Everything a Mzansi child learns
191 concepts and 244 links from Grade R to Grade 7, grouped by grade and subject. Ask your child the question under each one.
Grade R age 5–6
Life Skills
- Naming feelings Can your child say when they feel happy, sad, scared or cross?
- Washing hands Does your child wash hands with soap before eating and after the toilet?
- Road safety Can your child show you how to cross the road safely with an adult?
- Sharing and taking turns Can your child wait for a turn in a game without grabbing?
- Drawing and colouring Can your child draw a picture of their family and tell you about it?
- Moving to music Can your child clap and move to the beat of a song?
Languages
- Listening to stories Can your child retell a story that Gogo or a teacher told them?
- Rhymes, songs and clapping games Can your child clap along and finish the words of a playground song?
- Pictures and print Does your child know that the words on a page carry the story?
- Writing my own name Can your child write their name on their drawing?
- First sounds in words Can your child tell you which sound starts the word 'mama'?
Mathematics
- Counting to 10 Can your child count 10 stones for diketo, touching each stone only once?
- Reading numbers 1 to 10 Can your child find the number 7 on a house, a taxi or a calendar?
- More and less Can your child tell which pile of sweets has more, and by how many?
- Circles, squares and triangles Can your child find a circle, a square and a triangle around the yard?
- Position words Can your child put a cup on, under, behind and next to the table when asked?
- Sorting things Can your child sort bottle tops by colour and say which group is biggest?
- Copying patterns Can your child continue a bead pattern: red, white, red, white, ...?
- Longer and shorter Can your child line up three sticks from shortest to longest?
- Days of the week Can your child say which day comes after Friday, and which day is a school day?
Natural Sciences & Technology
- My body Can your child name and point to ten parts of the body?
- The five senses Can your child say which sense they use to know the pap is ready?
- Sunny, rainy and windy Can your child describe today's weather and what to wear?
- Animals around us Can your child name five animals that live in South Africa?
Social Sciences
- My family Can your child name the people in their family, including grandparents and cousins?
Grade 1 age 6–7
Life Skills
- Diketo and kgati Can your child play diketo or skip in kgati while counting?
- Making friends Can your child say what makes someone a good friend?
- Healthy food Can your child choose a healthy lunch box from what is in the kitchen?
Languages
- Letters and their sounds Can your child say the sound each letter makes, not just its name?
- Building words from syllables Can your child blend ma + ma into mama, and ba + ba into baba?
- Common sight words Can your child read small words like 'the', 'and' and 'is' without sounding them out?
- Handwriting Can your child form letters starting at the right place?
- Speaking a second language Can your child greet and introduce themselves in their second language?
- Writing a simple sentence Can your child write 'I like pap' with a capital letter and full stop?
Mathematics
- Counting to 20 and beyond Can your child count on from 12 to 20 without starting again at 1?
- Adding within 10 If you have 4 sweets and Gogo gives you 3 more, how many do you have?
- Taking away within 10 If there are 9 mangoes and you eat 2, how many are left?
- The number line Can your child jump forwards and backwards on a number line drawn in the sand?
- Doubles and halves Can your child say double 4 and half of 10 quickly?
- Knowing our coins and notes Can your child name the 50c, R1, R2 and R5 coins and sort them by value?
- Measuring with hand spans and steps How many of your child's steps is it from the door to the gate?
- Heavier and lighter Which is heavier: a bag of mealie meal or a bag of chips? How can your child tell?
- Full, half full and empty Can your child fill a cup half full of water?
- Morning, afternoon and night Can your child put the day in order: wake up, school, supper, sleep?
- Balls and boxes (3D objects) Can your child find something that rolls and something that slides?
- Counting in 2s, 5s and 10s Can your child count pairs of shoes in 2s?
- Picture graphs Can your child make a picture graph of the family's favourite fruit?
Natural Sciences & Technology
- What plants need Can your child explain why the spinach in the garden needs water and sun?
