Based on the New Course of
Study for Elementary School

Making a better classroom/
school life together

SpecialActivities

Fo
Elem r
entar
y
Scho
ol

Deciding on my own
and making eﬀorts
are important.

Classroom/school life
becomes fun throughclass meetings, etc.

Children's

smile
Everyone feels
happy for being
helpful.

Conﬁdenceof parents

Children and teachers
are all friendly witheach other and lively.

Challenges
as a teacher

Having a hard timeand a good time
together with children
makes teachers grow.

Realizing buildingof awareness ofgroup in classroom

July 2018
Curriculum Research Center, National Institute for Educational
Policy Research, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports,
Science and Technology

Objectives of the special activities
To develop children's qualities and abilities through exercising their ways ofviewing or thinking as members of group or society, making eﬀorts to dovarious group activities voluntarily and practically and solving problems intheir own life or group life while making use of their good points andpotentialities so that:(1) Children can understand the signiﬁcance of various group activities thatthey conduct in cooperation with others and what is needed in conducting
the activities and learn the way of acting;(2) Children can acquire the abilities to ﬁnd problems in group or their own
life and human relationships, make discussions for solving the problems,
and try to form a consensus or make a decision on their own; and(3) Children can build a better life and human relationships in group orsociety using the abilities acquired through voluntary and practical group
activities, deepen their thoughts about the way of living and develop
attitudes toward self-actualization.

Table ofcontents

Revision Points in the Course of Study ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥ 3Children grow up with richness of spirit through classroom activities, student council
activities, club activities and school events. ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥ 4Classroom activities (1)Practice of classroom activities based on characteristics ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥ 6
Guidance before class meeting trying to "enhance the quality of discussion" ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥ 7Classroom activities (1) for realizing thoughts and fulﬁlling classroom or school life ‥‥‥‥ 8
Guidance after the class meeting toward next activities ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥ 10
Task activities and gathering activities for making classroom life enjoyable and fulﬁlling ‥‥ 11Classroom activities (2)Classroom activities (2) for looking at one's present self and thinking about one's own growth‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥ 12Classroom activities (3)Classroom activities (3) for foreseeing the future and making eﬀorts to become what children
want to be ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥ 14
Student council activities
Student council activities which are voluntary and independent activities for making school
life enjoyable and fulﬁlling ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥ 16
Club activities
Club activities in which students pursue common hobbies or interests in a group of students
of diﬀerent ages ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥ 18
School events
School events which mark as milestones the stages of school life and colorize them bytaking advantage of the characteristics of school ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥ 20
Classroom environment
Classroom environment which leads to fulﬁllment of the special activities ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥ 222

Revision Points in the Course of Study
Important points of view on qualities and abilities to be developedin the special activities
Building of human relationships

Participation in society

Self-actualization

Recognizing each other's
diﬀerences and developing theability to live together

Developing the abilities forcreating a better group orsociety

Developing the abilities formaking eﬀorts to become
what they want to be

Human relationship which they want to build
Point of view where children make eﬀorts to build a better humanrelationship using their good points while cooperating with each other inthe relations between "individual and individual" and "individual and group"
FutureOthers

Myself
At presentThis shows the concept that children grow with three points of view
on qualities and abilities to be developed being related to each other.

Becoming who they want to be

OthersPoint of view where children try to improve
themselves while foreseeing the future, thinking
about what they can do now and taking actions
using their good points and potentialities

Society which they want to create

Point of view where children positively
participate in various groups or societies towhich they belong now and will belong in the
future to make the groups or societies betterGroup orsociety towhich they
belong at eachstage of life

Improvement of classes toward realization of "Proactive,
Interactive and Deep Learning" in the special activities
Proactive learning

Interactive learningChildren ﬁnd problems based on theactual status of school or classroom
and actual condition of themselves
and try to make their life better while
practicing or reviewing the ways ofsolving the problems.

Children learn to expand their thoughts
and think ﬂexibly and multi-directionallyby trying to form a consensus in orderto solve problems in life or listening tovarious opinions in discussions toward
decision making.

Deep learning
While exercising the "ways of viewing or thinking as members of group or society" andrepeating a series of activities from ﬁnding of problems and setting of tasks toreviewing, children use their knowledge or skills to solve problems in group or of their own
by comprehensively using the "ways of viewing or thinking" according to characteristics
of each school subject.

3

Children grow up with richness of spirit through classroom activit

Since I experienced
doing things incooperation withothers, I can makefriends with anyone.

I learned to speak toothers voluntarily,and so I can makemore friends now.

Thanks to my friends,
I realized my good
points.

By doing one thing
together with others,
I experienced such apleasure that
couldn't be felt by
doing alone.

Having discussed
many things,
I noticed that there
were various ways ofthinking.

Plenty of relationships with otherpeople make children learn bythemselves and have conﬁdence inthemselves.

○ Leading to development of a better group
Through various group activities such as class activities, student council
activities, club activities and school events, a classroom or school can be made agroup in which children support and inspire each other.

Classroom in whichchildren are willingto give/exchange
greetings
Classroom in whichchildren kindly talkto their friend who
is in trouble

Classroom in whichchildren can properly
communicate theirideas to others
Classroom in whichchildren are willingto do cleaning

Enhancement ofclassroom management

Classroom inwhich children canpromote activities
with prospects

Classroom in which
everyone gets involved
in solving problems
togetherClassroom in whichchildren teach eachother and encourage
each otherThrough activities in which children make class or school lifeand human relationships better while exercising the practice ofviewing or thinking as members who form a group or society○ Each child can realize his/her own growth.

Classroom in whichchildren cherish what
they madethemselves
Classroom inwhich children cansing songs lively"Enhancement of class activities (1)" is a key point.
4ties, student council activities, club activities and school events.

Children can acquire the strength to live better in an inclusive society.

○ School is a society where people are related to each other.
School is a microcosm of society and a society most familiar to children.
In the special activities, school life itself is a subject of education.

Classroom
activities

Student council
activities

Toward fulﬁllment andimprovement of theclassroom life, every
child makes his/herclassroom or school life
better in cooperation
with others.

Student council isorganized by all
students to make theirschool life enjoyable
and rich throughvoluntary andautonomous activities.

Fun event, etc.

Jumping rope gathering,etc.

Club activities

School events

Through the same
hobby, students ofdiﬀerent grades
develop theirpersonalities andenrich their life.

Through connection
with communities andnature or interaction
with various culturesand people, children
create a school
culture.

Ball game club, etc.

School excursion,
athletics meet, etc.

Experiences in the special activities become a memorythat children cannot forget even when they become adults.

To workplace,home

To neighborhood
council, assembly

To circle,
club

To community events,
entertainments

Making a bettergroup or society
with co-workers
or family

Making theircommunity or society
better throughdiscussions andpractices

Making friends,
deepening the bonds
while developing
favorite things andenjoying life

Having awareness as amember of group andhaving attachment tocommunities or the likethrough various events

What children practice and learn in the special activities leads tothe way of living in various groups in the future.
In the special activities, children can get achievements by obtaining understanding andcooperation of parents and local community people. Using the column space for description
about the special activities in the report card, or news letter from school, it’s desirable toreport children’s activities and their good points to their parents and adults concerned.

