Swedish Mellanstadiet (Grade 4) Technology Syllabus

Aim: Teaching in technology should aim to help students develop their technical expertise and awareness to navigate and interact with a technologically advanced world. It should foster students' interest in technology and their ability to address technical challenges consciously and innovatively. Students should develop knowledge about technology in everyday life and become familiar with subject-specific terms and concepts. Teaching should guide students in developing their ability to solve problems and meet needs using technology. It should also provide opportunities for students to develop their own technical ideas and solutions. The curriculum should help students understand the impact of technology and its use on individuals, society, and the environment. Furthermore, it should enable students to confidently assess technical solutions in relation to aesthetics, ethics, gender roles, economics, and sustainable development. Teaching should provide knowledge about the historical development of technology to enhance understanding of complex technological phenomena and contexts, and how technology has shaped societal development. It should also foster an understanding of technology's interaction with other sciences and art forms.

Core Content (Years 4-6):

• Technological Solutions:
• Parts of a computer and their functions (processor, memory). How computers are controlled by programs and networked.
• Technical solutions using electrical components and simple electronics to produce sound, light, or movement (alarms, lighting).
• Everyday objects with moving parts and their mechanisms for transferring and amplifying power.
• Construction of common solid and stable structures (houses, bridges).
• How components interact in simple technical systems (e.g., torches).
• Common materials (wood, glass, concrete), their properties, and use in solid and stable constructions.
• Terminology for naming and discussing technical solutions.
• Working Methods:
• Stages of technical development: identifying needs, investigating, proposing solutions, designing, and testing.
• Constructing physical and digital models applying principles of solid and stable structures, mechanisms, and electrical connections.
• Controlling constructions or other objects through programming.
• Documentation using sketches with explanations, symbols, measurements, and physical/digital models.
• Technology's Impact:
• Common technical systems in homes and society (data communication networks, water/sewage systems, recycling systems). How components interact.
• How and why technological systems change over time.
• Ways to conserve energy at home.
• Safety in technology use (e.g., transferring information digitally).
• Consequences of technological choices (advantages/disadvantages).
• Technology's role in changing occupational conditions and society.

Knowledge Requirements (End of Year 6):

• Grade E: Students can describe simple technical solutions and their interacting parts, and describe simple solid and stable constructions, their structure, and materials. They can test design ideas and create simple models, documenting their work with sketches, models, or texts. Students can reason simply about how objects/systems have changed and some advantages/disadvantages of different technical systems.
• Grade D: Meets requirements for Grade E and mostly Grade C.
• Grade C: Students can explain simple technical solutions and their interactions, and describe relationships in solid and stable constructions. They can test and refine design ideas, creating developed models and documenting their work thoroughly. Students can reason about how objects/systems have changed and the advantages/disadvantages of different technical solutions.
• Grade B: Meets requirements for Grade C and mostly Grade A.
• Grade A: Students can explain simple technical solutions, their interactions, and similar solutions. They can describe relationships in solid and stable constructions in detail. They can systematically test and refine design ideas, creating well-developed models and documenting their work comprehensively. Students can reason in detail about how objects/systems have changed and the advantages/disadvantages of different technical solutions.