Problems and Perspectives of Geography Education in Japanese Elementary Schools - Geography Education in Japan - page 21

Study areas are extended to the prefecture to which the students' town belongs.
For example, in Tokyo schools, students usually study landforms and land use, expan-
sion of dormitory towns, and changes of land use in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area.
They learn how farmland on plateaus in the western part of Tokyo was cultivated after
construction of an irrigation waterway in the seventeenth century. Also studied are
typical ways of life in towns, such as those in the mountains or on islands that depend
on unique physical environments. Students are also expected to have the ability to
read and use maps with scales and contour lines.

2.2.4 The Fifth Grade (10-11 Years Old)

Students learn about Japan's physical geography and its location in the world. They
are introduced to economic geography while learning about agriculture, including
rice cultivation, fi sheries, land use, climate, and the distribution of factories in terms
of food, machinery, metals, fi ber, and chemical industries. Lessons also focus on car
manufacturers that use various types of robots to make high quality goods. In addi-
tion, they learn that many Japanese companies build new factories in countries over-
seas, such as in the United States, United Kingdom, and Asian countries.
In these lessons and activities, students engage in reading and using various
kinds of distribution and land use maps. They also learn the concepts of longitude
and latitude using globes (Fig. 2.3 ).

Fig. 2.3 Globe activities