CBSE Class 10/Overview
Curriculum 2026–27
Practice
📖CBSE Class 10 · Subject Code 184 · Academic Year 2026–27

CBSE Class 10 English Language & Literature — Notes, Grammar & Literature

Reading Skills, Grammar, Writing Skills, First Flight (Prose & Poetry), Footprints Without Feet. Complete topic-by-topic concept notes, formulas, step-by-step NCERT derivations, 5,920+ verified questions, and board simulation tests.

Prescribed Modules
37 Chapters
Verified Question Bank
5,920+ Questions
Board Theory Exam
80 Marks (3 Hours)

CBSE Class 10 English Language & Literature Syllabus & Unit-Wise Marks Distribution (2026–27)

Section A: Reading Skills
Discursive Passage & Case-Based Factual Passage
20 Marks
Section B: Writing Skills & Grammar
Formal Letter, Analytical Paragraph, Tenses, Modals, Subject-Verb Concord, Reported Speech
20 Marks
Section C: Language through Literature
First Flight (Prose & Poems) and Footprints Without Feet Supplementary Reader
40 Marks

All 37 Chapter Revision Notes & Modules

Select any chapter for in-depth revision notes, NCERT concept formulas, solved examples, and test series.

Chapter 1• 15 min read

Discursive Passage Comprehension

Strategies for solving unseen discursive reading passages, central theme inference, and contextual vocabulary.

Provides structured analytical methods to read and comprehend opinionated, discursive passages effectively.
Focuses on identifying implicit authorial tone, evaluating logical arguments, and deducing contextual vocabulary.
Chapter 2• 15 min read

Case-Based Factual Passage Comprehension

Interpreting case-based factual passages with charts, surveys, and statistical data for precise comprehension.

Guides students through reading and decoding data-dense factual passages containing statistical surveys and research charts.
Enhances skills in comparative data analysis, evidence-based reasoning, and formulating precise answers.
Chapter 3• 15 min read

Formal Letter: Complaint & Inquiry

Drafting official letters of complaint and business inquiries with formal tone and problem articulation.

Teaches how to draft polite, structured complaint letters detailing defective goods or services and seeking prompt redressal.
Outlines the official format for making inquiries regarding courses, travel packages, and institutional admissions.
Chapter 4• 15 min read

Formal Letter: Editor & Placing an Order

CBSE official format, salutation, tone, and structuring for Letters to the Editor and Placing Business Orders.

Covers standard formal layouts and conventions for writing persuasive letters to newspaper editors regarding social issues.
Explains professional commercial letter drafting for placing and confirming orders with precise specifications and terms.
Chapter 5• 15 min read

Analytical Paragraph Writing

Synthesizing bar charts, pie charts, tables, and cue outlines into cohesive 100–120 word analytical paragraphs.

Teaches how to extract key trends and data points from charts and graphs into a concise, well-structured analytical paragraph.
Focuses on writing an objective overview, comparative trend analysis, and a logical concluding synthesis.
Chapter 6• 15 min read

Grammar: Tenses Mastery & Error Correction

Rules and error correction for all 12 tense structures in present, past, and future contexts.

Clarifies the 12 standard tense forms and rules governing time sequences, ongoing actions, and completed states.
Provides targeted gap-filling, sentence completion, and error-correction strategies for board examinations.
Chapter 7• 15 min read

Grammar: Modals of Ability, Obligation & Probability

Modal verbs (can, could, may, might, should, must, ought to) expressing permission, ability, obligation, and probability.

Details the contextual usage of modal auxiliaries to convey certainty, obligation, permission, and polite requests.
Enhances sentence editing and dialogue completion skills through authentic contextual exercises.
Chapter 8• 15 min read

Grammar: Subject-Verb Concord

Rules of agreement between subject and verb with compound subjects, collective nouns, and quantifiers.

Explains fundamental concord rules ensuring singular and plural subjects agree accurately with finite verbs.
Addresses common exam traps involving collective nouns, intervening clauses, correlative conjunctions, and indefinite pronouns.
Chapter 9• 15 min read

Grammar: Determiners & Reported Speech

Articles, demonstratives, quantifiers, and rules for converting direct dialogue into reported speech.

