The Books: Orchard Environmental Studies 3–5
Powered by the guiding principles of the National Education Policy (2020) and the NCERT, Orchard actively supports experiential learning and critical thinking through a multidisciplinary approach. It aims to develop 'all capacities of human beings—intellectual, aesthetic, social, physical, emotional, and moral in an integrated manner.’
The key features of the coursebooks are:
- Holistic Learning and Integration— across disciplines and skills in the
- 21st Century Skills— for strong cognitive and personal development, beyond rote learning
- Learning outcomes— to attain specified goals on a clear path
- Thematic Approach—for graded and child-friendly learning
- Experiential Learning—to connect real life with concepts
- Extensive Digital Resources—for Students and for Teachers
The coursebooks also include:
Learning Outcomes: Based on concept-wise NCERT Learning Outcomes
Digital Learning: Quick-response codes to access digital resources for reinforcement of concepts and more information
Warm-up: Lead-in activity to connect the concept with real life
Story Time: Engaging short narrative to help students feel their way into the topic
Text: Richly illustrated child-friendly text with clear explanations
Exercises: Interesting mix of questions in different formats for concept check and critical thinking, with life skills and values embedded in select questions
Find Out: Multidisciplinary tasks to promote discovery-based learning and research skills
Activity: Extensive range of child-centric experiential activities, and theme-based and cross-curricular activities for holistic learning
Do You Know?: Fascinating facts covering a range of topics, and nuggets of general knowledge to stimulate curiosity
Projects: Subject-integrated and age-appropriate projects covering multiple intelligences, mix of creative and functional tasks for individual and collaborative work, and focus on holistic and experiential learning by blending in 21st century skills
The Orchard: Holistic Learning for Schools series also comes with a Teachers’ Resource Pack and an online Smart Book on the Teachers’ Portal.