CriticalThinkers

Foundation Phase · Grades R–3

Grade 2: Critical Thinking Year Plan

Reasons can be compared, and people can feel differently — a good thinker weighs reasons and listens for other feelings.

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

By the end of Grade 2

What your learner will be able to do.

  • Give a clear reason with "because" and compare two reasons to say which is stronger.
  • Stand in someone else’s shoes and describe how they might feel and why.
  • Argue both sides of a small question, even one they disagree with.
  • Stay calm and curious with a hard question that has no easy answer.
  • Think about what is good for the whole group, not just themselves (Ubuntu).
  • Bring noticing, reasons and other-eyes together to think a real situation through.

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

Sharper observation and question-asking. Sit with hard questions. Notice your own thinking starting up.

Hold onto this term: Some questions are hard — and that is exactly why they are worth asking.

Term 2 · 9 weeks

Reasons & Evidence

The magic word "because". Compare reasons (the because-battle). Stronger and weaker reasons. How we know.

Hold onto this term: When two people both have a "because", we look at whose reason is stronger.

Term 3 · 9 weeks

Other Eyes & Hidden Persuaders

Stand in others’ shoes. Map how others feel. Argue both sides. See that adverts and friends try to persuade us.

Hold onto this term: I can argue a side even when I disagree — that is what understanding looks like.

  • Week 20: Standing in Someone Else’s Shoes

    How does this look from where they are standing?

    PerspectivesBloom: understand Available — start free
  • Week 21: The Empathy Map

    What is this person thinking, feeling, seeing and wanting?

    PerspectivesBloom: apply Available — start free
  • Week 22: Both Sides Thinking

    Can I say good things about a side I disagree with?

    PerspectivesBloom: apply Available — start free
  • Week 23: Different Homes, Different Lives

    Why do people live and do things differently?

    PerspectivesBloom: understand Available — start free
  • Week 24: What Is the Advert Really Saying?

    What does this advert want me to do?

    Bias & FallaciesBloom: understand Available — start free
  • Week 25: Tricky Words

    Can words make us feel a certain way on purpose?

    Bias & FallaciesBloom: understand Available — start free
  • Week 26: Everyone Is Doing It

    Should I do something just because others do?

    Bias & FallaciesBloom: understand Available — start free
  • Week 27: Disagreeing Well

    How can I disagree and still respect you?

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

    When did I really understand someone else this term?

    MetacognitionBloom: understand Available — start free

Term 4 · 6 weeks

Doing the Right Thinking

Think for the whole community (Ubuntu). Bring it all together on a real situation. Reflect on the year.

Hold onto this term: A good thinker asks not just "what is good for me?" but "what is good for us?"

  • Week 29: Thinking For Our Community

    What is good for all of us, not just for me?

    Ethics & CivicsBloom: apply Available — start free
  • Week 30: Fair Rules for Everyone

    What makes a rule fair for everyone?

    Ethics & CivicsBloom: apply Available — start free
  • Week 31: Looking After Our Place

    How can we keep our school and earth healthy?

    Ethics & CivicsBloom: apply Available — start free
  • Week 32: The Market Story

    How do we use ALL our thinking on a real situation?

    Ethics & CivicsBloom: apply Available — start free
  • Week 33: My Thinking Journal — How I Grew

    How have I grown as a thinker this year?

    MetacognitionBloom: understand Available — start free
  • Week 34: We Are Thinkers — Year Celebration

    What kind of thinker am I becoming?

    MetacognitionBloom: understand Available — start free

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 2’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 2 — 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.