Information◆ Making a better life and human relationship through the special activities is correlated with academic achievement. ◆The cross tabulation of paper test survey and questionnaire survey was conducted. The analysis
result shows that the larger the number of teachers who conduct the special activities withenthusiasm and children who aﬃrmatively replied to the questions about the special activities isin a classroom, the higher the average correct answer ratio for many subjects in the classroom is.
"Investigation on Implementation State of Course of Study of Elementary School" in 2012 (National Institute for Educational Policy Research)◆ "Tokkatsu (special activities)" receiving attention even in foreign countries ◆Overseas educational professionals pay attention to the special activities, in which children
cooperate with each other in group to solve problems, as one of Japanese-style education
methods.

5

Practice of classroom activities based on characteristics
There are three kinds of classroom activities, (1), (2) and (3). The basic learning process is divided into two
categories: class activities (1); and class activities (2), (3). Children conduct voluntary and practical activities,
according to the characteristic of each activity, under an appropriate guidance of teachers, so that theyenhance their autonomous abilities, self-leading abilities and self-actualization abilities.

The classroom activities are activities based on "classroom". Classroom is abasic group to which children belong and are most familiar in school life.
Through various group activities, children try to make a better life and humanrelationship and fulﬁll and improve school life, by discussing the ways of ﬁnding and solving group's or individual problems in classroom or school life,
trying to achieve "consensus formation" in group and practice in cooperation,or each child doing 'decision making' about how to solve his/her own problems
and practicing the decision.

Learning processes (example) for class activities (1) and (2) (3)(1) Participation in creation of life inclassroom or school
Taking up issues, for example, things children
want to do or make together or problems theywant to solve together, in order to make classroom or school life enjoyable and fulﬁlling(2) Adaptation to daily life and learning, and securing
growth, health and safety of individuals(3) Career-building and self-actualization of each child
Taking up issues in the present life for (2), andissues on life and learning in view of the present
and future for (3)Activities in advance[1] Finding/checking problems
Finding issues from various problems inlife, and deciding "agenda" together by all
the classmates

Teacher sets a "subject matter" from
common problems in daily life.

[2] Discussing how to solve
problems, etc.
Exchanging or comparing opinions about
the content, method and role sharing of
the problem-solving

Having discussion to search for the causeof a problem or the necessity to solve it
and to ﬁnd a speciﬁc solving method[3] Making decision on a solving method
Recognizing diﬀerences of opinions anddiversity, making a compromise andachieving "consensus formation" in group

Based on discussion, each child does a "decision
making" about a speciﬁc way of solving a problem
and a personal goal suitable for himself/herself.

Post activities[4] Practicing what was decided
Playing his/her own role on what was
decided or practicing what was decided incooperation with others using eachother's good points

Based on the way of solving problems
decided by the "decision making", eachchild practices and persistently makes
eﬀorts toward realization of the goal.

[5] Reviewing
Reviewing achievements or problems in
the practices and using it in the next
problem-solving

6

Reviewing the practices on a regularbasis to keep awareness and using it in
the next problem-solving

To the next problem-solving

To the next problem-solving

Actual activities/discussions of the period

Guidance before class meeting in order to"enhance the quality of discussion"
Sharing the necessity of solving a problem, making a plan of discussion and leading children to have their own
ideas toward solving of the problem●In the example of the agenda "Let's have a welcome gathering for ○○-san" (3rd grade)[1] Finding problems
C: "I want to hold a gathering where the transfer, ○○-san can get to know our class and we canmake friends."
T: "I see. How about submitting your idea in theagenda post?"⬇
[2] Selecting agenda(At planning committee)
T: "Let's select some agenda proposals."
C: "Let the proposers whose agenda proposals were
not selected know about what we do."⬇
[3] Deciding agenda(All students in class)
T: "Which agenda is related to everyone in the classand needs to be discussed now?"
C: "This time, let's talk about "Let's have a welcome
gathering for ○○-san"."⬇
[4] Preparing activity plan
(Planning committee, proposer)
T: "Let's make a plan of class meetings for talking
about the reason for the proposal, subjects to be
discussed, purpose of discussion, etc. and prepare for them."
C: "In class meetings, let's talk about what we willdo, how we can devise, or the like."⬇
[5] Awareness of problems
T: "Put down your ideas in the class meeting notebook."
C: "According to the activity plan, let's post
opinions, check the way of proceeding,etc.”(Planning committee)

How to collect agendas●From proposals put in the agenda
post●From topics at morning meetings andend-of-the-day meetings●From what is written in the class journal or the
like●From remarks about tasks or duties inclassroom●From requests of the student councils such as
the representative committee and othercommittees or from proposals by classroom tothe student councils●From reviews of past activities◎Based on the class management policy, ateacher may present a subject.

Major preparations at the planning committee●Specifying the "reason for the
proposal"◎Clarifying "for what is the activity conducted?"and "how is the activity conducted?" while
respecting the proposer's thought.
[Content of the reason for proposal(Example)]
1 Actual problem (Currently, the problem is likethis.)
2 Possible way of solving the problem (Bydoing this)3 Image after the problem is solved (want to
do this, want to be like this)●Deciding "what to discuss"◎The content should be what needs to be
discussed in 1 unit time.
◎ For example, "what should be done", "howshould it be done", "how should the roles beallocated", or the like. In view of thedevelopment stage, importance should begiven to "how should it be done".

●Deciding the "goal of discussion",in some cases
In the following cases, the goal may be set:
◎In the case where the reason for proposal
should be clariﬁed◎In the case where the subject in the last
discussion or the way of discussing should
be set as a goal

●Allocating roles and checking how
to proceed and what students
should be careful about●Checking "what has been decided"7

Classroom activities (1) for children to realize theirthoughts and fulﬁll their life at classroom or school●Classroom activities "(1) Participation in creation of life in classroom or school"/[1] Finding problems○Finding an agenda from life. For
example, what makes school life
better, what everyone wants to do
together or what everyone wants
to make[2] Selecting agenda (Planning committee)○Thinking about which agenda should
be discussed by all students inclass and selecting an agenda[3] Deciding agenda○Agenda proposals are presented toall students in class and all students participate in deciding anagenda.
[4] Preparing activity plan (Planning committee)〇Deciding the reason for proposal
and what should be discussed, andmaking a plan about the way of proceeding class meetings[5] Awareness of problems〇Raising awareness of the agenda
by using the classroom activities
corner or the like

Comparingideas

Settling(deciding)ideas

Presenting
ideas

●●●●

Teacher's comment○Considering the developmental stage or children's actual states, teachers shall speak
about good points seen in this class meetingor issues for the next meeting so that children can discuss the matter toward a better
consensus formation.
○Teachers may praise a group of chairpersons or speak to the whole class to enhancechildren's motivation to practice the activity.

Quiz and baskets
are separated, andit's easy tounderstand, isn't it?

●

Who-am-I quizClass 3-3 quiz●

What to discuss [2] How can we devise the games?

Devices on games

Fruit basket○○ -san's favorite fruits
Choosing

Class 3-3 quiz

Making a quiz on what happened in our class

Making a quiz on what classmates like

8

Other devices[4] Remarks about the welcome gathering.
[5] Closing address

Settling(deciding)ideas

Singing the classroom song

Welcome program[1] Opening address[2] Singing[3] Game○Time is shown as a guide sothat children can have a discussion paying attention to thetime.
○Try to take more time to discuss
the content to be focused on

Now, here

Singing everyone's favorite songs.