Classifies determiners (articles, possessives, quantifiers) to clarify noun modification in standard English.
Provides rules for direct-to-indirect speech conversion, detailing tense backshifts, pronoun shifts, and reporting verbs.
Chapter 10• 15 min read

A Letter to God

Lencho's unshakeable faith in God, devastation of cornfields by hailstorm, postmaster's benevolence, and situational irony.

Narrates the story of Lencho, a poor farmer whose absolute faith in God survives the complete destruction of his ripe cornfield by hailstones.
Explores themes of unwavering faith, human generosity, and the poignant situational irony of calling the helpful post office staff 'a bunch of crooks'.
Chapter 11• 15 min read

Nelson Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

Inauguration of South Africa's first democratic government, apartheid struggles, twin obligations, and the meaning of true courage.

Recounts Nelson Mandela's historic inauguration address celebrating the defeat of apartheid and the birth of a free democratic South Africa.
Reflects on the true definition of courage as triumph over fear, human resilience, and every individual's twin obligations to family and society.
Chapter 12• 15 min read

Two Stories about Flying

Two uplifting stories of flight: a young seagull taking his first flight and a pilot guided through a black storm.

Chronicles a young seagull overcoming his fear of flying to discover self-confidence with parental encouragement.
Follows a lone pilot guided safely through a dangerous storm by a mysterious black airplane, highlighting resilience and hope.
Chapter 13• 15 min read

From the Diary of Anne Frank

Anne Frank's reflections on having Kitty as a confidante, life in the Secret Annex, family background, and interactions with Mr Keesing.

Presents intimate excerpts from thirteen-year-old Anne Frank's diary, whom she affectionately calls Kitty, documenting her thoughts and school life.
Captures youthful optimism, her humorous battles with her maths teacher Mr Keesing, and her profound insight that 'paper has more patience than people'.
Chapter 14• 15 min read

Glimpses of India

Three cultural travelogues exploring the bakers of Goa, the misty hills of Coorg, and the tea plantations of Assam.

Celebrates traditional Goan bakery heritage (Pader) and the brave, hospitable martial traditions of the people of Coorg.
Explores sprawling tea gardens and ancient legends surrounding the discovery of tea in Assam, capturing India's rich diversity.
Chapter 15• 15 min read

Mijbil the Otter

Gavin Maxwell's experience adopting an otter in Iraq, Mijbil's playful antics, transport struggles to London, and bond between man and animal.

Chronicles author Gavin Maxwell's humorous and touching journey raising Mijbil, an intelligent and playful otter brought from the Iraqi marshes.
Details the chaotic flight to London and Mijbil's endearing quirks, illustrating the affectionate bond between human and animal.
Chapter 16• 15 min read

Madam Rides the Bus

Eight-year-old Valli's meticulously planned solo bus journey to the nearest town, curiosity, self-dignity, and realization of mortality.

Follows young Valliammai (Valli) as she meticulously plans and executes her dream solo bus journey to town with innocent self-respect.
Contrasts her joyful observations of the rural landscape with her sobering encounter with a dead cow, marking an early brush with the reality of death.
Chapter 17• 15 min read

The Sermon at Benares

Gautama Buddha's enlightenment, Kisa Gotami's grief over her dead son, the mustard seed quest, and universal truth of death.

Recounts Gautama Buddha's journey to enlightenment and his profound first sermon delivered to sorrowful Kisa Gotami at Benares.
Uses the parable of the mustard seed from a house untouched by death to teach the inevitability of mortality and detachment from grief.
Chapter 18• 15 min read

The Proposal

Anton Chekhov's one-act farce about Lomov proposing to Natalya, petty quarrels over Oxen Meadows and hunting dogs, and societal marital norms.

Presents Anton Chekhov's humorous one-act farce exploring how Russian landed gentry prioritize property and economic security over genuine love.
Depicts the absurd, hot-tempered arguments between Lomov, Chubukov, and Natalya over Oxen Meadows and hunting dogs in the midst of a marriage proposal.
Chapter 19• 15 min read

Dust of Snow

Robert Frost's poem about a crow shaking snow from a hemlock tree, shifting the poet's melancholy mood into renewed gratitude.

