Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 5.3
Contents of Social Studies textbook used in fi fth grade of elementary school
Chapter
Section
Points
Our national land
Japan in the world
Understanding of natural
environment in Japan
Features of landscape and people's lives
Characteristics of climate and people's lives
Our lives and food
Rice: Shonai plain
Agriculture and fi sheries
Fishery: Shizuoka
Food industry and our future
Our lives and
manufacturing
industry
Automotive manufacture
Industry in Japan
Manufacturing industry and industrial area
Manufacturing industry and trade
Information society
and our lives
Information industry and our lives
Information society
Information changing society
Information literacy
How to utilize information
Our lives and
environment
Our lives and forests
Environment conservation
and disaster prevention
We save the environment
Obviate natural disasters
Kita et al. (
2012c
,
d
)
Fig. 5.4
Pages from Social Studies textbook for fi fth grade (section entitled “Characteristics of
climate and people's lives in Japan”) (Kita et al.
2012d
)
Many basic map-related skills are presented in the textbook for fi fth grade students.
Furthermore, use of the globe and interpretation of aerial photos are skills that
students must acquire. These map reading skills underpin the next stage, in which
students extract information from maps. Textbook content explains geographic
facts, using photos and fi gures (Fig.
5.4
).