Presenting a rough content of the program
clariﬁes what should be decided.

Presenting ideas●Presenting their own
ideas about "things to
be discussed" while
respecting individual
thoughts and wishes

To have the prospect○Showing what is being
discussed now by arrowor marking so that everyone can concentrate on
thinking.

Giving brief messages from everyone

What has been decided[1] June 27, Friday, 5th period[2] In the classroom[3] Two games (for 30 minutes)

Clariﬁcation of whatshould be discussed

What to discuss [3] What roles are needed?

Classroom activities corner

Discussion about how●Understanding the content of
the agenda and discussion,individuals being reconﬁrming
their own ideas based on thereason and purpose of proposal, and understanding theallocation of time and theway of proceeding in classmeeting

Checking of what was decided〇By posting "what has been decided", the"conditions" of a discussion such as place
and time, the number of games to play,
etc. can be clariﬁed before the discussion. The placard posted may be usedlater by being stuck up on the blackboard
or the like.

Understanding of theagenda and the way ofproceeding the discussion

Teacher's comment○By writing down and organize their own
ideas in the classroom activities notebook, children can make discussion with
their own opinions in mind and speak withreason.

(1) a. Participation in creation of life in classroom orChildren's thoughts or wishes,
reviewing the previous activities, annual instruction plan

Activities in advanceIn a class meeting, discussion is made based on children's thoughts and wishes. Teachers provide anappropriate guidance or advice according to their developmental stage so that children can achieve a better
consensus formation on their own based on the reason for proposal.

Agenda "Let's have a welcome gathering for ○○-san" (3rd grade) , as an example
Post activities

schoolto solve a problem, etc.
Comparing●Having discussion while conﬁrming the same points anddiﬀerent points of opinions
through questions and answers
or giving aﬃrmative opinions
and opposing opinions, in order
to ﬁnd a better solving methodor the like

Decision of aproblem-solving
methodPractice of what
was decided

Settling (deciding)●Achieving "consensus
formation" by recognizing
diﬀerences of opinions
and diversity, making compromises and organizing
everyone's thoughts

Check and preparation forwhat was decided●Conﬁrming the "content of the welcome
gathering" and the "eﬀorts to let ○○-sanknow everyone in the class and have fun"and trying to have the prospect of practicing the gathering
Content of the welcome gathering"Fruit basket""Class 3-3 quiz"

Teacher's guidance or advice○Teachers shall give guidance or advice so that children can proceed
discussion according to the reason and purpose of the proposal.
○Teachers shall try to enhance the ability of the whole class to hold adiscussion by advising not only children in the group of chairpersons but
all students in class.
○When someone says something that hurt others, teachers shall give anappropriate guidance.

5th Class Meeting

Visualization, operation and organization of thinking○Sticking the approval and opposition marks with diﬀerent
colors makes the discussion’s state and progress easy tounderstand.
○Use of the cards with opinions written on them for classiﬁcation and organization of opinions enables children to compare
opinions easily.
○Appropriate use of thinking tools as needed helps children
deepen or organize their thoughts.

Example of the board-written content in the 3rd-grade

June 20th

Agenda○○ -sanLet's have a welcome gathering for

Reason for proposal●●○○ -san was transferred to our school and joined○○ -san and we do
our Class 3 in the 3rd grade.
not know well each other yet. I want to have a○○ -san can get to know
welcome party so thatabout us and be pleased. I think everyone will
become better friends and smile more often
through the welcome party, so I propose this.

Objectives of discussion

Searching for leader ● ● ● ●

●●●●

●●

- Deciding the content of a welcome party and the○○ -san to get to know
way of holding it in order for
everyone well and be pleased.
- Saying something in connection with others' opinions

Rock-paper-scissors basket● ●What to discuss [1] Which games to play

Presenting
ideas

Fruit basket

Comparingideas

Preparation of the welcome
gathering for ○○-san●All children in class are assigned to roles
and prepare in cooperation.
●Everyone cooperates to practice what
was decided at the discussion.

Everyone wants
to make the gathering
amusing and hopesthat ○○-san will havefun.

Reviewing●Making a space of column for reviewing
in the classroom-activities notebook,for example, so that children can review
the practice

Could you make thegathering, considering
the reason or purposeof the proposal?

●Posting the scenes of the practice or
the reviews at the classroom-activities
corner or leaving in the classroom
records so that they can use themeﬀectively in the next class meeting orpractice.

To the next
problem solving
9

Guidance after the class meeting
toward next activities

What was decided through discussion or allocation ofroles shall be presented at the classroom-activities
corner so that children can always check them,enhancing the motivation to practice.

●In the example of the agenda "Let's have a welcome gathering for○○-san" (3rd grade)[1] Check and preparation forwhat was decided
T: "Check what was decided or allocation of roles."
C: "Let's allocate roles and tasks and prepare incooperation."
C: "Let's try to let everyone enjoy it."

[2] Practice of what was
decided
T: "Considering the reason for proposal, let's cooperate
to make the gathering amusing."
C: "Let's pay attention to time as well during thegathering."[Welcome gathering for ○○-san (example)][1] Opening address[2] Song of classroom[3] Messages from classmates[4] Games
Teacher tries to・Fruit basket
praise individuals
・Class 3-3 quizor group for good
points to enhance[5] Making remarks
their motivation[6] Teacher's comment
to practice.
[7] Closing address

Practice○Based on the consensus formation, the roles
are allocated to all children and they are tocooperate to achieve the objectives.
○While preparing and practicing together incooperation, children exercise their own good
points or notice each other's good points andeﬀorts.
○Children's feeling of belonging to the class isenhanced.

Reviewing○After the practice, children express remarks orwrite in the review card, thereby not only
reﬂecting back on the activities but recognizing
each other's good points and eﬀorts.
○Reviewing along with the reason and purpose of
proposal○It is important for teachers to provide guidanceon how children ﬁnd each other's good points,
to conduct a self-evaluation for reviewing theirown behaviors or a mutual evaluation forrecognizing each other's good points, and toorganize the achievements and problems.
○By reviewing the pre-activities, actual activities
and post activities, children can improve
themselves using the reviews in the next
activities.

Step to the next activities[3] Reviewing the activities
T: "Could you do the activities while considering thereason and purpose of the proposal?"
C: "I think everyone has made friends with each otherand smiles more often."
C: "It was good that ○○-san had fun."○○ "I'm glad that I could know about everyone throughthe one-word messages."

10◎"Reviewing" is a step to the next activities. The"satisfaction" and "sense of accomplishment"
obtained in the activities become a source ofenergy for the next activities. The reviews willlead to the next problem-solving including
proposal of new agenda.
◎It is important to leave the activity records. For
example, after the practice of the activities,
what was practiced is posted at theclassroom-activities corner. Also, the states
and achievements of activities are reported totheir families through the classroom
newsletter or the like so that theirunderstanding and cooperation can beobtained.

