Everyday Technology

Ages 5–8 · 8 minutes

Explore technology we use every day

Identify devices and other technology while discussing how it supports daily life and helps humans complete tasks.

Part of

Digital Citizenship

Standards alignment

Common Core State Standards

D2.His.2.K-2 — Individually and with others, students… Compare life in the past to life today.
People also use a variety of devices to communicate (send and receive information) over long distances.
A situation that people want to change or create can be approached as a problem to be solved through engineering. Such problems may have many acceptable solutions.
Because there is always more than one possible solution to a problem, it is useful to compare and test designs.
SL.K.4 — Describe familiar people, places, things, and events and, with prompting and support, provide additional detail.

Alabama

SS10.1.6.1 — Identifying past and present forms of communication
SS10.1.6.3 — Identifying past and present types of technology
SS10.1.6.4 — Identifying past and present types of recreation
SS10.K.12 — Describe families and communities of the past, including jobs, education, transportation, communication, and recreation.
SS10.K.12.1 — Identifying ways everyday life has both changed and remained the same

Alaska

People also use a variety of devices to communicate (send and receive information) over long distances.
A situation that people want to change or create can be approached as a problem to be solved through engineering. Such problems may have many acceptable solutions.
4 — analyze how changes in technology, transportation, and communication impact social, cultural, economic, and political activity; and
K-2-ETS1-1 — Ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change to define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool.
Because there is always more than one possible solution to a problem, it is useful to compare and test designs.

Arizona

Define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool.
K.SP1.2 — Explore how events of the past affect students’ lives and community.
U2 — The knowledge produced by science is used in engineering and technologies to solve problems and/or create products.
K.SL.4 — Describe familiar people, places, things, and events and, with prompting and support, provide additional detail.

Arkansas

H.1.1.1 — Explain similarities and differences of everyday life in different times using chronological terms. This may include: • Daily tasks • Food • Clothing • Transportation • Communication • Recreation • Celebrations
H.1.1.3 — Compare present day families, objects, and events with those in the past using visual representations, news stories, and artifacts (e.g., daily life tasks, food, clothing, transportation, communication, recreation).
H.1.K.3 — Compare the life of a student today (present) to the life of a student in the past using visual representations (e.g., growing food, rules and laws, making clothing, transportation, communication).
H.1.K.8 — Compare the differences in sources of information from the present and the past (e.g., telegraph, pony express, newspaper, telephone, TV, Internet).
A situation that people want to change or create can be approached as a problem to be solved through engineering.

California

3 — Students explain how the present is connected to the past, identifying both similarities and differences between the two, and how some things change over time and some things stay the same.
K.6.3 — Understand how people lived in earlier times and how their lives would be different today (e.g., getting water from a well, growing food, making clothing, having fun, forming organizations, living by rules and laws).
A situation that people want to change or create can be approached as a problem to be solved through engineering. Such problems may have many acceptable solutions.
1.4.2 — Study transportation methods of earlier days.
1.4.3 — Recognize similarities and differences of earlier generations in such areas as work (inside and outside the home), dress, manners, stories, games, and festivals, drawing from biographies, oral histories, and folklore.
People also use a variety of devices to communicate (send and receive information) over long distances.

Colorado

Ask questions based on observations to find more information about the designed world.
RWC20-GR.K-S.1-GLE.2-EO.a — Describe familiar people, places, things, and events and, with prompting and support, provide additional detail.
Define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool.
RWC20-GR.1-S.2-GLE.3-EO.f.iii — Identify real-life connections between words and their use (for example: note places at home that are cozy).

Connecticut

A situation that people want to change or create can be approached as a problem to be solved through engineering. Such problems may have many acceptable solutions.
Because there is always more than one possible solution to a problem, it is useful to compare and test designs.
People also use a variety of devices to communicate (send and receive information) over long distances.
K-2-ETS1-1 — Ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change to define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool.

Delaware

H.4.K-3a — Students will develop an understanding of the similarities between families now and in the past, including: • Daily life today and in other times • Cultural origins of customs and beliefs around the world
A situation that people want to change or create can be approached as a problem to be solved through engineering. Such problems may have many acceptable solutions.
People also use a variety of devices to communicate (send and receive information) over long distances.
E.3.K-3a — Students will identify human wants and the various resources and strategies which have been used to satisfy them over time. Grade 3
K-2-ETS1-1 — Ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change to define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool.

Florida

SC.K2.CS-PC.2.1 (Discontinued after 2024-2025) — Identify and describe how people use many types of technologies in their daily work and personal lives.
SC.K2.CS-CS.4.1 (Discontinued after 2024-2025) — Recognize different kinds of computing devices in the classroom and other places (e.g., laptops, tablets, smart phones, desktops, printers).
SC.K2.CS-CS.6.1 (Discontinued after 2024-2025) — Identify tasks that are made easier because of computers.
SC.K2.CS-PC.2.2 (Discontinued after 2024-2025) — Communicate about technology using developmentally appropriate terminology.

