Grade 12 Commerce: Values and life skills

In this unit, 'Leadership and ethics', you learn to lead a team project with an ethical review. You work with exam-style questions and written reasoning. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Listen and talk: hear a short story, text or example linked to 'Leadership and ethics' and say what it means in your own words.
• Connect: name one place in your own day where it applies.
• Use it: lead a team project with an ethical review. Practise with care and respect, in class and at home.
• Reflect: what went well, what was hard, and one thing you will do next time.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, The project: Learner A leads a team of four running a school enterprise stall for two days. Roles: Learner A is coordinator, Learner B is cashier, Learner C handles stock, Learner D handles records. Clear roles and a shared goal come first.
2. Step 2, Ethical rules agreed: Record every sale, give correct change, tell customers the truth about the products, and report the real totals to the school. Four rules go on a sheet at the stall, signed by all four.
3. Step 3, Count the cash: The float was 100 and the cash box holds 740 at closing, so sales are 740 minus 100, which is 640. Learner D's sales record shows only 600, a gap of 40. The leader treats the gap as a problem to solve, not to hide.
4. Step 4, Investigate fairly: Learner A checks without blaming. Learner C remembers four items sold at 10 each when Learner D stepped away. 4 times 10 is 40, which closes the gap. The records are corrected to 640, so cash and records agree.
5. Step 5, Ethical review: Learner B suggests reporting only 600 and keeping 40 quietly for the team's snack. Learner A asks, 'Is it honest, fair and safe to explain publicly?' The answer is no, and the team reports 640 in full.
6. Step 6, Review the leadership: Costs were 210, so profit is 640 minus 210, which is 430. The team scores itself out of 5: roles 5, honesty 5, records 3, communication 4. The fix is to record sales immediately. A leader owns the process and the ethics.
7. Your turn: Your team's records show 520 but the cash box shows 560 above float. What do you do? Model answer: do not hide the 40, search for unrecorded sales, correct the records, and report 560 honestly.

Activity. About 40 to 50 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: a timed paper and an error log.

Standard to meet. Lead a team project with an ethical review: at least 70 percent on an exam-style task, with the method shown.

In this unit, 'Preparing for university and work', you learn to prepare a study plan, a CV and a statement of purpose. You work with exam-style questions and written reasoning. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Listen and talk: hear a short story, text or example linked to 'Preparing for university and work' and say what it means in your own words.
• Connect: name one place in your own day where it applies.
• Use it: prepare a study plan, a CV and a statement of purpose. Practise with care and respect, in class and at home.
• Reflect: what went well, what was hard, and one thing you will do next time.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, Study plan: A learner has 12 weeks to prepare for exams. She plans 18 hours per week: Accountancy 6, Business Studies 5, Economics 4, English 3. Check 6 plus 5 plus 4 plus 3 is 18. Over 12 weeks that is 216 hours.
2. Step 2, Weekly schedule: Accountancy gets three 2-hour sessions on Mon, Wed and Fri; Business Studies gets 5 hours as five 1-hour sessions; she leaves Sunday for review and rest. She plans breaks every 50 minutes, so the plan can be followed.
3. Step 3, CV structure: Name and contact, one-line profile, education with predicted subjects, achievements, activities and skills. For example: 'Treasurer, school enterprise club: tracked 640 in sales and balanced the cash box to the unit.' It fits one page.
4. Step 4, Specific bullet points: She replaces vague claims with evidence. Instead of 'good with numbers' she writes 'Prepared monthly budget for a club of 20 members, saving 15 percent of the planned spending.' Each bullet shows action, size and result.
5. Step 5, Statement of purpose: Limit 250 words. Plan: 40 words opening, 80 on why accounting, 80 on evidence from the enterprise club and courses, 50 on future goals. That adds up to 250 words. She drafts and then cuts any sentence that does not add something.
6. Step 6, Review: She asks a teacher to check the CV for one page and facts, reads the statement aloud for clarity, and checks every claim is true. She tracks hours weekly, aiming for at least 16 of 18 planned hours to stay on plan.
7. Your turn: Plan 16 hours a week across 4 subjects for 10 weeks. Model answer: for example 5, 4, 4, 3 hours totalling 16; 16 times 10 is 160 hours; add one rest slot and a weekly review.

Activity. About 40 to 50 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: a timed paper and an error log.

Standard to meet. Prepare a study plan, a CV and a statement of purpose: at least 70 percent on an exam-style task, with the method shown.

On the slide: L1 Basic · Kind and safe

Notes: Show one kind action and state one safe rule, such as telling a trusted adult when worried. Notes: role-play sharing a toy; learners name three trusted adults and practise saying clearly, stop, I do not like that.

On the slide: L2 Awareness · Feelings and honesty

Notes: Name four feelings and say why telling the truth matters. Notes: use a feelings chart for happy, sad, angry and scared; read a short story of a broken cup and let learners practise saying what happened and offering to help fix it.

On the slide: L3 Foundation · Friends and small savings

Notes: Settle a small disagreement by listening and save a small amount regularly. Notes: practise the sentence I feel ... when ...; for money, save 10 from a weekly 50, which reaches 80 after 8 weeks, and learners say what they would plan to buy.

On the slide: L4 Practitioner · Choices, budget and online safety

Notes: Weigh choices, keep a simple budget and protect personal information online. Notes: use stop, think, choose; split an income of 200 into needs 120, wants 50 and savings 30, which adds back to 200. Learners list four things never to share online.

On the slide: L5 Specialist · Wellbeing and responsibility

Notes: Plan study, rest and sleep, and give a respectful no under peer pressure. Notes: teenagers usually need about 8 to 10 hours of sleep, so waking at 6:30 means bed by 21:30 for 9 hours. Learners plan one week and rehearse a calm refusal in pairs.

This course: Grade 12 Commerce Values and life skills is at this level. Its units include Leadership and ethics; Preparing for university and work.

On the slide: L6 Advanced · Ethics and behaviour evidence

Notes: Evaluate ethical frameworks and psychology evidence on habits, stress and decision making. Notes: compare consequence, duty and character approaches on one dilemma. Practice: 1,000 saved at 5 per cent a year for 10 years compounds to about 1,628.89; learners say why early habits matter.

On the slide: L7 Super expert · Design a wellbeing programme

Notes: Design and critique an evidence-based wellbeing or ethics programme with safeguarding and evaluation. Notes: survey 120 pupils before and after; 78 positive (65 per cent) rising to 96 (80 per cent) is a 15-point rise. Learners state limits, such as no comparison group, and how consent is protected.