Akanksha has developed a 10 level curriculum that uses innovative teaching methodology to teach English, Math and Values. The first 7 levels focus on our goals of a Strong Educational Foundation, Good Time and Self-esteem and Values. The last 3 levels focus on our goal of Preparation for a Job. The Akanksha curriculum and methodology supplements serious gaps in the formal school system and makes learning fun by teaching through games, stories, and fun activities.

I. Thinking Questions Diary

These diaries have a question a day to ask yourself and your class. The questions stimulate thinking, imagination and creativity and problem solving. The children’s responses are recorded in the diary, as well as questions they begin to ask.


II. General Awareness

· Level 1 Kindergarten Manual
This is a health manual aimed at teaching hygiene, nutrition and disease education to children aged 3-5. It includes 9 lessons that are taught through action, songs and drama. The lessons include clean hands, nose, eyes and ears, teeth brushing, what to eat and diarrhea and malaria.

· Level 2 Health and General Awareness
This manual provides children with an awareness of their bodies and environment using a positive preventive approach that gives them information, skills and the confidence to be proactive about their health. Topics covered include personal hygiene, environmental hygiene, nutrition, basic illness, accidents and first aid and drugs and alcohol.

III. Language

· Level 1
This manual focuses on getting children to understand simple sentences and instructions, listen to simple songs, speak words related to the themes Myself, My Family, My School, Music/Dance, Animals, Plants, Transport, Community Workers, and Food.

· Level 2
This manual gets children familiar with multiple task instructions, answering questions, word families and listening to songs. Children are required to speak phrases and simple sentences, read rhyming and sight words, read simple sentences with words learnt and write three letter phonic words and sight words. Grammar is introduced with full stops, capital letters, singular/plural, simple gender and action words introduced. Activities are related to the themes Myself, My Family, My School, Music/Dance, Animals, Plants, Transport, Community Workers and Food.

· Level 3
This manual aims to have children listen to 3-4 paragraphs, and longer songs. Children are expected to speak five sentences related to a theme and answer questions in full sentences. Children should read some phonic blends, medial vowels with word patterns and lots of sight words. Children explore paragraphs, finding the main idea and read books independently. In grammar, children learn the parts of a sentence, punctuation, nouns, verbs, adjectives and tenses.
Activities are related to the themes Myself, Human Body, Space, Mumbai, Plants, India, Food and Communication.

· Level 4

This manual aims to have children listen to 5-6 paragraphs, answer questions in detail and understand most day to day conversations. Children speak in conversations with others, answer questions with 4-5 sentence answers, speak 10 sentences on a topic and begin to speak with correct tenses. Children read and understand paragraphs with words learnt and read with punctuation and expression. They write 2-3 paragraphs on a topic, informal letters and postcards and work more on their grammar.

Activities are related to the themes Myself/my family, Human Body, Space, Mumbai, Plants, India, Food and Communication.

· Grammar Handbook

This is an easy to use Grammar Handbook with rules, activities and ways to apply grammar.

IV. Language and Values

· Level 5 Fairy Tales, Folktales and Fables
This manual combines language and values through getting children to experience fairy tales, folk tales and fables from around the world. The manual culminates in a “performance” that the children create based on their learning. This manual encourages dreaming, magic and travel in one’s mind to the corners of the earth.

· Level 5 Service

V. Self-esteem and Values

These manuals are designed to build values and a strong sense of self-esteem in every child. They consist of lessons around values and aim to let children better understand each value and be in a position to make the correct choice for themselves. The lessons begin with a focus on the self and then move to the family, community, society, India and the world. Each manual includes tips for teachers on building self-esteem in children as well as projects for the class. Worksheets and aids are built into the manual.

· Level 1
This manual focuses on the themes of “Myself” and “My class”. Children meet characters like Mobin the Monkey who take them through chapters on self-esteem, responsibility, caring, cooperation, respect, fairness and honesty. The manual uses fun, interactive methodology including lots of songs.

· Level 2
This manual focuses on the themes of “Myself” and “My Class”. Through songs, stories, creative activities and games children meet Shakeel the Bear, Lazy Mona and others to learn more about self-esteem, responsibility, caring, cooperation, respect, fairness and honesty.

· Level 3
This manual moves from “Myself” and “My Class” to “My Community”. Children do role plays, read stories of miracles, sing happy songs and make books to understand the values of self-esteem, responsibility, caring, cooperation, respect, fairness, honesty, good citizenship, courage and integrity and appreciating diversity.

