CriticalThinkers

Foundation Phase · Grades R–3

Grade R: Critical Thinking Year Plan

Thinking starts with noticing — a child who looks closely and asks "I wonder…" has begun to think.

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

By the end of Grade R

What your learner will be able to do.

  • Look closely at something and say one thing they notice that others missed.
  • Ask a real "I wonder…" question out loud and know that good questions are valuable.
  • Say what they think and add a reason with the word "because".
  • Tell the difference between how they feel and what they think.
  • Listen to a friend and say how a story might look or feel to someone else.
  • Take a turn in a thinking circle, agree or disagree kindly, and say "I changed my mind".

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

Wake up attention. Learn to look closely, notice, and ask "I wonder…". Good questions matter as much as good answers.

Hold onto this term: A good question is just as special as a good answer.

Term 2 · 9 weeks

Reasons & Evidence

Start "I think… because…". A thought is stronger with a reason. Begin "how do you know?" — the seed of evidence.

Hold onto this term: Every "I think" is stronger with a "because".

Term 3 · 9 weeks

Other Eyes & Hidden Persuaders

See through other eyes (Ubuntu — "I see you"). Hear both sides. First taste of "is that fair?".

Hold onto this term: Every story looks different through someone else’s eyes.

Term 4 · 6 weeks

Doing the Right Thinking

Use it for real: kindness, fairness, helping. Reflect on a year of growing as a thinker.

Hold onto this term: A good thinker uses their thinking to be kind and fair.

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 R’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 R — 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.