Tala's lesson plan: what your child learns in every Dream Path, ages 3 to 12
The full Tala lesson plan for ages 3 to 12: what kids learn in all 12 Dream Paths, the optional Smart with AI track, and how every lesson is built.
By the Tala team · Parenting · · 8 min read
Key takeaways
- Every child gets Reading and Math. On top of that, they pick Dream Paths: 12 careers, each with 4 lessons for every age group.
- Each career lesson teaches a real school subject, like area for an architect or forces for an engineer.
- Career ideas form early: 7-year-olds pick jobs much like 17-year-olds do.[1] Dream Paths widen what kids see; they never pick a career for them.
- Every lesson follows the same shape, built on how kids learn best: active, engaged, meaningful and social, with a clear goal.[2]
Tala's lesson plan has three parts. Reading and Math come first for every child. Dream Paths teach real subjects through 12 careers. Smart with AI is an optional track for ages 9 to 12. This guide lists every Dream Path lesson by age, and explains how each lesson is built.
Find a path
How the plan fits together
From first lesson to dream career
Step 1: Reading and Math first.
Every child has a Reading path and a Math path, with 4 levels each. They come first on the path.
Step 2: Pick some dreams.
Your child picks the careers they love. You choose which ones show up, and can change them any time.
Step 3: Real subjects inside.
Each career has 4 lessons for each age group. Each one teaches math, science, reading, money or art through that job.
Step 4: Lessons grow with your child.
Ages 3 to 5, 6 to 8 and 9 to 12 each get their own lessons, so a career grows with your child.
Why teach through careers?
Kids start thinking about jobs early. A UK study asked 13,000 children aged 7 to 11 to draw the job they wanted. The jobs 7-year-olds picked were much like the ones 17-year-olds picked.[1]
36%
So Dream Paths show many careers, to boys and girls alike. A future nurse can be a boy. A future engineer can be a girl. Kids can try any path, and nothing locks them in.
Building and making
These paths are full of shapes, numbers and clear steps. Kids measure, build, test and give a robot instructions.
Architect
Plan homes and schools that keep people safe. Builds math, art, logic and science.
Ages 3 to 5
- Shapes in a bahay kubo
- Big and small
- Counting windows
- In, on and under
Ages 6 to 8
- Measure with blocks and cm
- Symmetry
- Fold a box from a net
- Reading a floor plan
Ages 9 to 12
- Area and perimeter
- Drawing to scale
- Designing for typhoons
- Angles and right corners
Engineer
Build things that are strong and work well. Builds science, math and logic.
Ages 3 to 5
- Push and pull
- Which tower falls?
- Ramps and rolling
- Wheels make work easy
Ages 6 to 8
- Forces and balance
- Simple machines
- Predict, then test a bridge
- Magnets pull and push
Ages 9 to 12
- Loads on a structure
- First circuits
- Design, test, improve
- Cleaning water with a filter
Programmer
Give clear steps to computers and robots. Builds logic and math.
Ages 3 to 5
- A routine in order
- Arrow paths
- ABAB patterns
- Odd one out
Ages 6 to 8
- Commands for a robot
- Loops in a dance
- Sorting rules
- Finding squares on a grid
Ages 9 to 12
- If this, then that
- Finding and fixing bugs
- Binary numbers
- Variables that remember
Science and nature
These paths start with things kids can see and touch: water, seeds, weather and animals. Older kids run fair tests and read charts.
Scientist
Ask questions and test to find out. Builds science and math.
Ages 3 to 5
- Sink or float
- The five senses
- Today's weather
- Living and not living
Ages 6 to 8
- A plant mini-lab
- Sorting animals
- Hot, warm and cold
- Life cycles
Ages 9 to 12
- Running a fair test
- Reading charts
- Mangroves and coral reefs
- Volcanoes and earthquakes
Farmer
Grow the food we eat, from seed to harvest. Builds science, math and money.
Ages 3 to 5
- Seeds grow into plants
- What plants need
- Fruits and vegetables
- Farm helpers: the carabao
Ages 6 to 8
- How rice grows
- Measuring a garden plot
- Wet and dry seasons
- Selling at the market
Ages 9 to 12
- Healthy soil and compost
- Watering smart
- Farming through typhoons
- Planning a harvest
Ecologist
Protect forests, seas and the air we share. Builds science, life skills and math.
Ages 3 to 5
- Trees are homes
- Trash goes in the bin
- Saving water
- Turning off lights
Ages 6 to 8
- Food chains
- Reduce, reuse, recycle
- Plastic in the sea
- Where electricity comes from
Ages 9 to 12
- Ecosystems in balance
- The water cycle and floods
- Climate and greenhouse gases
- Solar and wind power
Vet
Care for animals big and small. Builds science, life skills and math.
Ages 3 to 5
- What pets need
- Gentle hands with animals
- Animal babies
- Where animals live
Ages 6 to 8
- A vet's check-up
- What animals eat
- Caring for farm animals
- A pet is for life
Ages 9 to 12
- Comparing animal bodies
- Reading animal growth charts
- Philippine wildlife in danger
- Animal adaptations
Health and care
These paths teach how bodies work and everyday healthy habits, like handwashing, sleep and water. They never give medical advice. For anything about your child's health, ask a doctor.
Doctor
Learn how bodies work and keep them well. Builds health, science and math.
Ages 3 to 5
- Name your body parts
- Everyday and sometimes food
- Wash your hands
- Sleep and rest
Ages 6 to 8
- Bones and muscles
- Your heartbeat after jumping
- Go, grow and glow foods
- Caring for your teeth
Ages 9 to 12
- Body systems team up
- Germs and vaccines
- Reading a pulse chart
- The journey of your food
Nurse
Help people feel better, with care and numbers. Builds health, science and math.
