Student learning · Grades 3–5 · 35 minutes
The Family Tech Menu
A child and their family sort a week of real screen moments by what the screen was for, then build a balanced "tech menu" together, learning that purpose and mix matter more than minutes.
A lot of screen time happens on autopilot: the show that was already on, the game you open without thinking. This lesson gives families a calmer way to talk about screen use than counting minutes. Children sort everyday screen moments into four purposes, Create, Connect, Learn, and Unwind, and notice that a screen can earn its place or just fill time. They discover that a device used to make a video for Grandma is not the same as one used because there was nothing else to do, even if both take the same number of minutes. Then, at home, the child leads the family in building a "tech menu": a short, balanced plan of screen and no-screen choices for the week. The message is honest and nuanced: screens are not the enemy, and more is not automatically bad; what the screen is for, and what else the week holds, is what counts.
In this packet
- Handout A: What Was the Screen For? (card sort)
- Handout B: Our Family Tech Menu (worksheet)
- Handout C: My Week Check (worksheet)
- Facilitator key (last page)
TCEA ELE indicators
- S4.1 I know how to take responsibility for my own learning.
- S1.1 I know how to use technology to support my learning.
- S4.2 I can set achievable goals and monitor my progress.
- S3.2 I can communicate my ideas clearly to others.
Full facilitator guide: mglearn.github.io/eles/activities/family-tech-menu.html
Handout A for The Family Tech Menu
What Was the Screen For?
Sort each screen moment by its purpose. Then flip the card: does this one usually earn its place, or is it often autopilot? Some could fit in more than one pile, tell why you chose.
Create
Connect
Learn
Unwind
Handout A for The Family Tech Menu
What Was the Screen For?: cards to sort
Cut apart the strips. Sort each one onto the mat and be ready to explain why.
Sheet 1 of 2
Making a stop-motion video with your toys
Video-calling a cousin who lives far away
Watching whatever plays next because autoplay kept going
Following a drawing tutorial, then drawing it yourself
Picking one show on purpose to relax after a hard day
Opening a game out of habit while waiting in line
Looking up how tall a blue whale is for a report
Recording a birthday message for a grandparent
Making a playlist for a family road trip
Scrolling short clips you forget two minutes later
Texting a friend to plan who brings what to the park
Practicing math facts on a learning app the teacher assigned
Handout A for The Family Tech Menu
What Was the Screen For?: cards to sort
Cut apart the strips. Sort each one onto the mat and be ready to explain why.
Sheet 2 of 2
Turning on a show for background noise while doing nothing else
Taking photos on a nature walk to make a family album
Handout B for The Family Tech Menu
Our Family Tech Menu
Start this at school with one idea in each purpose. Finish it at home: decide the menu together with your family, who can add, change, or trade ideas. Family note: this is not a list of bans. We are practicing choosing screen use on purpose and balancing it with no-screen time. Please build this with your child.
CREATE: one thing we could make with a screen this week (a video, a slideshow, a playlist, a drawing).
CONNECT: one way we could use a screen to be with people we love this week.
LEARN: one thing we could find out or practice with a screen this week.
UNWIND: one show, game, or video we will pick on purpose, and when we will stop.
NO-SCREEN: two things our family will do this week with no screens at all.
One screen-free time or place we choose together (like dinner or the hour before bed):
Handout C for The Family Tech Menu
My Week Check
Write your goal now. At the end of the week, come back and notice how it went. This is not for a grade, it is just for noticing.
My screen-use goal for this week (about HOW I use screens, not just using them less):
At the end of the week: one time a screen really earned its place.
At the end of the week: one time I caught myself on autopilot and what I did.
One thing we want to change on next week's menu:
Facilitator only for The Family Tech Menu
Answer key and notes
Handout A: What Was the Screen For?
| Item | Sort | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Making a stop-motion video with your toys | Create | Earns its place: you are making something that did not exist before. |
| Video-calling a cousin who lives far away | Connect | Earns its place: a screen helps you be with people you love. |
| Watching whatever plays next because autoplay kept going | Unwind | Autopilot: the screen chose, not you. |
| Following a drawing tutorial, then drawing it yourself | Learn | Earns its place: the screen taught you, then you practiced. |
| Picking one show on purpose to relax after a hard day | Unwind | Earns its place: resting is a real purpose when you choose it. |
| Opening a game out of habit while waiting in line | Unwind | Autopilot: a reflex more than a choice. |
| Looking up how tall a blue whale is for a report | Learn | Earns its place: a screen helps you find out something real. |
| Recording a birthday message for a grandparent | Connect | Earns its place: using a screen to share love across distance. |
| Making a playlist for a family road trip | Create | Earns its place: you are putting something together for others. |
| Scrolling short clips you forget two minutes later | Unwind | Autopilot: easy to start, hard to remember, hard to stop. |
| Texting a friend to plan who brings what to the park | Connect | Earns its place: a screen helps set up real time together. |
| Practicing math facts on a learning app the teacher assigned | Learn | Earns its place: a screen helps you practice and get feedback. |
| Turning on a show for background noise while doing nothing else | Unwind | Autopilot: the screen is on but not really chosen. |
| Taking photos on a nature walk to make a family album | Create | Earns its place: the screen helps you make and keep a memory. |