Living Environment Studies

Core Philosophy & Overall Objectives—The primary goal is to nurture children’s ability to build a sound relationship with the surrounding and act independently as well as socially.

Target Relationships: Focusing on building a relationship between the child and three entities: people around them, society, and nature.
Methodology: Learning must happen through concrete activities and experiences, not abstract theory.
Ultimate Goal: To help pupils acquire basic habits and essential life skills, contemplate their own lives, and develop a foundation for independence.

The theory outlines four specific aims for children:

Connection with the Society: To appreciate their locality and think about their social roles so that they can act in a safe and appropriate manner.
Connection with the Nature: To become interested in animals and plants, appreciate nature’s beauty, and devise ways to play within it.
Self-Confidence: To recognize their own strengths and potential through deep involvement with their surroundings, enabling them to live with willpower.
Expression: To express what they have sensed and enjoyed during activities through language, drawing, behavior, and drama.

The curriculum specifies nine distinct areas of study, which can be grouped into five themes:

School Life: Understanding school facilities and the people who support school life (teachers/friends) to enjoy studying safely.
Commuting: Being interested in the safety of school routes and the people who ensure that safety.

Home Role: Thinking about the family that supports them and what they can do independently (chores/roles).
Health: Learning to regulate their daily lives and look after their own health.

Local Interaction: Feeling attachment to people living and working in the local community and maintaining proper relationships with them.
Public Property: Understanding that public facilities (parks/libraries) are shared property supported by others, and learning to use them correctly and with care.
Communication: Actively interacting with neighbors about local events and taking pleasure in these interactions.

Seasonal Awareness: Sensing how life changes with the four seasons through observation and participating in seasonal events.
Creative Play: Making toys/tools using natural objects to recognize their wonder and enjoying play with others.
Biological Care: Raising animals and growing plants to understand that they are living/growing entities and learning to cherish them.

Self-Reflection: Looking back on their own development to realize what they can now do on their own and acknowledging their increased roles.
Gratitude: Feeling gratitude toward those who supported their growth.

The document provides strict rules on how to teach this subject:

Instructional Approach:
- Activities: Teachers must devise activities like “finding, comparing, and likening” to help pupils think based on recognition.
- Diversity: Opportunities must be given to interact with diverse groups, including the elderly, disabled, and young children.
- Integration: Teaching should coordinate with other subjects like Japanese language, music, and arts. In Grade 1, the curriculum should center around Living Environment Studies to combine subjects.
Continuity & Scope:
- Long-term Projects: Raising animals and plants should be continuous over two years to deepen involvement.
- Moral Education: Instruction must align with the moral education objectives found in the “General Provisions”.
Resource Utilization:
- Teachers should utilize local people, society, and nature in an integrated manner.

Activities/Games that imply Living Environment Science

Parallel Veins	A Parasitic Plant	Symmetry in Nature
Find a leaf where the lines run straight (like grass or banana leaf). Sketch the pattern.	Find a plant growing ON another tree (fern or moss). Why is it there?	Find a flower or leaf that looks exactly the same on both sides. Sketch it.
The “Cactus” Adaptation	FREE SPACE	The Decomposer
Go to the Cactus House. Find a plant with no leaves. Why does it have spines instead of leaves?	Macro-Photography: Take a super close-up photo of tree bark texture.	Find a fungus, mushroom, or rotting log. What is happening to the wood?
Aquatic Ecosystem	Seed Dispersal	Bamboo Joint (Gira)
Find a plant that floats on water. How does it stay afloat?	Find a seed/fruit on the ground. How did it get there? (Wind? Bird? Fell?)	Find a Bamboo tree. Count the segments between the ground and your eye level. Write the number.

A Table Explaining how this game incorporates Living Environment Science

Bingo Task	Japanese Pedagogical Concept	Why it Develops Analytical/Lexical Skills
“Leaf Bigger than Your Hand”	(Comparison)	Children at this age struggle with abstract measurements (cm/inches). Using their own body (“Hand”) as a unit forces them to physically compare objects. This is the root of mathematical analysis.
“Find a Butterfly”	(Dynamic Vision)	In a green garden, finding a moving insect requires isolating a target from the background. This builds focus and attention to detail, critical for reading and data collection later.
“Rough to Touch”	(Sensory Input)	Vocabulary isn’t just words; it’s feelings. Touching bark vs. a petal grounds the abstract words “Rough” (Khoshkhoshe) and “Smooth” (Mosrin) in physical reality. This creates permanent lexical memory.
“Draw what you hear”	(Observation)	Drawing forces the brain to slow down. You cannot draw a sound; you must interpret the source (a bird, a car). This translates auditory signals into visual logic, a key analytical skill.