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 attention at a new level: data vs information, sharper questions, noticing your own thinking and your feed.
Hold onto this term: A good question is as valuable as a good answer — and more data is not the same as knowing more.
- Wk 1
Week 1: The Information Universe
Is having more data the same as knowing more?
- Wk 2
Week 2: Observation vs Inference
What did I actually see, and what did I just assume?
- Wk 3
Week 3: Questions That Open Doors
Which questions actually get us somewhere?
- Wk 4
Week 4: What Counts as Evidence?
How would we know if this were true?
- Wk 5
Week 5: Patterns and Coincidence
Is this a real pattern, or did I just notice it?
- Wk 6
Week 6: My Attention Is Valuable
Where does my attention go, and who wants it?
- Wk 7
Week 7: The Thinking Journal Grows Up
How can writing my thinking down make it stronger?
- Wk 8
Week 8: Slow Thinking, Fast Thinking
When should I trust my gut, and when should I slow down?
- Wk 9
Week 9: Asking Better Questions of Adults Too
Can I respectfully ask "how do you know?" to a grown-up?
- Wk 10
Week 10: Looking & Wondering — Term Review
How is my noticing and questioning sharper than last year?
Term 2 · 9 weeks
Reasons & Evidence
The phase’s core: claims vs evidence, the anatomy of an argument, and the five questions for checking a source.
Hold onto this term: Every claim invites the question: says who, and on what evidence?
- Wk 11
Week 11: Claim vs Evidence
Where does the claim stop and the evidence begin?
- Wk 12
Week 12: Building and Breaking Arguments
What are the parts of an argument, and where is the weak link?
- Wk 13
Week 13: Strong Reasons, Weak Reasons
What makes one reason better than another?
- Wk 14
Week 14: How Do We Know? Says Who?
Where did this come from, and can I trust where it came from?
- Wk 15
Week 15: Source Credibility: The 5 Questions
What five questions tell me if a source can be trusted?
- Wk 16
Week 16: Primary vs Secondary Sources
Was this person actually there, or are they passing it on?
- Wk 17
Week 17: When Sources Disagree
What do I do when two sources say opposite things?
- Wk 18
Week 18: Reading Charts Honestly
Can a chart tell the truth and still mislead me?
- Wk 19
Week 19: Reasons & Evidence — Term Review
How am I better at testing claims now?
Term 3 · 9 weeks
Other Eyes & Hidden Persuaders
See through other eyes (Ubuntu), then meet the hidden persuaders: fact/opinion/bias/propaganda, first fallacies, ads and feeds.
Hold onto this term: Someone is usually trying to move you — name the trick and it loses its power.
- Wk 20
Week 20: Through Other Eyes
How does this look to someone whose life is different from mine?
- Wk 21
Week 21: Steel-Man Before You Argue
Can I say the other view fairly before I disagree?
- Wk 22
Week 22: Fact, Opinion, Bias, Propaganda
Is this a fact, an opinion, a bias, or propaganda?
- Wk 23
Week 23: Spotting Bias in How a Story Is Told
What did the storyteller choose to show — and to hide?
- Wk 24
Week 24: The Fallacy Library
What sneaky tricks make a weak argument sound strong?
- Wk 25
Week 25: How Adverts Persuade
What techniques are adverts using to move me?
- Wk 26
Week 26: How Algorithms Shape Your Reality
Is my feed showing me the world, or just what keeps me scrolling?
- Wk 27
Week 27: Disagreeing Without Falling Out
Can we disagree about the idea without attacking the person?
- Wk 28
Week 28: Other Eyes & Persuaders — Term Review
What persuasion did I catch this term?
Term 4 · 6 weeks
Doing the Right Thinking
Apply the year to real fairness and civic questions, then reflect on a year of growing as a thinker.
Hold onto this term: Good thinking is for doing the right thing — fairly, and with evidence.
- Wk 29
Week 29: Fair Rules, Unfair Rules
What makes a rule fair, and how would we know?
- Wk 30
Week 30: Thinking About Consequences
If we do this, what happens next — to everyone?
- Wk 31
Week 31: Standing Up With Evidence
How can I make a fair case for something I believe is right?
- Wk 32
Week 32: My Changed-Mind Moment
When did evidence or a good reason change my mind this year?
- Wk 33
Week 33: Watching My Own Thinking
Where does my own thinking usually trip up?
- Wk 34
Week 34: A Year of Thinking — Review & Celebration
What kind of thinker am I becoming, ready for Grade 5?