Hawaii

SS.1.3.17.3 — Compare life in the past to life today
People also use a variety of devices to communicate (send and receive information) over long distances.
A situation that people want to change or create can be approached as a problem to be solved through engineering. Such problems may have many acceptable solutions.
K-2-ETS1-1 — Ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change to define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool.

Idaho

People also use a variety of devices to communicate (send and receive information) over long distances. (1-PS-1.4)
K.ODC.OC.4 — Describe familiar people, places, things, and events with support.
Asking questions, making observations, and gathering information are helpful in thinking about problems. (K-ESS-2.2)

Illinois

ETS1.A-P1 — A situation that people want to change or create can be approached as a problem to be solved through engineering.
ETS1.C-P1 — Because there is always more than one possible solution to a problem, it is useful to compare and test designs. (secondary to 2-ESS2-1)
PS4.C-P1 — People also use a variety of devices to communicate (send and receive information) over long distances.
SS.K.H.1 — With guidance and support, compare life in the past to life today, including the points of view of diverse groups of people.

Indiana

1.H.1 — Identify continuity and change between past and present in community life using primary sources.
K.H.1 — Compare children and families of today with those from the past.
3-5.CD.2 — Understand the pervasiveness of computers and computing in daily life (e.g., voicemail, downloading videos and audio files, microwave ovens, thermostats, wireless Internet, mobile computing devices, GPS systems).

Iowa

SS.K.17. — Compare life in the past to life today.
A situation that people want to change or create can be approached as a problem to be solved through engineering. Such problems may have many acceptable solutions.
SS.K.16. — Distinguish at least two related items or events by sequencing them from the past to the present.
Because there is always more than one possible solution to a problem, it is useful to compare and test designs.
SL.K.4 — Describe familiar people, places, things, and events and, with prompting and support, provide additional detail.

Kansas

A situation that people want to change or create can be approached as a problem to be solved through engineering. Such problems may have many acceptable solutions.
People also use a variety of devices to communicate (send and receive information) over long distances.
K-2-ETS1-1 — Ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change to define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool.
Because there is always more than one possible solution to a problem, it is useful to compare and test designs.
Asking questions, making observations, and gathering information are helpful in thinking about problems.

Kentucky

K.H.KH.1 — Compare life in the past to life today in communities.
People also use a variety of devices to communicate (send and receive information) over long distances.
A situation that people want to change or create can be approached as a problem to be solved through engineering. Such problems may have many acceptable solutions.
K-2-ETS1-1 — Ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change to define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool.

Louisiana

K-2-ETS1-1 — Ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change to define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool.
Define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool.
3.9 — Describe how technological advancements such as the steam engine, railroad, airplane, automobile, electricity, telephone, radio, television, microwave, and digital technologies have affected the lives of people in the United States.
K-2-ETS1-3 — Analyze data from tests of two objects designed to solve the same problem to compare the strengths and weaknesses of how each performs.

Maine

Define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool.
Use observations (firsthand or from media) to describe patterns and/or relationships in the natural and designed world(s) in order to answer scientific questions and solve problems.
K-2-ETS1-1 — Ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change to define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool.
K-2-ETS1-3 — Analyze data from tests of two objects designed to solve the same problem to compare the strengths and weaknesses of how each performs.

Maryland

DCI.ETS1.A.K-2.1 — A situation that people want to change or create can be approached as a problem to be solved through engineering. Such problems may have many acceptable solutions.
explaining how life today is similar and different than in the past using evidence from a variety of sources.
DCI.ETS1.C.K-2.1 — Because there is always more than one possible solution to a problem, it is useful to compare and test designs.
DCI.PS4.C.K-2.1 — People also use a variety of devices to communicate (send and receive information) over long distances.
K-2-ETS1-1 — Ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change to define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool.

Massachusetts

K.T3.3 — Put events from their personal lives, observations of the natural world, and from stories and informational texts read or read aloud in temporal order, using words and phrases relating to chronology and time, including: a. Sequential actions: first, next, last; b. Chronology and time: now, then, long ago, before, after, morning, afternoon, night, today, tomorrow, yesterday, last or next week, last or next month, last or next year.
PreK-PS1-2(MA) — Investigate natural and human-made objects to describe, compare, sort, and classify objects based on observable physical characteristics, uses, and whether something is manufactured or occurs in nature.
SL.K.4 — Describe familiar people, places, things, and events and, with prompting and support, provide additional detail.

Michigan

K-H2.0.1 — Distinguish among the past, present, and future.
Individually and collaboratively, students construct explanations using correct sequence and relevant information.

