CTET aspirants who wish to become eligible for recruitment as a teacher of class VI to VIII must appear and qualify in Paper 2. Being a national level competitive exam, not only the level of competition is high in CTET, candidates often fail to crack the exam in one go. Paper-2 consists of the subjects of Mathematics & Science and Social Studies besides the compulsory subjects of Child Development & Pedagogy and Language-I and II. It goes without saying that the syllabus of CTET Paper-2 is by no means small and ample time must be devoted to prepare well for those appearing in this paper. If you are looking for preparation tips and tricks for CTET Paper-2 then there is no need to look further. Read this article to know how to prepare for the exam strategically and score higher marks.
How to prepare for CTET Paper 2
One of the foremost things to consider before starting CTET preparations is to know about the exam pattern. CTET Paper 2 consists of MCQ type questions only. There are 150 questions which must be completed within 150 minutes. The candidates can check the pattern of marks distribution in Paper 2 from the table below.
| Subject | Number of questions | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| Child Development & Pedagogy (compulsory) | 30 | 30 |
| Language I (compulsory) | 30 | 30 |
| Language II (compulsory) | 30 | 30 |
| Mathematics and Science (for Mathematics and Science teacher) | 60 | 60 |
| Social Studies/ Social Science (for Social Studies/ Social Science teacher) | 60 | 60 |
| Total | 150 | 150 |
Now that one knows about how the question paper is framed, start your preparations by referring to the simple preparation tips provided below.
- First of all, you are advised to prepare a plan for the preparation. Start the preparation according to that schedule. Analyze your progress from time to time by solving mock tests.
- Equal weightage of marks has been given to Child Development and Pedagogy, Language I, and Language – II. Thus, maximum marks can be obtained if one can only increase the number of good attempts in these three compulsory subjects.
- Among individual subjects, the most weightage is given to Mathematics & Science or Social Studies/Social Sciences. The candidates can appear for either of the subjects as per their preference. However, for preparations, ensure that you study these on a daily basis. Focus on the subject pedagogy topics in these subjects.
- For Child Development and Pedagogy, it is important to learn about Inclusive education and understanding children with special needs.
- For Language, I and Language II, the proficiency of Language is checked in this subject. So try to improve your proficiency by referring to nonacademic reading sources as well. Prepare the unseen passages related to prose and drama.
- Learn all the formulas and small tricks to solve the questions asked in the Mathematics subject to save time spent in lengthy calculations.
- Refer to the syllabus of class VI to VIII for Social Studies/Social Sciences. All the questions are based on the standards of class VI to VIII as per NCERT.
- Solve as many previous year question papers to increase the chances of getting repeated questions.
Recommended Books for CTET Paper 2
Some of the best and most useful books for CTET Paper-2 preparations are provided below. However, this list is non-exhaustive and candidates can also include books of their choice.
| Books | Author | Buy Here |
| CTET & TETs Solved Papers (2011-2017) Class VI-VIII Mathematics & Science (Paperback, Arihant Expert) | Arihant | Buy Now |
| CTET Success Master Paper-II Teacher Selection for Class VI-VIII MATHS & SCIENCE (English, Paperback, Arihant Expert) | Arihant | Buy Now |
| Child Development & Pedagogy for CTET & STET (Paper 1 & 2) 2nd Edition | Shalini Punjabi | Buy Now |
| CTET Practice Workbook Paper 1 – English (8 Solved + 10 Mock papers) | Disha Experts | Buy Now |
| Crack CTET 2014 Paper 2 Social Studies (Guide + Practice Workbook): Set of 2 Books 2nd Edition (English, Paperback, Disha Experts) | Disha Experts | Buy Now |
| 15 Practice Sets CTET Central Teacher Eligibility Test Paper II Social Science Teacher Selection for Class VI-VIII 8 Edition | Arihant | Buy Now |
| Central Teacher Eligibility Test Elementary Stage (Paper-II) (For Classes VI-VIII) Social Studies | Anshu Mangal, Singh Dr. S. Anand | Buy Now |
| (CTET /TET) Bal Vikas Aur Adhyapan Kala | Ragini Kaveendra | Buy Now |
Official website: ctet.nic.in