Task activities and gathering
activities for making classroom
life enjoyable and fulﬁlling

In task activities, children discuss and make task groups in orderto make their classroom life enjoyable and fulﬁlling on their own,
so that they can share tasks and cooperate to voluntarily andindependently practice them using their originality and creativity.
In gathering activities, under appropriate guidance of teachers,
children make their classroom life enjoyable and fulﬁlling andmake friends through planning and operation.

Points on guidance for task activities

Teachers not only provide guidance intentionally but make children clearly understand the diﬀerence
between task activities and duty activities. In a lower grade, teachers may talk to children so that their
originalities are expanded from duty activities.

Task activities

Duty activities

Children ﬁnd tasks to make their classroom life
enjoyable and fulﬁlling together and make voluntaryand practical eﬀorts using their originality andcreativity.

Duties in classroom are allocated to all children sothat their classroom life can be smoothly operated.

Cooperate to do task activities using their originality and creativity.
○Kinds of tasks or contents of activities are discussed by each task group or at class meeting so thatchildren can do tasks using their originality and creativity.
○In order to liven up all task activities in classroom, it is eﬀective that a task-activities corner ortask-activities post for collecting ideas is set or the eﬀorts are reported at morning meetings or
end-of-the-day meetings.
○By conducting a task-activities presentation, children can recognize good points of each task group,
improve their own task activities based on the good points of others' activities and have exchanges
and cooperation among task groups, resulting in invigoration of task activities.

Points of guidance for gathering activities"For what is thisassembly activity
conducted?" Clarifying
the purpose andobtaining a common
understanding in thewhole classroom

Conducting the overall
reviews on discussion,
preparation andgathering activities,
according to theactivity plan,considering thedevelopmental stage.
Using the reviews toimprove next
activities andclassroom life.

Activities in advance

Reviewing

It is important to review according to the purposes of activities.

Clarifying the diﬀerence between task activities and duty activities

Making a detailed planabout "What", "How" or "inwhich allocation of roles" toconduct the activities

Class meeting

Practice[Example of gathering activities]<Assembly activities such as fun events> Game gathering/quiz event/gathering for
appreciating those who worked hard in this term
< Assembly activities such as sports> Long rope jumping event/Interclass Olympic Games<Cultural gathering activities> Interclass music competition/book report writing
competition/newspaper competition/presentation of play or drama

Roles are allocatedto all children inclass, andactivities in which
everyone has fun
and makes friends
are conducted.
After activities, allchildren do cleanup
together.

Through orientations about
various gathering activities,
each gathering is made by all
children and for all children.

11Classroom activities (2) for children to look at theirpresent selves and thinking about their own growth●Classroom activities "(2) Adaptation to daily life and learning, and(4th grade), as an example

Questionnaire in advance
Question [1]○Have you ever been left out, ignoredor spoken ill of by your friends?
Question [2]○Have you ever left someone out,
ignored or spoken ill of someone?

(2) b. Building of better human relationships
Annual guidance plan

Activities in advanceThe rate of elementary school students
who have "left out, ignored or spoken ill of
someone or been left out, been ignored or
been spoken ill of by others" is over 90%".
According to the Follow-up Surveyof Bullying
by National Institute for Educational
Policy Researchin June 2016

Signiﬁcant point for preventing bullying iswhether or not children can take the bullying
as their own problem and face it head-on.
In the "Basic policy for anti-bullying measures(Decision by the Minister of Education, Culture,
Sports, Science and Technology in 2013, Last
revision in 2017)", the importance of the classroom activities as educational activities for prevention of bullying is indicated.

Example of the board-written content in the 4th-grade●The result of the questionnaire in advanceis graphed and posted in the classroom.
●Exchanging opinions brieﬂy while seeing
the graph beforehand leads to clariﬁcationof problems in the actual activities.

andingUnderstSearchUnderstandingof problems

Searching for causes,
realizing the necessity●Lead children to understand theactual state of their classroom
based on the result of the questionnaire.
●Lead children to notice the signiﬁcance of learning and clarify theirown problems by using the graphor the like
●Photos, video footages or the likemay be used as materials.

●Lead children to identify thecause of the problem andclarify the direction toward
a solution●Lead children to realize thenecessity of improvement
and ﬁnd the points to be
improved

I, too, have been annoyed by my friends.

What are the causesof troubles?

December 8th

Sear

Value friends

Causes of "le"ignoring" orGrasping

Graph [1]I have "left out",'ignored" or "spoken illof" someone.
Yes

Use materials sothat children canraise theirawareness of the
problem.

12

ing

No
0

8 people
22 people
1530- I lost my

Graph [2]I have been "left out",
been "ignored" or been
"spoken ill of" by othersYes

25 people

No

5 people015- Many people don't think that they are doing
anything that annoys someone.
- The number of those who "have" spoken ill of orleft out someone is small, while the number of
those who "have been" spoken ill of or left out
by others is large.
- We may have said something that annoys
someone without knowing.

Make a plan on theblackboard in advance so that children can understandthe ﬂow of learning.

- The per- I wantesame friFinding30

How to bec- Use gen"Thank- Even whe
stop and- During bre
friends.
"Let's play

Guide children sothat they look backon their life andclarify the causes of
their bad behavior.

Using materials eﬀectively, children decide their own
goals in life and learning in order to improve their daily
life and make eﬀorts to achieve those goals.

growth and health and safety of individuals"/Agenda "Value friends"
Post activitiesg

Findinng
DecidiDiscussion about how tosolve the problems, etc.

Decision making
for individual goal

●Lead all children to have a
discussion toward broadeningof their views and decision
making of individual goals.
●Setting a place of informationexchange and providing information as materials are eﬀective.
●Devising the guidance in cooperation with school nurse,
dietitian or the like.

●Guide children so thateach child can set his/her
own speciﬁc practicing
manner and purpose witha ﬁrm resolution●Guide children so that thedecision making of eachchild is feasible along theway of solving the problem and that he/she canmake a self-assessment.

Let's discuss how the
problems can besolved.

I'll practice for thispurpose and in thismanner.
Now, here

ching

Deciding

aving out","speaking ill of" someone

Eﬀorts to be made from now

temper- I didn't speak to friends much.
I'll try to speak to friends andplay together.

son annoyed me.
d to play with theends as usual.

ome good friends
tle words
you" "Good luck"n you feel angry,
think for 5 seconds.
ak time, try to play with- If I see a friend in trouble, I'll
speak to him/her.

ing

Practic

Practice of what
was decided
Classroom activity eﬀorts card
(example)
1. My goal
Saying kind words to friends more thanﬁve times every day
2. Look back on my activity!
15th

16th

17th

18th

19th

◎

○

◎

◎

○

Reviewing
After practicing forabout one week, exchange the actual
states of the practice.
I could do my best
toward my goal
during this week.

Let's look back on the practiceat end-of-the-day meetings, too.

- Speak to friends with gentle
words at least ﬁve times a day.

I will continue to try to makea better life from now on.

- I have spoken ill of others. From
now, I will never do to others
what I don’t want others to do
to me.

●Set the time for looking backon the past regularly in orderto keep the motivation to practice the aim.
●Keep children's awareness indaily life by cooperating withfamily through the grade/classroom newsletter or the
like.

together."

Guide children so thatthey can deepen or
broaden individual
thoughts through discussion.