Minnesota

1.4.2.4.2 — Compare and contrast buildings and other technologies from earlier times and today. For example: Places in earlier times—Pompeii, Athens, Rome. Building technologies—arches, domes, glass. Communication technologies—scrolls, books, emails; Transportation technologies—chariot, train, car.
1.4.2.4.1 — Compare and contrast family life from earlier times and today. For example: Various aspects of family life—housing, clothing, food, language, work, recreation, education.
3.4.2.3.1 — Explain how an invention of the past changed life at that time, including positive, negative and unintended outcomes. For example: Inventions—Roman aqueducts, Chinese compass, cuneiform.

Mississippi

1.H.2.2 — Identify forms of technology and illustrate changes in how it was made and used from its conception to the present (e.g., telephone, assistive technology devices, etc.).

Missouri

3.EG.5.E.a — Describe how changes in communication and transportation technologies affect people’s lives.
A situation that people want to change or create can be approached as a problem to be solved through engineering. Such problems may have many acceptable solutions.
People also use a variety of devices to communicate (send and receive information) over long distances.

Montana

SS.H.2.1 — identify how people lived differently in the past than they do today;
SL.K.4 — Describe familiar people, places, things, and events and, with prompting and support, provide additional detail.
SL.1.1 — Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 1 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups

Nebraska

People also use a variety of devices to communicate (send and receive information) over long distances.
A situation that people want to change or create can be approached as a problem to be solved through engineering. Such problems may have many acceptable solutions.
Define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool.
LA.K.SL.2 — With prompting and support, describe familiar people, places, things, and events, and provide additional detail.

Nevada

People also use a variety of devices to communicate (send and receive information) over long distances.
A situation that people want to change or create can be approached as a problem to be solved through engineering. Such problems may have many acceptable solutions.
Asking questions, making observations, and gathering information are helpful in thinking about problems.
K-2-ETS1-1 — Ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change to define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool.

New Hampshire

People also use a variety of devices to communicate (send and receive information) over long distances.
Define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool.
K-2-ETS1-1 — Ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change to define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool.
SS.HI.4.4.2 — Explore the impact of important technological inventions, e.g., new forms of transportation or housing. (Themes: E: Cultural Development, Interaction, and Change, G: Science, Technology, and Society)
K-2-ETS1-3 — Analyze data from tests of two objects designed to solve the same problem to compare the strengths and weaknesses of how each performs.

New Jersey

6.1.2.HistoryCC.3 — Make inferences about how past events, individuals, and innovations affect our current lives.
People also use a variety of devices to communicate (send and receive information) over long distances.
A situation that people want to change or create can be approached as a problem to be solved through engineering. Such problems may have many acceptable solutions.
SL.K.4 — Describe familiar people, places, things, and events and, with prompting and support, provide additional detail.

New Mexico

The uses of technologies and any limitations on their use are driven by individual or societal needs, desires, and values; by the findings of scientific research; and by differences in such factors as climate, natural resources, and economic conditions.
A situation that people want to change or create can be approached as a problem to be solved through engineering.
People also use a variety of devices to communicate (send and receive information) over long distances.
1.11 — Demonstrate chronological thinking by distinguishing among past, present, and future using family, school, or community events.
K-2-ETS1-1 — Ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change to define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool.

New York

1.9c — People use tools, technologies, and other resources to meet their needs and wants.
People also use a variety of devices to communicate (send and receive information) over long distances.
A situation that people want to change or create can be approached as a problem to be solved through engineering. Such problems may have many acceptable solutions.

North Carolina

K.H.1.3 — Compare life in the past to life today within the home, community, and around the world.

North Dakota

K-2-ET1-1 — Ask questions, make observations, and gather information to define a simple problem (a situation people want to change) that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool.
Define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool.
A situation that people want to change or create can be approached as a problem to be solved through engineering.
K-2-ET1-3 — Analyze data from tests of two objects designed to solve the same problem to compare the strengths and weaknesses of how each performs.

Ohio

2.3 — Science and technology have changed daily life.
1.3 — The ways basic human needs are met have changed over time.
3.7 — Systems of transportation and communication move people, products and ideas from place to place.

Oklahoma

People depend on various technologies in their lives; human life would be very different without technology. (K.ESS3.2, 1.PS4.4)
When new technologies become available, they can bring about changes in the way people live and interact with one another.
People use a variety of devices to communicate (send and receive information) over long distances. (1.PS4.4)
People’s needs and wants change over time, as do their demands for new and improved technologies.

