. 7, 14, 16–17 Fit: Partial fit | What it says Summary in our words The chapter introduces latitude and longitude as the two coordinates that locate any place, and the Equator and Prime Meridian as dividers of the hemispheres. | What pupils do here Pupils: Sees the latitude and longitude grid bend as the projection changes and notices how distortion grows away from the Equator. The site shows the grid but has no task where pupils read or enter coordinates. Use on this site |
C-1.2NCF-SE 2023, Part C, section 5.4.1.1 (Middle Stage), Curricular Goal CG-1, competency C-1.2, printed p. 303 Fit: Partial fit | What it says Summary in our words The framework expects Middle Stage pupils to represent and analyse information given as text, tables, charts, diagrams and maps. The site covers only the maps part. | What pupils do here Pupils: Reads a map, then checks what it shows against measured values, for example the size of a country on a web map against its true size. Use on this site |
Exploring Society: India and Beyond, Grade 6 (NCERT), Ch 1 “Locating Places on the Earth”, Big Question 3 and the lamp-and-globe model, pp. 7, 16, 24 Fit: Context | What it says Summary in our words Big Question 3 links longitude to local and standard time, and a lamp-and-globe model shows that when it is day in one place it is night in another. Related background only: the site covers just the day-and-night picture. | What pupils do here Pupils: Taps a place to see the point on the opposite side of the Earth and watches the day–night line sweep across the map. Use on this site |
Exploring Society: India and Beyond, Grade 6 (NCERT), Ch 2 “Oceans and Continents”, hemispheres and views from above the poles, p. 29 Fit: Context | What it says Summary in our words Chapter 2 shows the Earth seen from above the North and South Poles and notes that land and ocean are unevenly shared between the hemispheres. Related background only: the site does not teach the distribution of land and water. | What pupils do here Pupils: Reads the guides to pole-centred and globe-style maps, which use the same viewpoint as the chapter’s polar figures. Use on this site |
A lesson sequence
1. Peel the globe (Grade 6, 10 min)
After “Mapping the Earth”, pupils repeat the orange-peel activity digitally: cut the globe into strips, lay them flat and see the gaps. Link it to the book’s sentence that a globe represents the Earth better than a flat map.
2. Day and night (Grade 6, 5 min)
Tap a point, read off the opposite side of the Earth and watch the day–night line sweep across the map while the class recalls the lamp-and-globe model.
3. Drag a country (Grades 6–7, 10 min)
Drag Greenland and India toward the Equator and the poles. Ask why a country’s size seems to change.
4. Mercator to Robinson (Grade 8, 10 min)
With Part 2 Chapter 1, morph from Mercator to Robinson to Equal Earth and match what happens to the book’s Figure 1.2. Then test estimates in the quiz or the Africa jigsaw.
5. Exit question (5 min)
Use the printable worksheet, or ask: name one place a normal map makes look bigger than it is, and say why.
What this site does not cover
- Map scale: the site has no scale-bar or scale-ratio exercise (Grade 6 Chapter 1, p. 10).
- Time zones, Indian Standard Time and the International Date Line are not taught; the day–night line is the only link.
- Reading the latitude and longitude of a place: the grid is shown but there is no task where pupils find coordinates.
- Symbols, cardinal directions and local maps (Grade 6 Chapter 1) are not covered.
- Oceans, continents, landforms and climate (Grade 6 Chapter 2, Grade 7) are not covered; only the map-reading skills overlap.
- Equal Earth, the site’s default, is not named in any NCERT textbook we read, so it is an extension of the curriculum, not part of it.
- NCERT has not published a standalone learning-outcomes document for Middle Stage Social Science, so the only codes available are the NCF-SE competency codes.
Status notes
- Hindi title of the series: समाज का अध्ययन : भारत और उसके आगे.
- CBSE schools use these NCERT textbooks. We found no separate CBSE syllabus PDF for Classes 6–8 Social Science.
Sources and attribution
Official document: Exploring Society: India and Beyond (NCERT Social Science, Middle Stage, Grades 6-8) under NCF-SE 2023 (NCERT (National Council of Educational Research and Training))
- Textbook: NCERT, Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Social Science, Middle Stage), Grades 6 and 8. Official PDFs: https://ncert.nic.in/textbook.php
- Competency C-1.2: NCF-SE 2023, Part C, section 5.4.1.1. https://ncert.nic.in/pdf/NCFSE-2023-August_2023.pdf
- NCERT does not permit reproduction without permission, so this page quotes nothing from the textbooks and shows none of their figures. Every summary is ours; please read the books themselves.
Checked on October 9, 2026