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
Gather the whole spine and launch the capstone: frame a genuine, researchable critical-thinking question worth a year, drawing on every strand.
Hold onto this term: The summit question is your own: find a problem worth thinking hard about, all year, with every tool you have.
- Wk 1
Week 1: The Whole Toolkit, Gathered
What does my full critical-thinking toolkit now contain?
- Wk 2
Week 2: Problem-Finding
How do I find a question actually worth investigating?
- Wk 3
Week 3: Framing the Capstone Question
What is MY question for the capstone — and why does it matter?
- Wk 4
Week 4: Mapping What I Already Believe
What do I already think about my question — and why?
- Wk 5
Week 5: Planning an Honest Investigation
How do I gather evidence in a way that could prove me wrong?
- Wk 6
Week 6: The Capstone Journal
How will I track the thinking, not just the findings?
- Wk 7
Week 7: Standing on Others' Shoulders
Who has already thought hard about my question?
- Wk 8
Week 8: A First, Tentative Thesis
What is my best current answer — held loosely?
- Wk 9
Week 9: Peer Review of the Plan
What do other careful thinkers see in my plan that I cannot?
- Wk 10
Week 10: Looking & Wondering — Term Review
Is my capstone launched on honest, well-planned footing?
Term 2 · 9 weeks
Reasons & Evidence
Reasoning about the future and uncertainty — judging predictions, especially about work and technology — while gathering and weighing the capstone evidence.
Hold onto this term: Nobody can tell you the future — but you can judge whose predictions are worth listening to, and adapt.
- Wk 11
Week 11: The Future of Work
How do I judge predictions about which jobs survive?
- Wk 12
Week 12: Why Predictions Go Wrong
Why are confident forecasts so often wrong?
- Wk 13
Week 13: Judging a Forecaster's Track Record
Whose predictions have actually earned trust?
- Wk 14
Week 14: Thinking in Scenarios
How do I plan when I cannot predict?
- Wk 15
Week 15: Capstone Evidence Gathering
Is my evidence credible, sufficient and fairly chosen?
- Wk 16
Week 16: Weighing Conflicting Evidence
What do I do when good evidence points both ways?
- Wk 17
Week 17: Updating the Thesis
How has the evidence changed my answer?
- Wk 18
Week 18: Building the Capstone Argument
Can I assemble my evidence into one strong, honest argument?
- Wk 19
Week 19: Reasons & Evidence — Term Review
How well have I reasoned about the future and my own evidence?
Term 3 · 9 weeks
Other Eyes & Hidden Persuaders
The deepest questions of perspective and persuasion: what stays uniquely human as machines grow capable, and a final, integrated defence against manipulation — while stress-testing the capstone against its critics.
Hold onto this term: A machine can imitate the output of thinking; choosing what is worth thinking about, and why, is still yours.
- Wk 20
Week 20: AI and Human Creativity
If machines can write, paint and compose, what is left that is uniquely human?
- Wk 21
Week 21: What Critical Thinking a Machine Cannot Do For Me
Can I outsource my thinking to a clever machine?
- Wk 22
Week 22: The Master Manipulation Review
Can I name every persuasion move I have learned?
- Wk 23
Week 23: The Persuasion in My Own Argument
Am I using fair reasoning or am I spinning my own case?
- Wk 24
Week 24: Steelmanning My Strongest Critic
Can I make the best case AGAINST my own conclusion?
- Wk 25
Week 25: Capstone Critique Round
What do real critics see in my argument?
- Wk 26
Week 26: Communicating to Persuade Honestly
How do I make a true case compelling without manipulating?
- Wk 27
Week 27: Dialogue Across Deep Difference
Can I disagree well with someone who sees the world differently?
- Wk 28
Week 28: Other Eyes & Persuaders — Term Review
How strong is my reasoning against my own biases now?
Term 4 · 6 weeks
Doing the Right Thinking
Deliver and defend the capstone, read founding documents as reasoning, and step out as a lifelong critical thinker and active citizen for South Africa's future.
Hold onto this term: Thirteen years of thinking become one promise: to keep asking honest questions, and to use the answers for good.
- Wk 29
Week 29: The Constitution as Critical Thinking
How is South Africa's Constitution itself a structured argument?
- Wk 30
Week 30: Delivering the Capstone
Can I present and defend a year of honest thinking?
- Wk 31
Week 31: Critical Thinking for South Africa's Future
Why does a country of critical thinkers matter?
- Wk 32
Week 32: Habits for a Lifetime
Which thinking habits will I actually keep?
- Wk 33
Week 33: Capstone: The Critical Thinker
Who have I become as a thinker across thirteen years?
- Wk 34
Week 34: Into the World — Review & Celebration
What kind of thinking citizen am I, stepping into the world?