Guide children so thatthey can individually
make decision on how to
actually practice speciﬁc
solutions.

To the next
problem solving
13

Classroom activities (3) for children to foresee
the future and make eﬀorts to become what theywant to be●Classroom activities "(3) Individual's career development and self-actualization

Looking back on oneself
in the 6th grade
Portfolio-like teaching materials may be
used so that each child can connect thepresent self and the future self in his/herthought and he/she can recognize his/her
own growth on his/her own.
Let's look back on the past year in the
6th grade. Read the classroom activities notebook including the past records
again and add anything that is newly
noticed.

(3) a. Development of ambition and attitude for living
Annual guidance plan

Activities in advance[1] What was your goal you set when
you became a 6th grader?
[2] What did you do hard in the 6th
grade?
[3] What abilities do you think you
acquired in this one year?

Questionnaire in advance

Toward junior high school life

●We are anxious about
junior high school student
life, but there are manythings we are looking forward to.

●I want to be like this.
●I want to draw on my experiences in the elementary
school and my good points.

February 26th

Toward junior high school life
Grasping

What are you worried about or looking
forward to in junior high school life?

Searching
Let's get to know about pleasures andchallenging things in junior high school life
Amusingschool eventsClub activity towhich you candevote yourself

Study
seriously

School lunch

Looking forward to

School events

14●Lead children to look backon the past themselves,picture their wish about"what they want to be" andsearch for their own good
points and potentialities●Use of the classroom activities notebook, photos andvideo footages is eﬀective.

Senior students○Where do you want to try to use yourgood points?

●Lead children to take the subject as their own matter byusing the questionnaire, etc.
●Lead children to understandthe signiﬁcance of connection
between the present and thefuture and of learning, and tomeet challenges on the future
perspective in relation to thesubject.

Teacher○What experiences in the elementary
school do you want to draw on?

Searching for causes,
noticing possibility

Friends○What are you worried about?

Understandingof problems

Club activity○What are you looking forward to?

hing
Searc

Study

○What type of junior high school student do you want to be?

Example of the board-written content in the 6th-grade[4] What are your good points you
noticed in this one year?

andingUnderstWorried about

What you want to use eﬀectively

Let's think about the image of ajunior high school student
you want to be- My strong points

Soccer, piano- My experiences

I was a leader in the friendship activity.

- Efforts I madeI did the tasks of the ○○committee with responsibility.

- My good points

Graph the result of aquestionnaire in advance so that children can understandit visually.

Energetic, persistent, gentle

Guide children so thatthey can realize theirown growth by utilizing
the classroom-activities
notebooks and the like.

The special activities play an important role for career
education. Through the activities, children look back on
the past activities, foresee the future way of learningand living and make decision about individual goals.
Each child decides his/her own goal in life or learningand practices toward achievement of the goal.

"/Subject "Toward junior high school life" (6th grade), as an example
with hope and objectives now and in the future

Post activities

ing

cing
Practi

Decision making
for individual goal

Practice of what
was decided●Expand what children can doin order to pursue "what I(they) want to be" throughdiscussion in small groups or
together as the whole class.
●Setting a place of informationexchange, providing information as materials and use ofguest teacher are eﬀective.

●Guide children so that eachchild can set his/her own
speciﬁc goal and own practicing manner with a ﬁrm
resolution●Guide children so that eachchild can achieve his/hergoal by himself/herself andthat they can make a selfassessment.

Practicing what they madedecision to do and recording it●Let's have a discussion andexpand our ideas on what
we should do.

●Let's decide what weshould do from now
before graduation andmake eﬀorts to carry itout.

gFindin

Decid

Discussion about how tosolve the problem, etc.

Now, here

Finding
Referring to others' ideas, let's ﬁnd manythings that each of us will do from now inorder to become our ideal selves as juniorhigh school students.

Things that we will do from now
School events- In order to play actively in the athletic meet,
I will do exercise every day with persistence.
- I will do my best in the music lesson in order
to sing well with others at the chorus festival.
Club activity- I'll do my best in club activities
and lessons to play an active role.
Study- I like Japanese class. I'll continue to read books
to further improve my Japanese ability.

Guide children sothat they candeepen or broaden
individual thoughts
through discussion.

Try to have deep understanding of yourself now,and set objectives appropriate for yourself

Reviewing
Practicing one’s aim in a ﬁxed
period of time and talking about theactual states of the practice
I achieved my goal. Whatshall I challenge next?

Deciding- Let's write on the efforts card.
Eﬀorts "Toward junior high school life" card

Class,

Grade

What kind of junior high school
student do you want to be?

Let's look back on the practice atthe end-of-the-day meetings, too.

- Doing my best at both study and club activity- Special eﬀorts to make in order torealize what you want to be injunior high school
Practicing the piano for 30
minutes every day
Doing push-ups 30 times every day
Reading books in unfamiliar
genres by 5 pages a day

Guide children so that they
can speciﬁcally make decisions of what they should try
individually in order to makea junior high school life fulﬁlling and enjoyable.

Making eﬀorts is very
important in the future life
as well, isn't it?

●Set the time for looking backon the past regularly inorder to keep the motivation
to practice the aim and keep
the consciousness of theway of living from now on.

Toward a better
yourself
15

Student council activities which are voluntary andautonomous activities for making school life
enjoyable and fulﬁlling

Representative
committee

Let's ﬁnd problems
Activities planning at the representative committee
Decision of allocation of roles and purposes of activities

Representative
committee
Student
councilplanning
committee

Apr. Preparation of annual plan

May Toward the athletic meet
Reviewing of the athletic meetJun. About various problems in school life
Jan. Planning of club presentation
Planning and preparation for the farewell party for

Feb. 6th-year students

Club representatives

Committee
representatives

Classroom
representatives

From the student
council post or the likeand activity plans

In the student council post, there was a lettersaying "Many students run on passageways or
stairways. It is dangerous." I'll propose this as a
subject for making our school life safer.

From proposals byclassroom

In my class, the proposal was made that there aremany fallen leaves in school yard and we want tosweep them up. I propose this because all students
should make eﬀorts together to clean our school.

From committees(From the librarycommittee)

Book Week is approaching. I wanteveryone in school to read many books.
This year, we want to conduct a
campaign in the whole school and liven
up Book Week. So, we will propose this.

(From the athletics
committee)

We want to hold a rope jumping event in lunch
break so that everyone in school is able to jumprope well. So, we will propose this.

From the teachers
in the lower gradeChildren in lower grades often say that they want
to play with elder students in their vertical sectiongroup more often. It is good to have exchange
activities such as "Friends gathering", isn't it?

Jul. Report about activities by each committee

Summary of activities in this one year

Mar. Toward the next year

About the welcome party for 1st-year students
Representative
Committee Post

Reviewing activities
to improve future
activities
Reviewing practices
regularly to raisechildren’s awareness,
continue their practices and ﬁnd new
problems

Interaction amongchildren of
diﬀerent ages
In activities such as
gatherings planned andoperated by student
council, excursion, playing and school lunch,children in diﬀerent
grades and classrooms
spend fun time together
and have interaction witheach other.

