CriticalThinkers

Foundation Phase · Grades R–3

Grade 3: Critical Thinking Year Plan

A good thinker is a detective: every claim — even your own — needs evidence, and every decision should be fair.

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

By the end of Grade 3

What your learner will be able to do.

  • Ask "where is the evidence?" and back a claim with what they actually saw or found.
  • Sort information into facts and feelings, and know both matter.
  • Upgrade a weak question into a stronger, more useful one.
  • Predict from evidence and check whether the prediction held.
  • Gather information by asking real people good questions.
  • Use a clear thinking path to solve a real community problem fairly, and reflect on growing as a thinker.

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

Detective-level observation. Upgrade questions. Predict from evidence. Notice and steer your own thinking.

Hold onto this term: A weak question can almost always be upgraded into a stronger one.

Term 2 · 9 weeks

Reasons & Evidence

Think like a detective: every claim needs evidence. Sort fact from feeling. Gather information by asking real people.

Hold onto this term: Show me the evidence — even for your own claims.

Term 3 · 9 weeks

Other Eyes & Hidden Persuaders

Deepen perspective-taking. Spot adverts and tricks. Notice unfair "all of them" thinking and judging by appearances.

Hold onto this term: Judging a whole group by one person is not fair — and not good thinking.

  • Week 20: The Whole Story, Not Half

    Have I heard enough to understand the whole story?

    PerspectivesBloom: apply Available — start free
  • Week 21: Not All of Them Are the Same

    Is it fair to think everyone in a group is the same?

    Bias & FallaciesBloom: understand Available — start free
  • Week 22: Do Not Judge by the Cover

    Can we really know something just from how it looks?

    Bias & FallaciesBloom: understand Available — start free
  • Week 23: How Adverts Try to Win Us

    What tricks do adverts use to make us want things?

    Bias & FallaciesBloom: understand Available — start free
  • Week 24: Is It True or Is It a Trick?

    How can I check something that sounds too good to be true?

    Bias & FallaciesBloom: apply Available — start free
  • Week 25: Feeling With Someone Far Away

    Can I understand someone whose life is very different from mine?

    PerspectivesBloom: understand Available — start free
  • Week 26: Standing Up Kindly

    What can I do when something is not fair?

    Ethics & CivicsBloom: apply Available — start free
  • Week 27: Listening to Disagree Well

    Can I understand someone’s reason before I disagree?

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

    When did I see fairly and spot a trick this term?

    MetacognitionBloom: understand Available — start free

Term 4 · 6 weeks

Doing the Right Thinking

Solve a real community problem with a clear thinking path. Build an evidence case file. Reflect on a year — and a phase — of growth.

Hold onto this term: Changing your mind because of good evidence is the mark of a real thinker.

  • Week 29: Community Problem Solver

    How can we solve a real problem in our community?

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

    Is our solution fair to every person it touches?

    Ethics & CivicsBloom: apply Available — start free
  • Week 31: My Evidence Case File

    Can I gather all my evidence to make a strong case?

    EvidenceBloom: apply Available — start free
  • Week 32: My Changed Mind Moment

    When did I change my mind because of good thinking?

    MetacognitionBloom: understand Available — start free
  • Week 33: My Thinking Journal — Three Years of Growing

    How far have I come as a thinker?

    MetacognitionBloom: understand Available — start free
  • Week 34: Ready for the Next Step — Year Celebration

    What kind of thinker am I, ready for Grade 4?

    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 3’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 3 — 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.