Guide by GRADE

Unit III

Grades 4 & 5

Our Technology Vision Overview

Children in grades 4 and 5 are starting to navigate big transitions. They are gaining a deeper understanding of fairness, and they are balancing the desire to do things on their own while still needing your guidance. Their awareness of world issues is growing, and they are starting to form their own opinions about social issues. While they can handle more digital responsibility, they still need clear guidelines and adult supervision. Seven Hills provides limited, purposeful technology use in grades 4 and 5. Our approach emphasizes community learning and uses technology as one of many tools to support foundational skills. Faculty and staff model positive technology behaviors. Every family is unique, and we recognize that you know your child best. These guidelines are offered as research-based recommendations to help you make informed decisions that work for your family.

View our research resources.

AT SCHOOL

What Students Do:

Create collaborative documents and multimedia projects with tools such as Canva, Procreate, iStopMotion, and Book Creator.
Connect with experts outside the classroom.
Research with curated lists and virtual field trips.
Interact with online simulations.
Engage in media and digital literacy lessons on privacy and safety, relationships and communication, cyberbullying and online harms, healthy habits, and digital footprint and identity.
Organize files in Google Drive.
Practice coding and typing skills.
Take MAP Assessments on iPads.

School Policies:

iPads remain at school – they do not go home with students.
Personal devices (iPads, phones, smartwatches, etc.) are not to be brought to school.
All technology use is supervised and purposeful.

AT HOME

Best Practices:

Technology should not replace active play, reading, or creative exploration.
Viewing is led, previewed, and reviewed by adults.
Choose long-form content (longer shows, documentaries) over short-form content (YouTube shorts, Instagram reels, etc.).
Use family devices (your phone, a shared family iPad, or television); no personal devices for children.
Discuss what they are doing online and show interest.
Limit to one to one and a half hours daily.