CriticalThinkers

Foundation Phase · Grades R–3

Grade 1: Critical Thinking Year Plan

We can ask "how do you know?" — some things we saw, some we were told, and the wise thinker checks.

34 weekly lessons4 terms (10 + 9 + 9 + 6)34 available now

By the end of Grade 1

What your learner will be able to do.

  • Ask "how do you know?" and tell whether the answer is "I saw it" or "I was told".
  • Sort a statement into true, false, or "I am not sure yet".
  • Suggest a simple way to check whether something is true.
  • Say what they think with a clear reason, using "because".
  • Notice when thinking or sharing is fair or unfair, and say why.
  • Be brave enough to change their mind when they learn something new.

How a week works

The screen is the spark. The thinking happens together.

Each week is one short on-screen lesson — read aloud and run by you, like story time wrapped in something no screen can do: a real conversation. Every lesson comes with a free session guide for the adult — a time-budgeted plan with discussion prompts, an activity, a “talk about it after” question, and the signs to watch for — with a version for parents at home, homeschooling families, and classrooms.

1. The story & circle (together)

You read the story and run circle-time — the screen is your script, not the child’s activity.

2. The conversation (~15 min)

The heart of the lesson: the big question, talked through — at the table, on a walk, in class. Ask more than you tell.

3. Real life + the journal

Spot the idea in your own week, then capture the reflection in the Thinking Journal — the year’s proudest record.

The year, term by term

34 weeks across four South African terms.

Every grade follows the same four-term journey — looking and wondering, reasons and evidence, other eyes and hidden persuaders, then doing the right thinking — so families and teachers always know where they are. Lessons unlock one at a time.

Term 1 · 10 weeks

Looking & Wondering

Re-awaken close looking and good questions. Begin sorting questions and noticing patterns. Listen as a thinking skill.

Hold onto this term: Real listening is the start of real thinking.

Term 2 · 9 weeks

Reasons & Evidence

Where does what we know come from? Sort true / false / not-sure. "Did I see it or was I told it?" How to check.

Hold onto this term: Some things we saw, some we were told — a wise thinker asks which.

Term 3 · 9 weeks

Other Eyes & Hidden Persuaders

Fair vs unfair thinking. How rumours spread. Seeing through other eyes (Ubuntu). First idea that thinking can be tricked.

Hold onto this term: A rumour can travel far without ever being true.

  • Week 20: My Thinking Glasses

    Are we thinking in a fair way or an unfair way?

    Bias & FallaciesBloom: apply Available — start free
  • Week 21: The Rumour Game

    What happens to a message as it passes from ear to ear?

    Bias & FallaciesBloom: understand Available — start free
  • Week 22: Just Because It Is on a Screen

    Is everything we see or hear automatically true?

    Bias & FallaciesBloom: understand Available — start free
  • Week 23: How Does He Feel?

    How might this look and feel for the other person?

    PerspectivesBloom: understand Available — start free
  • Week 24: The Other Side of the Story

    Did we hear what the other person thinks too?

    PerspectivesBloom: apply Available — start free
  • Week 25: Walking in Their Shoes

    What would I feel if I were them?

    PerspectivesBloom: understand Available — start free
  • Week 26: Is That a Trick?

    Is someone trying to make me want this?

    Bias & FallaciesBloom: understand Available — start free
  • Week 27: Disagreeing the Kind Way

    Can we disagree and still be friends?

    PerspectivesBloom: apply Available — start free
  • Week 28: Other Eyes — Our Term

    When did I see fairly or see through other eyes?

    MetacognitionBloom: understand Available — start free

Term 4 · 6 weeks

Doing the Right Thinking

Use thinking to be fair and kind. The courage to change your mind. Reflect on a year of growth.

Hold onto this term: Changing your mind when you learn something new is brave, not weak.

Take it further — on paper

The whole year, in a book you can hold.

Every lesson on this page is free online, forever. For families and classrooms who love working away from screens, Grade 1’s year is also available as an optional printed handbook — the same journey, bound as a book to read, write in and keep.

The printed handbook is a separate, optional purchase. It never unlocks or gates anything — the full course stays free online.

Start Grade 1 — free.

Create a free account, and your learner begins with the first lesson — the next unlocks as they go. Built for homes, classrooms and homeschooling families.