Ages 3 to 5
- Kind helpers
- Small cuts and bandages
- Drinking water
- Cover coughs and sneezes
Ages 6 to 8
- Taking a temperature
- First aid for small hurts
- Staying safe in the heat
- Helping someone feel better
Ages 9 to 12
- Measuring vital signs
- Calling for help in an emergency
- Caring for Lolo and Lola
- Shifts and the 24-hour clock
People, money and art
These paths build reading, money sense and art skills. Kids explain ideas, run a little store and mix colors.
Teacher
Read, explain and help others learn. Builds reading, logic and math.
Ages 3 to 5
- Retell a story
- Rhyme time
- First sounds
- Listening and taking turns
Ages 6 to 8
- Blend the sounds
- Explain a word
- Make a quiz for a grown-up
- Asking good questions
Ages 9 to 12
- Explain it simply
- Plan a mini-lesson
- Helping a lesson stick
- Giving kind, useful feedback
Entrepreneur
Run a little store and use money wisely. Builds money, math, life skills and reading.
Ages 3 to 5
- Meet the peso coins
- Counting at the store
- Sharing fairly
- Saving in a piggy bank
Ages 6 to 8
- Adding money
- Making change
- Needs and wants
- Saving up for a goal
Ages 9 to 12
- Price, cost and profit
- Making a budget
- Pitching an idea
- Discounts and percent
Artist
Make pictures with color, shape and pattern. Builds art, math, logic, reading and science.
Ages 3 to 5
- Mixing colors
- Pictures made of shapes
- Banig weaving patterns
- Straight, wavy and zigzag lines
Ages 6 to 8
- Symmetry in art
- Telling a story in pictures
- Filipino art forms
- Warm and cool colors
Ages 9 to 12
- Proportion
- Perspective
- Color theory
- Light and shadow
Smart with AI (optional, ages 9 to 12)
This track is off unless you turn it on. It teaches how AI tools work, where they go wrong and how to use them honestly. It follows the four parts of UNESCO's AI framework for students: a human-centred mindset, ethics, how AI works, and designing with AI.[3]
- Meet the Machine: is it AI or not; machines learn from examples; patterns, not thinking.
- How AI Gets It Wrong: confidently wrong answers; garbage in, garbage out; fair or unfair.
- Ask Better: vague or clear questions; giving context; asking for steps, not answers.
- Check It!: the two-source rule; estimate first; fact, opinion or made up; spot the fake.
- Learn How to Learn: quiz yourself; space it out; how sure are you?
- Good Digital Citizen: keep it private; be honest about help; when not to use AI.
The study lessons use the two tricks with the best evidence: testing yourself and spacing out practice.[4] They work with or without AI.
How every lesson works
Every lesson, in every path, has the same shape. It follows four pillars of learning from the science of how kids learn: active, engaged, meaningful and social, with a clear goal.[2]
In every Tala lesson, your child:
- Hears a short story with moving pictures that shows the idea first.
- Does it with their hands: sorts, builds, counts coins or fixes Kislap's guess.
- Sees why after each answer, right or wrong.
- Stops at a calm "All done" screen. No timers, no lives, no endless feed.
- Gets one small thing to try at home with you.
The games inside lessons are guided play. Kids play freely, but toward a clear goal, with help when they need it. A 2016 review found guided play can teach as well as, or better than, other ways of teaching.[5]
Questions parents ask
Does my child have to choose a career?
No. Dream Paths are a way in, not a decision. Kids can try any path, you choose which ones they see, and Reading and Math run alongside so their learning stays complete.
What subjects do the Dream Paths teach?
Real school subjects: math, science, reading, logic, money, art and health. For example, the Architect path teaches shapes, measuring and area, and the Engineer path teaches forces and simple machines.
How many lessons does each Dream Path have?
Each of the 12 careers has 4 lessons for each age group: ages 3 to 5, 6 to 8 and 9 to 12. Reading and Math have 16 lessons for each age group.
Is Smart with AI for young children?
No. It is an optional track for ages 9 to 12, and it is off unless a parent turns it on. Younger children never chat with AI on Tala.
Sources
- [1]Chambers, N., Kashefpakdel, E. T., Rehill, J., & Percy, C. (2018). Drawing the future: Exploring the career aspirations of primary school children from around the world. Education and Employers. www.educationandemployers.org/drawing-the-future-published/ · Report
- [2]Hirsh-Pasek, K., Zosh, J. M., Golinkoff, R. M., Gray, J. H., Robb, M. B., & Kaufman, J. (2015). Putting education in "educational" apps: Lessons from the science of learning. Psychological Science in the Public Interest. doi.org/10.1177/1529100615569721 · Review
- [3]UNESCO (2024). AI competency framework for students. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. www.unesco.org/en/articles/ai-competency-framework-students · Guideline
- [4]Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K. A., Marsh, E. J., Nathan, M. J., & Willingham, D. T. (2013). Improving students' learning with effective learning techniques: Promising directions from cognitive and educational psychology. Psychological Science in the Public Interest. doi.org/10.1177/1529100612453266 · Review
- [5]Weisberg, D. S., Hirsh-Pasek, K., Golinkoff, R. M., Kittredge, A. K., & Klahr, D. (2016). Guided play: Principles and practices. Current Directions in Psychological Science. doi.org/10.1177/0963721416645512 · Review
This guide is general information for parents, not medical or professional advice. Spotted an error? Email us from the report page.
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