Pennsylvania

3.5.K-2.C — Explain ways that technology helps with everyday tasks. Contrasting the lifestyles of earlier societies with their own will provide ample examples.
3.5.K-2.F — Investigate the use of technologies in the home and community.
3.5.K-2.Y — Discuss how the way people live and work has changed throughout history because of technology.
3.5.K-2.G — Explain the tools and techniques that people use to help them do things.
3.5.K-2.I — Compare simple technologies to evaluate their impacts.
3.5.K-2.R — Draw connections between technology and human experience

Rhode Island

A situation that people want to change or create can be approached as a problem to be solved through engineering. Such problems may have many acceptable solutions.
People also use a variety of devices to communicate (send and receive information) over long distances.
Before beginning to design a solution, it is important to clearly understand the problem.
Because there is always more than one possible solution to a problem, it is useful to compare and test designs.

South Carolina

1-PS4-4.DCI.C: — Information Technologies and Instrumentation People also use a variety of devices to communicate (send and receive information) over long distances. NRC Framework Link
3-ESS3-1.DCI.ETS2.B: — Influence of Engineering, Technology, and Science on Society and the Natural World. Engineers improve existing technologies or develop new ones to increase their benefits (e.g. better artificial limbs), decrease known risks (e.g. seatbelts in cars), and meet societal demands (e.g. cell phones). NRC Framework Link

South Dakota

K-2-ETS1-1 — Ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change to define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool.
Approaching change as a problem that is solvable through engineering: asking questions, gathering information, and determining solutions.
Comparing designs, while discussing strengths and weaknesses of each.
K-2-ETS1-3 — Analyze data from tests of two objects designed to solve the same problem to compare the strengths and weaknesses of how each performs.

Tennessee

2.ETS2.2 — Predict and explain how human life and the natural world would be different without current technologies.
1.25 — Compare ways people lived in the past to how they live today, including: forms of communication, modes of transportation, and types of clothing.
3.ETS2.1 — Identify and demonstrate how technology can be used for different purposes.

Texas

1.15B — describe how technology has affected communication, transportation, and recreation; and
K.12A — identify examples of technology used in the home and school;
K.12B — describe how technology helps accomplish specific tasks and meet people's needs; and
K.12C — describe how his or her life might be different without modern technology.
1.15A — describe how technology has affected the ways families live;

Utah

2.4.1.d — Identify examples of technology that people use (e.g., automobiles, computers, telephones).
2.4.1.e — Identify how technology affects the way people live (work and play).
3.2.1.f — Explain changes within communities caused by human inventions (e.g. steel plow, internal combustion engine, television, and computer).

Vermont

D2.His.2.K-2 — Individually and with others, students… Compare life in the past to life today.
Define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool.
A situation that people want to change or create can be approached as a problem to be solved through engineering. Such problems may have many acceptable solutions.
People also use a variety of devices to communicate (send and receive information) over long distances.
Because there is always more than one possible solution to a problem, it is useful to compare and test designs.

Virginia

1.1.a.ii — Identify a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new tool or improved object.
2.1.a.iii — Identify a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new tool or improved object.
K.1.a.ii — Identify a problem based on need.
K.10.a — Natural and human-made things change over time.

Washington

Asking questions, making observations, and gathering information are helpful in thinking about problems.
A situation that people want to change or create can be approached as a problem to be solved through engineering. Such problems may have many acceptable solutions.
K-2-ETS1-1 — Ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change to define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool.
Define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool.
People also use a variety of devices to communicate (send and receive information) over long distances.

Washington, D.C.

Define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool.
K-2-ETS1-1 — Ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change to define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool.
K.17 — Compare how historical people in our families and communities and from different countries lived, learned, worked and relaxed.
K.9 — Identify artifacts in the lives of students and their community, and use sequential language (e.g., first, next, then, after) to put artifacts in chronological order.
SL.K.4 — Describe familiar people, places, things, and events and, with prompting and support, provide additional detail.

West Virginia

Asking questions and defining problems

Wisconsin

SS.BH4.a.e — Describe specific types of technology and demonstrate how they are used on a daily basis for social or cultural purposes.
SS.BH4 — Wisconsin students will examine the progression of specific forms of technology and their influence within various societies
SS.Geog3.b.2 — Compare and contrast the different modes of transportation and communication used by families in work and daily lives.
People use devices to send and receive information.

Wyoming

SS2.4.2 — Identify tools and technologies, including those of Indigenous Tribes of Wyoming, that made or make life easier and sustainable (e.g., cars for getting one place to another, washing machines for washing clothes, flashlights to see in the dark, and usage of bison and natural resources). 2.MD.7 – 8 K-2-ETS1-1 – ETS1-3
SS2.4.2 — Identify tools and technologies, including those of Indigenous Tribes of Wyoming, that made or make life easier and sustainable (e.g., cars for getting one place to another, washing machines for washing clothes, flashlights to see in the dark, and usage of bison and natural resources). 2.MD.7 – 8 K-2-ETS1-1 – ETS1-3
People use devices to send and receive information.