- The four seasons Can your child name the seasons and what we wear in each?
- Where our water comes from Can your child say where your household water comes from: a tap, a tank or a river?
- Day and night Can your child explain where the Sun goes at night?
- What things are made of Can your child tell wood, metal, plastic and glass apart?
Social Sciences
- My home and neighbourhood Can your child describe the way from home to the nearest shop?
Grade 2 age 7–8
Life Skills
- Ubuntu Can your child explain what 'umntu ngumntu ngabantu' means in their own words?
- Celebrations and heritage Can your child explain why we celebrate Heritage Day?
Languages
- Reading aloud Can your child read a short page aloud without stopping on every word?
- Questions about a story After a story, can your child say who was in it and what happened?
- Capital letters and full stops Can your child find and fix three missing full stops in a short paragraph?
Mathematics
- Tens and ones Can your child show 34 as 3 bundles of ten sticks and 4 loose sticks?
- Counting to 100 Can your child count to 100 in 10s, and then from 67 to 81 in 1s?
- Adding and subtracting up to 99 Can your child work out 38 + 25 and explain how?
- Equal groups If 3 friends each have 5 marbles, how many marbles are there altogether?
- Paying and giving change A customer buys bread for R19 with a R50 note. Can your child work out the change? Play it
- O'clock and half past Can your child read the clock when it is half past three?
- Reading a calendar Can your child find their birthday and Heritage Day on a calendar?
- Symmetry Can your child find the line of symmetry in an Ndebele wall pattern?
- Measuring in metres Can your child estimate, then measure, how many metres long the stoep is?
Natural Sciences & Technology
- Hot and cold Can your child explain why we let tea cool before drinking it?
- Animal homes Can your child match a weaver bird, an ant and a rabbit to their homes?
- From seed to plant Can your child grow a bean in a cup and draw it every week?
Social Sciences
- People who help us Can your child name people who help the community, like nurses and firefighters?
- Getting around Can your child explain how people in your area get to work?
Grade 3 age 8–9
Life Skills
- Patterns in beadwork Can your child design a beadwork pattern that repeats?
- Bullying and kindness What can your child do if they see someone being bullied?
- Fire safety at home Does your child know what to do if a paraffin stove or candle falls over?
Languages
- Alphabetical order Can your child put the names of five friends in alphabetical order?
- Writing a short paragraph Can your child write five sentences about their weekend, in order?
- Reading for meaning After reading alone, can your child tell you what happened and why it happened?
- Telling news Can your child tell the family their news, with a beginning, middle and end?
- Reading in a second language Can your child read a simple story in their second language and explain it in their home language?
Mathematics
- Times tables: 2, 5 and 10 Can your child say the 5 times table and use it to count R5 coins?
- Division and remainders If 17 learners get into taxis of 5, how many taxis are full and how many learners are left?
- Halves, quarters and thirds Can your child cut a kota fairly for 4 friends and say what part each friend gets? Play it
- Numbers to 1 000 Can your child read 608 and say what the 0 means?
- Rands and cents Can your child add R4,50 and R2,50 in their head?
- Kilograms Can your child read the mass on a 2,5 kg bag of mealie meal and a 1 kg bag of sugar?
- Litres How many 250 ml cups fill a 1 litre bottle?
- Reading analogue and digital clocks Can your child read 07:45 on a phone and show it on a clock face?
- Bar graphs Can your child draw a bar graph of how learners in the class get to school?
Natural Sciences & Technology
- Recycling and waste Can your child sort rubbish into things to reuse, recycle and throw away?
- Measuring rain and temperature Can your child make a rain gauge from a bottle and record the rain for a week?
- Life cycles Can your child explain how an egg becomes a chicken?
Social Sciences
- A map of my street Can your child draw a map of your street with a key?
Grade 4 age 9–10
Life Skills
- Morabaraba Can your child play morabaraba and explain a move that blocks a row of three?
