Sweden Grundskola Crafts Curriculum

This information is taken from the Crafts syllabus for the Swedish compulsory school (Grundskola), as described in the official curriculum document.

Crafts

Aim: The Crafts syllabus aims to develop students' knowledge of various crafts and their ability to work with diverse materials and forms of expression. Students develop skills through a process combining thinking, sensory experiences, and practical action. The curriculum encourages curiosity, exploration, and creative problem-solving with different materials. Students learn about color, form, function, design, and how these elements interact through conscious choices of materials and techniques. They also gain familiarity with craft terminology, tools, and aesthetic expressions, along with an understanding of workplace safety, sustainability in material selection, and an appreciation for diverse craft traditions across cultures and time periods.

Core Content:

Years 4-6:

• Materials, Tools, and Techniques: Students explore the properties and uses of metals, textiles, and wood, including how to combine them with each other, with new and reused materials, and with digital technology. They learn the names and safe, appropriate use of hand tools, instruments, and machines. Handicraft techniques like crocheting and hollowing are introduced, along with related terminology. Students learn to interpret and apply two- and three-dimensional sketches, models, patterns, and task descriptions, including those created with digital tools, and link them to mathematical calculations.
• Working Processes: The curriculum covers different stages of the craft process, from idea development and consideration of important factors to communication and assessment of the work process, emphasizing the interconnectedness of these stages. Students explore the possibilities of various materials and handicraft techniques and document their work process in words and pictures, with or without digital tools.
• Aesthetic and Cultural Expressions: Students examine handicraft and craft traditions from different cultures as inspiration for their own work. They learn how color, form, and material combinations influence the aesthetic expression of craft objects and how symbols and colors are used and what they represent in child and youth cultures.
• Crafts in Society: The curriculum explores the importance of crafts for individuals and society, both historically and in the present, and emphasizes resource management through repair and recycling.

Knowledge Requirements:

The knowledge requirements are cumulative, meaning that achieving a higher grade requires fulfilling the criteria of the lower grades as well.

• Grade E: Students can create simple craft objects from different materials by following instructions, using tools, instruments, and machines safely and functionally with some handicraft techniques. They can choose approaches based on the task's aim and environmental considerations, providing simple justifications for their choices. They can contribute to idea development using inspirational material and suggest improvements to the work process. Students can make simple assessments of their work quality and interpret the expression of craft objects, using simple reasoning about symbols, color, form, and material.
• Grade C: Students demonstrate more developed and systematic skills in creating craft objects from various materials, using tools and techniques safely and appropriately. They provide more developed reasoning for their choices of materials and approaches, based on the task's aim and environmental aspects. They can develop ideas based on inspirational material and suggest adaptations to improve the work process. Students can make more developed assessments of their work and its quality and interpret the expression of craft objects with more developed reasoning about symbols, color, form, and material.
• Grade A: Students exhibit well-developed and systematic skills in creating craft objects from diverse materials, using tools and machines safely, appropriately, and precisely. They provide well-developed reasoning for their choices, considering the task's aim and environmental aspects. They can develop original ideas, using provided inspiration and self-sourced materials, and formulate effective improvements to the work process. Students can make well-developed assessments of their work and its impact on quality and interpret the expression of craft objects with well-developed reasoning about symbols, color, form, and material.