Informing children of what was decided and having
them practice it
All the students in school are informed of what was decided
through the student council paper, school broadcast or the like.
It is eﬀective to implement it by connecting each committee
activity or student council gathering activity with one another.
Student council gathering activities

The student council
planning committee isset as an organization
for conducting planningand operation of therepresentative committee. It leads planningand operations such as
children's planning ofannual activities, underteacher's appropriate
guidance, so that theactivities are voluntary
and autonomous ones
conducted by students
themselves.

16

Among the agenda examples are "Welcome party for1st-year students", "Farewell party for 6th-year students",
planning of student council gathering activities, etc.

Feeling of friendliness,
admiration, and respect

Behavior as a leader
Senior student(higher grader)

Introduction of books

We-love-books gathering[Chairperson] Gathering committee[Display] Posting committee[Broadcast] Broadcast committee[Program] Newspaper committee

Students in higher grades
who lead activities playtheir roles while experiencing many things as
leaders.

Junior student(lower grader)In the case where school sets activities for continuousinteraction among diﬀerent-age students in daily life, separately from student council activities, it is important thatteachers clarify the qualities and abilities to be developed
through the activities and instruct the students on theactivities in concert with "Interaction among children of
diﬀerent ages" conducted in student council activities.

Student council is a group of students of diﬀerent ages organized by all students in school. It is
important to lead all the students of school to voluntarily participate in student council activities. Mainly higher graders make plans and manage activities with the representative committee
as their core organization. Students can make their school life fulﬁlling by positively cooperatingin activities for students of diﬀerent ages or school events.

Let's discuss/decide activities
together

The ﬂow of implementation of the children gathering activity "We-love-books gathering" is shown here as an example. In it, students at the representative committee discuss what eﬀorts should be made towards Book Week by all the students
in school. What is decided will be implemented.

[1] Have the student council planning committee decide agenda, inform the whole school of it, and discuss what activities
could be conducted by students at classrooms or each committee.
[2] Classroom representatives, committee representatives and club representatives (depending on the agenda) gather
and hold a representative committee for discussion.
Discussion time should be set at the time when higher
graders and teachers of other grade can participate
in or observe the discussion. It is important to makesure that activities can be implemented throughout
the year.

Preparations such as preliminary survey of opinions oflower and middle graders should be made so that thatthey can be reﬂected to discussion. Making a system forcertainly informing everyone of what was decided raises
students' consciousness that they belong to school.
Now, here

Introducing
recommended
books through theschool broadcast

5-2

6-2

Put up a poster ofrecommended
books.

Senior students
read out books tojunior students.

Opinions from classrooms collected atmorning meetings or the like andopinions from committees collected at
preliminary committees are brought
to the representative committee.

October 1st

Playing softmusic during
the morning
reading hour

Library
committee

6th Representative Committee

6-1

What to discuss [1]5-1

Let's decide what the whole school should do

Gatheringcommittee

Agenda Let's do the Book Week campaign.

Presenting
ideas

Ask teachers to
introduce books
that they
recommend.

* It is desirable that students
belong to the same committee throughout the year.

Comparingideas

Holding a reading
gathering incooperation with thelibrary committee

In principle, all students inhigher grades are divided
into several committees
and conduct activities ofeach committee for making
the whole school life enjoyable and fulﬁlling together.

What to discuss [2]Committee
activities

Let's think about what each committee should do.

- The library committee gives bookmarks tothose who read many books.

- The library committee introduces books
they recommend for each grade.

- The broadcast committee surveys whatbooks are popular and introduce the best
10 books by broadcast.

- The bulletin committee makes and posts
Book Week campaign posters.

What was decided

Teacher's comment

Discussion is made on the drawing
on the experiences in classroom
activities. Unifying the tools used inclassroom discussions contributes
to smooth proceeding.

Settling(deciding)ideas

Reason for proposal (from the library committee)

Comparing Presenting
ideas
ideas

We propose this because we want to
conduct a school campaign in the Book
Week, through which more people canget to know about the good points onreading books.

Settling(deciding)ideas

The whole school is informed of the agenda
and the reasons of proposals throughstudent council paper, school broadcast andthe like. It is essential to fully inform childrenof the proposers’thoughts and wishes.

○Use children's initiative or ideas and exercise their originality and creativity.
○Lead individuals to play a role and fulﬁll their responsibilities while elevating their consciousness of selfusefulness and membership of school.
○Lead children to build better human relationships in agroup of students of diﬀerent ages by discussing various
problems of activities in order to form a consensus or
making eﬀorts in cooperation with others.

Gathering Newspaper Broadcast Library

Environmental Animal rearing
beautiﬁcation and planting HealthWelfarevolunteer School lunch Sports

These are examples of kinds of committees to be set. Other committees
can also be set in connection with important items of education at eachschool.

17

Club activities in which students pursue common
hobbies or interests in a group of students ofdiﬀerent ages

Lead children to understand necessaries for club activity such as its
purpose, signiﬁcance, contents and examples of clubs.

Orientation●Orientation is conducted before
observing club activities
Orientation is conducted in the end of the
3rd year. It may be conducted in the 4th
or 5th year as well.

●Activities in which you enjoy what you like or what
interests you.
●Upper-grade students and lower-grade students help
each other in activities.
●Everyone thinks about planning of activities together.

Select a club in which you can conduct
activities with interest. The important thingis what you want to do.

Club activities
are fun because I
can select myself.

Observing and experiencing
club activities

Observing and experiencing club activities in preparation for
deciding which club you will belong to in the next school year

Guide children so that they can take moreinterests in club activities and make abetter choice.
Club observation card is prepared, inwhich children can write the order ofclubs to observe and what they felt.

Setting of clubs andmembership

We found the pleasureof the clubs throughthe trial session. We
are looking forward tojoining club activities in
the next year.

In club activities, children pursue common interests. To that end, theclub activities shall be organized with respect for children's hope.

●Children from diﬀerent grades belong to the same club and are led tocooperate to conduct the activities.
●Children can continuously conduct the activities throughout the year.
●The environment for activities shall be made through securing of places for
activities, preparation of tools and so on.
●Characteristics and tradition of local community and school shall be considered.
●Children are led to observe school rules and conduct the activities safely.
●Care should be taken so as not to make individuals bear high expenses.

Generally, teachers conduct survey of what clubs
children want, and decide what clubs to be set,considering children's request basically as a toppriority and the number of teachers or facilities inschool. Various other methods for respecting children's proactive choice may also be adopted.
A questionnaire or a survey on children's desires
may be used to raise their awareness of participation or children may propose clubs that they wantto have and invite members.

18

Planning on ourown is a pleasure.

In club activities, students mainly in the 4th grade or higher pursue common hobbies or interests with like-minded peers. An appropriate number of class hours for each month, term andyear should be secured so that the goals of club activities can be fully achieved and threecontents below can be implemented. In addition, club activities should be incorporated in theannual event schedule and class schedule so that activities can be continuously conducted.

(1) Organization of club andplanning/operation

At the beginning of the year, all children who belong to a club gather and hold a discussion andprepare activity plan. Roles are allocated among the children and the club operation is conducted.

●Based on the guidance plan prepared by teacher, children are supported and led tocooperate to make an activity plan.

