Background
Rajendra Public School in Sirsa, Haryana, is a K-12 institution with over 800 students and a teaching team of more than 55 teachers. The school has consistently placed importance on structured academic planning, particularly at the foundational stage, recognising that early learning outcomes strongly influence long-term academic progress.
At the pre-primary level, the school followed a defined curriculum but began reassessing its learning resources to better support classroom engagement and developmental readiness. While the existing books covered essential concepts, teachers observed that they relied heavily on written tasks and repetitive formats, offering limited scope for storytelling, hands-on activities, or differentiated learning. There was also limited integration of digital content to support visual learning, guided demonstrations, or classroom-led interaction, keeping instruction largely dependent on print-based methods.
As part of this review, while exploring early learning resources that could better align with classroom realities and students' attention spans, the school came across AASOKA-an education platform focused on age-appropriate and activity-led learning resources. The school decided to evaluate AASOKA'S pre-primary resources to address the growing need for more engaging and effective foundational learning materials.
Challenge
Making pre-primary classrooms more engaging and instruction-ready.
Solution
Introduction of AASOKA's pre-primary resources built around play-based and experiential learning.
Impact
Higher student engagement, clearer lesson delivery for teachers, and stronger foundational skills.
Challenges
The key challenge lay in making early concepts meaningful and engaging for young learners. While curriculum requirements were clear, the books in use did not always support how pre-primary students learn best through observation, interaction, and guided activity.
In mixed-ability classrooms, rigid formats made it difficult to adjust lesson pace. Teachers often had to plan additional activities to keep students involved, increasing their workload. There was a clear need for books that could actively support teaching, rather than serving only as written practice material.
Approach
AASOKA's pre-primary books were introduced with a clear focus on how they would be used during teaching periods, not just for practice. The books followed a storytelling-led and play-based learning structure, allowing concepts to be introduced gradually and reinforced through guided classroom interaction. Digital aids supported lesson delivery, making classrooms more lively and helping teachers capture students' attention during teaching periods. Teacher training sessions were also conducted to help them utilise resources in the most effective way.
Teachers used the accompanying teacher manuals and teaching aids to understand lesson sequencing, the number of sessions per concept, and expected learning outcomes. This brought greater structure to classroom delivery and reduced ambiguity around how lessons should be conducted.
The visual design, activity prompts, and progression within the books helped teachers conduct lessons more confidently while keeping students engaged, without relying on additional worksheets.
"We noticed that children respond more during teaching time, not just during written work. The mix of activities and videos has made that difference, helping students stay attentive during lessons and take part more while something is being explained."
Pooja Aneja
Principal,
Rajendra Public School
Outcome
Following implementation, the school observed stronger classroom engagement and smoother lesson flow. Video resources supported lesson delivery, making classrooms more lively and helping teachers hold students' attention during teaching periods. Teachers reported greater clarity while teaching early literacy and numeracy concepts and found it easier to manage different learning paces within the same classroom. The combined use of structured books and digital content reduced reliance on repetitive written tasks and brought greater consistency to classroom delivery.
Teachers also noted that the pre-primary books differed clearly from traditional formats in both structure and classroom usability, making them a preferred choice at the early years level. This effectiveness at the foundational stage led the school to extend the use of AASOKA books beyond pre-primary, gradually expanding their adoption up to Grade 8
Conclusion
By reassessing its pre-primary learning resources, Rajendra Public School addressed a key challenge in early childhood classrooms related to engagement and effective concept delivery. The introduction of AASOKA's pre-primary books and digital resources supported a more interactive and structured learning environment, aligned with the principles of NEP 2020 and the NCF-FS, without disrupting the school's existing academic framework.
This case demonstrates how thoughtfully designed resources, when aligned with classroom realities, can positively influence early learning experiences and enable long-term adoption across grade levels.