NCERT Books Class 10 English: First Flight & Footprints PDF

Looking for the NCERT Books Class 10 English textbook PDFs — First Flight and Footprints without Feet? We have verified all 18 chapter PDFs directly on ncert.nic.in (HTTP 200 on every link) and checked them on 11 July 2026, so you know you are opening the current, official edition and not an edited third-party copy.

For the CBSE Curriculum 2026-27 session, Class 10 English (Language and Literature, code 184) prescribes two NCERT readers. An outdated or unofficial PDF can drop a chapter, renumber a story, or miss a revised page — small differences that cost marks when your teacher references a specific page in class.

About the NCERT Books Class 10 English Textbook

CBSE prescribes two books under this subject. First Flight is the main reader and carries 9 prose and poetry chapters. Footprints without Feet is the supplementary reader with 9 short stories. Together they make up the 18 chapter PDFs verified in the table above.

Both books are published only in an English-medium edition — there is no Hindi-medium variant for this subject, since English is taught as a language, not through translation. You can cross-check every PDF yourself on the official NCERT textbook portal, where NCERT lists the current edition for every class and subject.

If you are revising alongside class notes, the Class 10 English notes page covers the same chapters in summary form, which is useful once you have read the original text from these PDFs.

Chapter-Wise PDF Links: First Flight and Footprints without Feet

Each chapter below is verified in the table above. Read the one-line summary first so you know what to expect before opening the PDF.

First Flight — Prose Chapters

• A Letter to God: A farmer’s unshaken faith survives a hailstorm that destroys his crop, and the story turns on who actually answers his letter.
• Nelson Mandela: An excerpt on Mandela’s long walk to freedom, focused on courage and the cost of ending apartheid.
• Two Stories about Flying: Two short accounts of overcoming fear — a boy’s first flight and a pilot’s escape through a storm.
• From the Diary of Anne Frank: Diary entries showing a teenager’s self-reflection while hiding during the Second World War.
• Glimpses of India: Three short essays on regional life — a Goan bakery, Coorg’s geography, and tea cultivation in Assam.
• Mijbil the Otter: The author’s bond with a pet otter, built around daily companionship and mischief.
• Madam Rides the Bus: A young girl’s first solo bus ride, driven by curiosity and a taste of independence.
• The Sermon at Benares: The Buddha uses a mustard seed request to teach a grieving mother about mortality and grief.
• The Proposal: A comic play built around a hesitant, back-and-forth marriage proposal between two neighbours.

Footprints without Feet — Supplementary Reader

• A Triumph of Surgery: A vet treats an overfed dog, making a point about discipline in place of indulgence.
• The Thief’s Story: A young thief’s slow change of heart while working for a con man he plans to rob.
• The Midnight Visitor: A secret agent outsmarts a rival spy using nothing but wit.
• A Question of Trust: A jewel thief is outwitted by a woman who understands irony better than he expects.
• Footprints without Feet: A scientist turns invisible and the story explores the morality of unchecked power.
• The Making of a Scientist: A boy’s early curiosity and persistence shape him into a research scientist.
• The Necklace: A woman’s pride over a borrowed necklace leads to years of hidden hardship.
• Bholi: A disfigured, shy girl gains confidence through education and finally speaks up for herself.
• The Book That Saved the Earth: A comic science-fiction tale where Martians misread a simple book, played for humour.

How to Use First Flight and Footprints for Class 10 Board Prep

Chapter length varies a lot in this subject — some run 6 pages, others run 21. A page-count-aware order helps you cover everything without running out of time.

1. Start with the shortest chapters (6 pages): The Thief’s Story, The Midnight Visitor, A Question of Trust, and Footprints without Feet. These give quick, confident coverage early in your revision.
2. Move to the 7–9 page chapters — A Triumph of Surgery, The Making of a Scientist, The Necklace, Bholi, and The Sermon at Benares.
3. Take on the medium-length chapters next, including Mijbil the Otter, A Letter to God, and From the Diary of Anne Frank.
4. Finish with the longest chapters — Glimpses of India, Madam Rides the Bus, and The Proposal at 21 pages — since these need more reading time and closer attention to plot detail.

A common mistake students make is assuming every mark in the English paper comes from these two books. It doesn’t. The table below the marks section shows exactly which units are chapter-based and which are not.

• Do not assume all 80 theory marks come from First Flight and Footprints — most of the paper tests unseen material and language skills.
• Do not treat a numbered filename like “6 Mijbil the Otter” as a separate or duplicate chapter.
• Do not revise chapters in printed order if you are short on time — revise by length instead.

CBSE Class 10 English Unit-Wise Marks Distribution

The marks split below is taken from the CBSE Curriculum 2026-27 for English Language and Literature (code 184), published on the official CBSE academic portal, checked 12 July 2026.

Theory carries 80 marks in total, with 20 marks reserved for internal assessment, taking the paper to 100 marks. Only the 40-mark Unit C draws directly on the chapters listed on this page — plan your study time accordingly.

Other NCERT Books and Class 10 Resources

If you are managing revision across subjects, the Class 10 CBSE notes hub is a useful starting point alongside these official textbook PDFs. Once you have finished a chapter here, the Class 10 English notes page walks through the same stories in summary form for quick revision.

Students preparing multiple subjects together can also browse CBSE notes for other classes to keep every subject’s revision material in one place, rather than searching separately for each one.

Frequently Asked Questions on NCERT Class 10 English Books

Is the NCERT Class 10 English textbook the same book as First Flight?

No, First Flight is one of two prescribed books. CBSE Class 10 English uses First Flight as the main reader and Footprints without Feet as the supplementary reader — both together make up the subject’s textbook material.

Do CBSE Class 10 board exams ask direct questions from Footprints without Feet?

Yes. Footprints without Feet is part of Unit C, Language through Literature, which carries 40 marks and draws questions from both First Flight and Footprints without Feet chapters.

How many chapters are in the NCERT Class 10 English First Flight textbook?

First Flight has 9 chapters in the registry verified on ncert.nic.in, ranging from 9 pages (The Sermon at Benares) to 21 pages (The Proposal).

Why does the official PDF for chapter 6 read “6 Mijbil the Otter” instead of just the story name?

The leading numeral comes from the source PDF’s filename on ncert.nic.in, not from a change in chapter order. It is still chapter 6 of First Flight — the same applies to “9 The Proposal,” which is chapter 9.

Are First Flight and Footprints without Feet available in a Hindi-medium edition?

No. Both books are published only in English medium, since the subject teaches the English language itself rather than through a translated medium.

How many marks does Language through Literature carry in the CBSE Class 10 English paper?

Unit C, Language through Literature, carries 40 marks out of the 80-mark theory paper, based on the CBSE Curriculum 2026-27 for English Language and Literature (code 184).

Reference: NCERT Class 10 English textbook, official edition on ncert.nic.in.