April 21st

1st Soccer Club Activity▲▲
Club sub-leader,-san (Class 1, 6th grade)-san (Class 1, 4th grade)◎◎
Club leader,-san (Class 2, 6th grade)●●[Agenda] Let's make an activity plan bywhich everyone can have agood time.

[What to discuss [1]]Let's decide the objective of the club.

Helping each other even in diﬀerent grades.

Devising activities so that everyone can enjoy them.

Teaching each other among team members.

Senior students lead members.

[What to discuss [2]]Let's discuss the annual activity
plan and the activity plan for
the 1st term.

[What to discuss [3]]Let's decide groups and members.

◆◆-san (Class 2, 5th grade)
Scorer,← Presenting
ideas[Example of writing on
blackboard]

Now, here

Settling (deciding)← Comparing
ideas
ideas

Opening address
Check of attendance
Today's activities and purposes
Activities (game, practice, game)
Clean-up after activities
Reviewing
Preview of next activities
Teacher's comment
Closing address

Make a plan for one-unit hour
as well and conduct activities
proactively with prospects
Draw on the experiences inclass meetings for discussions
in club activities

Based on the annual, term or hourly activity plans, children enjoy the club in pursuit of common inter(2) Activities through whichchildren can enjoy the club ests while exercising initiatives and originalities in cooperation with friends from diﬀerent grades.
●Improvement of skills is not the only purpose. Children are led to realize the pleasure of cooperating to conduct activities with friends.
●Considering the diﬀerence of skills due to the diﬀerence of experiences or developmental stages, teachers set rules, implementation methods, orthe like.
●Children are supposed to take the initiative from preparation to operation in the club activities, and teachers pay attention to safety and observechildren.
●Teachers support students of diﬀerent ages so that seniors are considerate of juniors and that juniors feel respect and admiration for seniors.

Activities
Playing theallocated roles andenjoying activities

Computer clubBasketball club

Japanese sweets clubExchange between the dance cluband the instrumental music club

In some club activities, there may beexchanges between clubs and interactions with people of local community.

(3) Presentation onachievements in club

Japanese drum
club

Science club➡

Review
Reviewing the activities andutilizing the reviews for the
next activities
Children can recognize
their own growth bykeeping the activityrecording card in the
club ﬁle or the like.

Children can develop their own good
points and potentialities from theexperiences gained in club activities,
which will be utilized in the future life.

➡

Presenting merits and achievements of clubs to the whole school, parents of the students, and/or people
in local community at a presentation session or the like contributes to lift children's motivation for activities.

The presentation may be conducted
not only at club presentations, but
at school events, at events in local
community, by school broadcast, at
exhibitions, or the like.

The performance of the
instrumental music club at
the athletic meet was nice. I
want to join the instrumental music club next year.

19School events which represent landmarks in school life orcolor school life according to the characteristics of school●Five kinds of school events below are conducted in all grades. Teachers guide children so that they
●Giving orientation is an important part of children’s guidance on school events. Teachers guide children so that
(1) Ceremonial events(2) Cultural events(3) Events for health an

Having a fresh feeling and setting landmarks in life

Enriching children’s life with culture and arts

Developing a healthy mind andEntrance ceremony, graduation ceremony, opening/closing
ceremony of school term, ceremony for leaving teachers,
anniversary events, morning meetings, etc.

Music event, Presentation of learningachievements, Exhibition, School plays, Arts
appreciation event, etc.

Athletic meet, rope
examination, evacuation●Examples of words to give from teacher●Examples of words to give from teacher● Examples of words

The opening ceremony of school term is a turning
point of your school life. This event reminds you thatyou should be thankful to people who support you,and leads you to make a determination of what kindof person you aim to be from then on.

In the school play, you can act in yourown way and ﬁnd your friends' good
points by using what you’ve learned.
Presentation of learning achievements
is an opportunity for you to show people
what you’ve
learned in school
and create
something
beautiful or good.

The graduation
ceremony is the lastlesson of 6-year school
life. At this ceremony,
you hold a new hope
toward junior highschool life.

Athletic meet is an
best you can toward
expected to cooperateschool will be a better
united for the event.
In a disaster drill or traﬃcsafety class, children
learn how to protect
themselves against an
accident or disaster, andacquire attitudes andbehavior to act safely.

●School events promote children’s proactive activity under appropriate guidance by teachers.
Graduation ceremony is an importantceremony, so let's attend it with respect.
We shouldn’t be lax
while being seatedduring the ceremony
for the sake of 6th
graders.

Let's liven up the athletic meet this yearwith cheering squads.
Let's devise how to
perform our own
cheering and teach it
to lower graders.

Concerning the local-community-cleaning
activity, what about sending letters of invitation
to people in the local
community from ourbeautiﬁcation committee?
Making posters and postingthem up may be nice as well.

In the whole school excursion, let's playgames that everyoneof all grades canenjoy in a group of
students of diﬀerent
grades to deepenties.

In the music event, let's sing songs
thinking about the meaning of lyrics. In
practice of each part, we
can teach each other sothat the beauty ofharmony can beconveyed to everyone.

In group-lodging activity, we can enjoy
nature, such as looking for insects orplants that we cannot
see in our daily life. Also,
we can deepen ourfriendship by cooperatingin orienteering or the like.

◎Depending on the kind of school event, activities based on a plan in which children's initiative orideas are incorporated or activities in which the contents of student council activity are implemented may be conducted.
Deepening ties among children and making a place to which every child belongs

Childrenrequiring special
care can conduct
activities in theirown way and attheir best.

20

I am very
happy tomeet thesefriends.

Let's work hardfor the whole
school. I am glad
to makeeveryone happy.

Experiences in self-motivated activ
of classroom and inﬂuence their
The class has becomea better group with
united children
cooperating toconduct activities
toward a shared goal.

A large group of children in school or in the grade conduct school
events in cooperation. The real experiences they had together withfriends enrich their school life. Also, children realize school membership and togetherness, which fosters their sense of responsibility toshoulder an inclusive society.

can recognize the connection between individual school events and develop their abilities.
each child can understand the signiﬁcance of each school event and conduct with his/her own objectives.
d safety/Sports events
body and a safe way of living
jumping event, medical
drill, disaster drill, etc.

(4) Excursion and group lodging events
Learning the importance of cooperation and being
considerate of one another.

(5) Events for experiencing labor and service

Excursion, Nature seminar, School trip, etc.

●Examples of words to give from teacher

to give from teacher
opportunity where you do theyour own goals. Everyone isand fulﬁll the responsibility. The
place if all the students get

In excursion, we can deepen communication with eachother through experiences in rich nature, culturalexperiences or group activities outside school.

Get to know the pleasure of serving people
General cleaning, Animal /Plant rearing,
Local-community-cleaning activity,
Exchange with welfare facility, etc.

●Examples of words to give from teacher

At nature seminar, you’ll learn the importance ofpreserving nature, living with nature by immersing
yourselves in nature, and having a deeper
understanding of it.
Group lodging for acertain period (e.g., about
5 days) is eﬀective.

In general cleaning, we’ll clean the classroom and school facilities with the feelingof thanks to them. Let’s make our school
comfortable together.
In local-community-cleaning activity, youare expected tocooperate with local
people in cleaning
and make a better
community together.

●In reviewing, lead children to think by themselves according to the signiﬁcance of theschool event and the goals set on their own which were checked in the orientation.