· Level 4
This manual moves from “Myself” and “My Class” to “My Community.” Children make a diversity quilt, study poems and quotes and learn about courageous people to understand the values of self-esteem, responsibility, caring, cooperation, respect, fairness, honesty, good citizenship, courage and integrity and appreciating diversity.

· Good Deeds Diary
The Akanksha good deeds diary is a pocket-sized diary where children are encouraged to write down or draw good deeds that they do. Teachers do a session in class every week (or more often) where children share the good deeds that they have done. Teachers are encouraged to keep diaries and share too.

VI. Math

· Level 1
This manual focuses on learning through experiencing numbers and number games. It covers sorting, pairing, patterns, shapes, basic symmetry, pairs and numbers 1-10. It then moves on to basic addition and subtraction, doubles and neighbors and numbers 1-100. Other topics include starting with fractions, calendar, Indian money and word problems.

· Level 2
This manual focuses on learning through experiencing numbers and number games. It covers 10’s and 100’s, addition and subtraction, multiplication and division, money and time.

· Level 3
This manual teaches children number patterns, addition and subtraction strategies, adding 100s and 1,000s, multiplication and division through stories, length, time, graphs and fractions.

· Level 4
This manual teaches children different types of graphs, more with the 100 chart, place value, money up to 1 crore, mental math and four digit addition and subtraction. It covers time, word problems with multiplication and division, multiples and divisibility, basic geometry and fractions and decimals.

· Level 5
This manual introduces averages and the order of operations, exponents and equations, multiplying and dividing decimals, the metric system, factors and multiples, prime and composite numbers, HCF and LCM and lots on fractions. It covers geometric figures, angles and lines, area, perimeter, volume and square roots.

VII. Beyond School

· Life skills, goal-setting and decision making
This manual has a practical approach to learning life skills, goal-setting and decision making. Students are encouraged to practice these skills through projects and experiences outside the classroom.

· Careers handbook and packages

This handbook is aimed at exposing students to a wide range of careers to enable them to understand the breadth of what is available for them to do. Career packages are interactive activity packs on each career that give in-depth knowledge about each career through interviews, stories, case studies and a range of activities.

· Level 10 Service

This manual examines the Gandhiji’s statement “Be the Change that You Wish to See in the World.” Students read case studies of a range of service leaders, and get involved in projects that bring about change.

Akanksha program manuals

Empowerment
The Empowerment Manual introduces students to adolescence and encourages them to take responsibility for themselves in all spheres of their lives – personal, academic and careers. Topics include communication skills, self-confidence, balance, asking for help, responsibility to self, in actions and in attitudes, alcoholism and toward the future.

Mentor
The Mentor manual summarizes the many processes and routes that a mentor can take to make mentoring relevant, useful, fun and efficient. The manual includes activities to help children figure out the balance between aspiration, achievement and family reality as it is these three factors that will determine each student’s future.

Learning Through Drama
The Akanksha Drama Manual makes learning simple, easy and enjoyable. Drama is used as a mean to loosening up, building teamwork and self-confidence, increasing concentration, developing communication skills and releasing emotions. Each drama class is broken down into body warm-up activities, acting activities and focus and concentration activities.

Art for Akanksha
The two year art curriculum takes a child from the very basic of art to complicated art concepts. While the first year helps the child talk about himself, the second year curriculum takes him towards the next step – looking at himself in connection with his world. Besides art, the class teaches the child basic values, builds self-esteem while have a good time. The curriculum aims to help the child to open up his senses and look, feel, hear, smell and taste the beauty of the world in all its wonder.

Akanksha School Manuals
These manuals have been developed to deliver the Maharashtra State SSC Bal Bharati books in a fun, interactive way.

I. Activity Book for Standard One Bal Bharati
II. Activity Book for Standard Two Bal Bharati
III. Activity Book for Standard Three Bal Bharati
IV. Activity Book for Standard Four Bal Bharati
V. Art and Craft for Standard One
VI. Art and Craft for Standard Two
VII. Sports and Games for Standard One
VIII. Dance and Drama for Standard One

Curriculum Manuals

Key

Level 1 – age 5-6
Level 2-age 6-7
Level 3 – age 7-8
Level 4- age 8-9
Level 5 –age 9-10
Level 6 – age 10-11
Level 7 – age 11-12
Level 8-age 12-13
Level 9-age 13-14
Level 10-age 14-16