Illustrates how an ordinary natural incident—a crow shaking snow from a hemlock tree—transforms the poet's gloomy mood into gratitude.
Conveys that nature's simple, unexpected moments have the healing power to rescue an otherwise wasted day from despair.
Chapter 20• 15 min read

Fire and Ice

Robert Frost's reflection on humanity's self-destructive desires (fire) and cold hatred (ice) capable of ending the world.

Contemplates the catastrophic end of humanity, metaphorically comparing fiery uncontrolled desire to burning passion and ice to cold, rigid hatred.
Warns with philosophical brevity that both unchecked passion and persistent malice possess equal destructive power to bring about the end of the world.
Chapter 21• 15 min read

A Tiger in the Zoo

Leslie Norris's contrast between a proud caged tiger pacing behind concrete bars and his natural majestic life in the wild jungle.

Vividly contrasts the suppressed fury of a magnificent tiger confined in a zoo cage with his natural, unfettered freedom in the wild jungle.
Critiques human cruelty in depriving wild animals of their natural habitats and calls for empathy toward captive wildlife.
Chapter 22• 15 min read

How to Tell Wild Animals

Carolyn Wells' humorous guide to identifying dangerous wild beasts (Asian Lion, Bengal Tiger, Leopard, Hyena, Crocodile, Chameleon).

Offers a light-hearted, whimsical poetic guide to identifying ferocious wild animals through their distinctive hunting habits and behaviors.
Uses delightful rhythm, comical rhymes, and clever wordplay to describe encounters with lions, tigers, leopards, hyenas, and chameleons.
Chapter 23• 15 min read

The Ball Poem

John Berryman's poem about a boy losing his ball in the harbor, experiencing grief, epistemology of loss, and learning adult responsibility.

Explores a young boy's grief upon losing his cherished ball in the water, marking his very first encounter with irreversible personal loss.
Reflects on the epistemology of loss, teaching that growing up requires accepting that material possessions cannot replace emotional attachments.
Chapter 24• 15 min read

Amanda!

Robin Klein's portrayal of a young girl escaping constant parental nagging through vivid imaginative daydreams as a mermaid, orphan, and Rapunzel.

Depicts the inner world of Amanda, a young girl whose desire for freedom leads her to escape constant maternal nagging through imaginative daydreams.
Highlights the psychological struggle between rigid adult control and a child's natural craving for solitude, creativity, and self-expression.
Chapter 25• 15 min read

The Trees

Adrienne Rich's feminist allegory of decorative indoor trees breaking free from captivity to reclaim their rightful home in the natural forest.

Uses a symbolic rebellion of indoor trees breaking through glass walls and floors to depict nature reclaiming its rightful place in the open forest.
Serves as a powerful feminist allegory for women breaking out of domestic confinement to participate freely in the wider world.
Chapter 26• 15 min read

Fog

Carl Sandburg's haiku-style poem comparing the silent arrival, lingering, and departure of fog over a harbor to a quiet little cat.

Captures the gentle and stealthy movement of fog settling over harbor docks and cities through an evocative metaphor of a silent little cat.
Demonstrates how minimalist imagery and keen observation can transform a quiet atmospheric phenomenon into timeless poetry.
Chapter 27• 15 min read

The Tale of Custard the Dragon

Ogden Nash's whimsical ballad about Belinda's boastful pets and Custard, the cowardly dragon who bravely defeats a fierce pirate.

Tells the entertaining story of Belinda and her boastful pets who mock Custard the dragon for his cowardice until real danger strikes.
Delivers an engaging moral that true courage is demonstrated through action during a crisis rather than hollow boasting in times of ease.
Chapter 28• 15 min read

For Anne Gregory

W.B. Yeats' philosophical dialogue on whether humans can love a woman for herself alone rather than her captivating yellow hair.

Explores a poetic conversation between the speaker and Anne Gregory regarding whether humans are capable of loving someone for their inner self alone.
Contrasts superficial human attraction to outward physical beauty with divine love that unconditionally cherishes the true soul within.
Chapter 29• 15 min read

A Triumph of Surgery

James Herriot's humorous veterinary case treating Tricki, an overfed pampered dog, using strict diet and physical exercise without drugs.