- Rights and responsibilities For every right, can your child name a matching responsibility?
Languages
- Stories, poems and instructions Can your child tell the difference between a recipe, a poem and a story?
- Summarising Can your child tell you the main idea of a news article in two sentences?
- Nouns, verbs and adjectives Can your child find the doing word in 'The dog barked loudly'?
- Folktales and iintsomi Can your child tell a folktale and say what lesson it teaches?
Mathematics
- Place value to 10 000 Can your child read the number of people at a soccer match, like 8 435?
- Times tables to 10 x 10 Can your child answer 7 x 8 without counting?
- Equivalent fractions Can your child show that 2 quarters of a kota is the same as half? Play it
- Comparing fractions Would your child rather have one third or one quarter of a kota? Why? Play it
- Perimeter How many metres of fencing does Gogo need for her vegetable garden?
- Number sentences Can your child find the missing number: 6 x ? = 42?
- 24-hour time and timetables Can your child read a bus or train timetable and say how long the trip takes?
Natural Sciences & Technology
- Living and non-living Is a fire alive? Can your child explain using the signs of life?
- Parts of a plant Can your child explain what the roots, stem and leaves of a mealie plant do?
- Habitats: fynbos to savanna Why can a gemsbok live in the Kalahari but not in the sea?
- Solids, liquids and gases Can your child explain what happens to an ice block as it heats up?
- Heating and boiling water Can your child explain why water in Johannesburg boils before it reaches 100 °C? Play it
- Strong frame structures Can your child build a paper tower and explain why triangles make it strong?
- Energy from food and the Sun Can your child explain where the energy in a plate of pap and morogo comes from?
- Sound and vibration Can your child make a drum sound louder and softer, and explain why?
- The Sun and shadows At midday in South Africa, which way does your child's shadow point? Play it
- Phases of the Moon Can your child draw the Moon every night for a week and explain the change?
- Land, water and air Can your child explain why most of the Earth looks blue from space?
Social Sciences
- My town's story Can your child find out how your town or city got its name?
- Learning from leaders Can your child tell the story of a leader from your area or from South African history?
- Grids, keys and compass Can your child find a place on a map using a grid reference?
- Our nine provinces Can your child name your province and its capital city?
- Rivers and dams Which dam or river does your area's water come from?
- Food and farming Can your child name a crop grown in your province?
Grade 5 age 10–11
Life Skills
- Drama and storytelling Can your child act out a folktale with friends?
- Singing in harmony Can your child hold their part in a choir song while others sing a different part?
Languages
- Writing a friendly letter Can your child write a letter to a cousin in another province?
- Poetry and praise poems Can your child recite a praise poem about someone they admire?
Mathematics
- Long multiplication Can your child work out 24 x 36 and check it a second way?
- Decimals Can your child explain why R3,50 is three and a half rand?
- Area How many square tiles would cover the kitchen floor?
- Angles Can your child find a right angle, an acute angle and an obtuse angle in the house?
- Collecting and organising data Can your child run a survey of favourite sports and show the results?
- Chance Is tossing a R5 coin a fair way to decide who goes first? Why?
- Profit and loss A spaza buys chips at R6 and sells them at R8. How much profit on 20 packets?
Natural Sciences & Technology
- Skeletons Can your child compare the skeleton of a fish with their own?
- Food chains in the veld Can your child build a food chain: grass, impala, lion?
- Metals and non-metals Why is a pot made of metal but its handle made of plastic or wood?
- Energy in fuels Can your child explain where the energy in wood or paraffin comes from, and why burning them indoors needs care?
- Where electricity comes from Can your child explain how coal at a power station becomes light in your house?
- Rocks, soil and fossils Can your child explain how fossils at the Cradle of Humankind formed?
- Erosion Why do dongas form on bare hillsides after heavy rain?
Social Sciences
- Hunter-gatherers and herders What can rock art tell your child about how the San lived?
- Mapungubwe Can your child explain why the golden rhino of Mapungubwe is important?
- The Drakensberg and the Karoo Can your child describe how the Drakensberg and the Karoo look different?
- Weather and climate Why does Cape Town get winter rain while Gauteng gets summer storms?
Grade 6 age 11–12
Life Skills
- Dreams and careers What does your child want to become, and what subjects will help them get there?
Languages
- Giving an opinion Can your child argue for one side, for example 'Should school start later?', and give reasons?
- Reading adverts critically Can your child spot what an advert wants them to believe?
- Planning an essay Can your child plan an essay with a mind map before writing?
Mathematics
- Percentages Can your child work out a 10% discount on a R250 pair of school shoes?
- Volume How many 1-litre cartons fit in a box 30 cm long, 20 cm wide and 20 cm high?
- Rate and ratio If 1 kg of mealie meal feeds 5 people, how much is needed to feed 15?
- Slides, flips and turns Can your child show how a beadwork pattern repeats by sliding, flipping or turning?
Natural Sciences & Technology
- Photosynthesis Can your child explain how a plant makes food from sunlight?
- Nutrients and a balanced diet Can your child sort a meal of pap, beans and cabbage into food groups?
- Ecosystems and food webs What would happen to a dam if all the frogs disappeared?
- Mixtures and dissolving When sugar disappears in tea, is it gone? How can your child prove it?
- Making water safe Can your child explain how to make river water safe to drink?
- Electric circuits Can your child light a bulb with a battery and two wires?
- Conductors and insulators Why are electric wires covered in plastic?
- The solar system Can your child name the planets in order from the Sun?
- Why we have seasons Why is December summer in South Africa but winter in Europe?
- Looking into space Can your child explain what the MeerKAT and SKA telescopes in the Karoo listen to?
Social Sciences
- African kingdoms and trade What did ancient African kingdoms trade, and with whom?
- Ships arrive at the Cape Why did ships from Europe stop at the Cape?
- Democracy and 1994 Can your child explain why 27 April is Freedom Day?
- Continents and countries Can your child find South Africa's neighbours on a map?
Grade 7 age 12–13
Life Skills
- Peer pressure and choices Can your child say no to a friend and still keep the friendship?
- Staying safe on a phone Does your child know never to share a PIN or a one-time password (OTP)?
Languages
- Reading a novel Can your child describe how the main character changed by the end of a book?
- Idioms and proverbs Can your child explain a proverb from your home language and when to use it?
- Finding and checking information Can your child check if something they read online is true, using two sources?
Mathematics
- Negative numbers It is 3 °C in Sutherland and the temperature drops by 5 degrees. What is it now?
- Algebraic expressions A taxi fare is R15 per person. Can your child write a rule for any number of people?
- Constructing triangles Can your child draw a triangle with sides of 5 cm, 6 cm and 7 cm using a ruler and compass?
- Squares and cubes Can your child explain why 5 squared is 25 using a grid of blocks?
- Mean, median and mode What was the average rainfall in our town over the last 5 months?
- Saving and interest How does money in a savings account or stokvel grow over a year?
Natural Sciences & Technology
- Biodiversity and classification Can your child group five animals using a simple key?
- Pollination and seeds Why do bees matter to farmers?
- The particle model Can your child use the particle model to explain why a balloon shrinks in the fridge?
- Acids and bases Can your child test vinegar and soap with red-cabbage juice?
- How heat moves Why does a black pot in the sun get hotter than a white one?
- Tides and eclipses Can your child explain what happens during a solar eclipse?
- Solar and wind energy Can your child explain how a solar panel can keep the lights on during a power cut?
Social Sciences
- The Eastern Cape frontier What happened when different groups met on the Eastern Cape frontier?
- The Kingdom of Mali Why was Timbuktu a famous city of learning?
- Population and settlements Why do many people move from rural areas to cities?
- Our Constitution and children's rights Can your child name two rights every child in South Africa has?