Relates veterinary surgeon James Herriot's cure of Tricki, a pampered dog whose doting mistress Mrs Pumphrey brought him to near death through overfeeding.
Demonstrates that Tricki's miraculous recovery required common-sense discipline, proper diet, and physical activity rather than medical surgery.
Chapter 30• 15 min read

The Thief's Story

Ruskin Bond's story of young thief Hari Singh, Anil's trusting mentorship, the stolen money dilemma, and moral transformation.

Follows Hari Singh, a seasoned adolescent thief whose encounter with kind, trusting writer Anil awakens his conscience and desire for education.
Shows how compassion, unconditional trust, and the prospect of learning can successfully reform a troubled youth where punishment would fail.
Chapter 31• 15 min read

The Midnight Visitor

Robert Arthur's spy thriller where clever secret agent Ausable outwits armed intruder Max using quick wit, composure, and a fictional balcony.

Features quick-witted secret agent Ausable who defies conventional spy stereotypes with his portly appearance and calm psychological mastery.
Narrates how Ausable invents a nonexistent balcony to trick armed intruder Max into jumping to his doom without ever firing a weapon.
Chapter 32• 15 min read

A Question of Trust

Horace Danby's annual meticulous robbery betrayed by an attractive lady thief posing as the homeowner, proving no honor among thieves.

Tells the story of Horace Danby, a respected locksmith who robs one wealthy safe a year to fund his passion for rare, expensive books.
Presents a clever ironic twist when Horace is outwitted by a charming female burglar posing as the lady of the house, leaving him to take the blame.
Chapter 33• 15 min read

Footprints Without Feet

H.G. Wells' tale of brilliant but lawless scientist Griffin using invisibility for burglary and mischief before escaping from Iping.

Chronicles brilliant but morally bankrupt scientist Griffin who discovers an invisibility formula and uses it for theft, arson, and chaos.
Warns that scientific genius without ethical responsibility and human empathy quickly degenerates into destructive criminal lawlessness.
Chapter 34• 15 min read

The Making of a Scientist

Richard Ebright's journey from butterfly collecting to pioneering genetics research driven by curiosity, mother's support, and scientific rigor.

Traces the inspiring journey of Richard Ebright from childhood butterfly collecting in Pennsylvania to pioneering discoveries in cell biology.
Highlights the essential ingredients of scientific greatness: a first-rate mind, insatiable curiosity, parental encouragement, and competitive drive.
Chapter 35• 15 min read

The Necklace

Guy de Maupassant's ironic tragedy of Mathilde Loisel's vanity, borrowing an imitation diamond necklace, and enduring ten years of hardship.

Portrays Mathilde Loisel's tragic vanity and discontent with her modest life, leading her to borrow an expensive-looking necklace for a grand ball.
Delivers a devastating twist of irony when ten years of crushing debt to replace the lost necklace reveal that the original was a worthless glass imitation.
Chapter 36• 15 min read

Bholi

K.A. Abbas's story of neglected girl Sulekha (Bholi), empowered by teacher's love to reject a greedy groom and claim self-respect.

Traces the uplifting transformation of Sulekha (Bholi), a neglected stammering village girl who finds her voice through her schoolteacher's loving guidance.
Celebrates her bold decision to reject a greedy dowry-seeking groom, standing tall with self-respect and dignity as an educated young woman.
Chapter 37• 15 min read

The Book That Saved the Earth

Claire Boiko's sci-fi comedy where Martian invaders led by arrogant Think-Tank misinterpret 'Mother Goose' nursery rhymes as Earth weapons.

Presents a delightful twentieth-century sci-fi play where foolish Martian commander Think-Tank attempts an invasion of Earth.
Shows how Martians comically misinterpret simple 'Mother Goose' nursery rhymes as advanced terrestrial battle plans, saving planet Earth.

Frequently Asked Questions — CBSE Class 10 English Language & Literature

What is the section-wise weightage for CBSE Class 10 English (Code 184)?

Section A (Reading Skills): 20 marks, Section B (Writing Skills & Grammar): 20 marks, and Section C (Language through Literature): 40 marks.

Are all First Flight poems and prose chapters covered with summaries?

Yes, all 37 modules across First Flight, Footprints Without Feet, Grammar, and Creative Writing are covered with detailed character analyses, central themes, poetic devices, and NCERT solutions.