●Take some time to share individual reviews of activities by using words even when conducting preparation and practice.
●Have children keep the record of their own growth by writing a summary or drawing a picture of each activity in school
events.
Review
points・Checking to what degree the goal was achieved
・Finding good points and problems to be solved of their own
and of other pupils
・Utilizing what they learned in school events in their daily life
・Setting a new goal toward next activities

Examples of themethods for making asummary by words orpresenting what children
experienced[Speaking/Listening] Presenting individual reviews in front of everyone and deepen their own thoughts
based on the mutual reviews[Writing/Painting] Writing about impressions on school events and compiling an anthology
Making a ﬁle for school events, in which reviews are written and kept
Writing letter of thanks to those who gave help
Writing reviews of the performances of other graders, compiling them on a large simili
paper or the like, and posting it up[Presenting] Announcing what children learned in school events to students of other grades and parents as wellities will help improve atmospherelearning of subjects positively.

Announcing the results of children’s activities to parents and people ofthe local community will result in obtaining trust and cooperation from them.

By repeatedly summarizing
and reviewing theirexperience-activities, children
have come to take more
initiative and show more
forwardness even in theirordinary life and learning.

Athletic meet associated withthe local community will makethe community lively. The
neighborhood association
wants to cooperate withschool children.

That school has agood reputation in
the neighborhood
as being a goodschool with lively
students.

21

Devising classroom environment to enrich thespecial activities

To put up on the wall the“classroom
records”which include school eventsor activities children discussed andpracticed will help visualize the historyof the class, lead them to look back on
their own growth, and foster
attachment for the school and pride init.

Classroom recordsof Class A

Visualization of "classroom records"

April

May

Class A in the□th gradewith 36 students!

Excursion to□ park

The whole class canthey learned or werewith in the activities,
them as fulﬁlling
It may be a good idea
photos of eachan easy review or theschool events andactivities.

We played □ gamefor recreation in thebus. It was fun.
To those in charge ofthe recreation: Thankyou!

At the "Nice-to-meet-you
party", we became
friends with one another.

Classroom Activities board

Planning committee
members of this activity

○○
○○

-san

-san
-san

Makingnewspaper

Devising
recreation

Taking careof living
thingsFriends whocelebratebirthdays in
October○○-san○○-san

The newspaperin Octoberwill feature"Classroom
Olympics".

Result of thequestionnaire
1. Playing tag
2. Dodge ballgame

We made anamusing picturebook of living
things. Pleasetake a look!

Proposal form

Color drawing paper

司会Blackboard

Sheet for paper folding

Drawing paper

Chairperson's
goodsClassroom
activities ﬁlesClassroom
activities ﬁlesClassroom
activities ﬁlesLaminated card

Glue

Notebook

Name plate

Blackboard

Tag

CO
LO
R

R
LO

Pencils

COLOR

COTask activities
notebook

22

Chairpersons

○○

-san

Person in charge ofwriting on blackboard○○

Person in charge ofwriting in notebook

Celebrating
happybirthdays

Stationery, activity materials
Stationery which children can use
freely should be prepared so that they
can conduct activities on their own
initiative at class meeting, task
activities, gathering activities or the like.
Materials and books which children
can use for class meeting, task
activities, gathering activities or the likeshould be also prepared in order tohelp children exercise their originality
and creativity.

Reason for proposal

I proposed this, because at the fun
event in the 1st term, we had agood time playing games together.
This time, I thought it would be fun
if we make teams and challenge
original events of our class like theOlympics and we could become
more friendly to each other.

Proposer○○ -sanNewsletterfrom therepresentative
committee

Introduction of tasks

Notiﬁcation fromthe student council

Notiﬁcation from clubs

A section for notifying of committee
activities, representative committee
and club activities is set to elevatechildren's motivation.

Objective of discussion

Task Activities section

Notiﬁcation about student council
activities and club activities

Notiﬁcations about student council
activities or club activities

Let’s think about enjoyable
contents and devices with which
we can become more friendly

What to discuss

What was decided in
the last classmeeting[1] Events in the Olympics[2] Devices to let everyone be more friendly to each other

What was decided

Classroom Olympics

AgendaDate○ ○○ th period
In thePlace gymnasium

On the Classroom Activities board, anagenda, etc. is posted in advance ofclass meeting using cardboard or the
like. Children can freely use the tools
set on the corner for them to use at
the planning committee in classmeeting.
Also, by posting the ﬂow of activities
toward class meeting, children canplan and operate the activities withprospects. In addition, by writing theagenda on strips of paper, the strips
can be posted on the blackboard atclass meeting or used for notiﬁcations
and records.

Method Team competition
3 events

Looking back on the last gathering, conduct activities incooperation.
(Last time, we didn't have enough time. So, we will
gather earlier this time.)

Setting of the Classroom
Activities board

黒板

In guidance of classroom activities, improvement of the classroom environment
including putting up bulletins, etc. is eﬀective in motivating children. Through guidance before/after an activity related to posted bulletins or posters, children come tomake eﬀorts to improve their life voluntarily and practically, and their motivation topractice those things is elevated.

C ○○-san, ○○-san
D ○○-san, ○○-san(2) a. Development of basic lifestyle

Promises(Rules) at□ Elementary
SchoolTask Activities section
Teacher sets the task activities
section so that children canvisualize“members in chargeof tasks”and“goals ofactivities for reviewing”. Settingof the task post for collecting
ideas on activities and thetask-activities notebook (inwhich what was discussed, etc.
is recorded) which children
can read at any time will leadto improvement of the contentsof activities.

Examples of eﬀorts towardschool-life goals

Schoolnewsletter

Health Newsletter
Tooth-Brushing Week

Slogan ofClass A

Slogan inschool lifeof this month

Let's greet
each other in alive way.

B ○○-san, ○○-sanBy using a posting board,
teachers can appropriately
teach children about how
they should speak about
their own ideas to "let others
see my ideas" and how theyshould listen to others to try
to "understand others' ideas",
at a class meeting or inlessons of subjects.

Let's greet others
in loud voice whenentering the classroom.

A ○○-san, ○○-san(3) c. Development of attitude forproactive leaning and utilization ofschool library or the likeIn guidance of the classroom activities (2) and(3), it is eﬀective to guide students by relating
instruction with posters about duties on school
lunch and cleaning, school rules and learning
procedures. A posting board can be utilized forcontinuation and reviewing of activities.

How to speak○ .
Plan for the next classroom activity on

AgendaLet's conduct the Classroom Olympics.

Chairpersons group

How to speak/listen

Let's speak
in a loud voice,slowly,without looking down,with a smile and liveliness,
until the end.

share what
impressed
and record
experiences.
to put up
activity forschedule ofa n n u a l

Gradenewsletter
Classroom
newsletterLunchnewsletter

Menu ofthis month

Agenda post (Proposal form)
Organizing
singing

Agendapost

Task post

Color magnet
Plate magnet

By setting the agenda post,teachers can raise children's
awareness of problems andguide children to propose anagenda when necessary. Also,teachers guide children tovalue agendas not selected andshow respect to any proposal,
by replying to the proposer
and tell him/her how they'll
deal with matter.

Brush your teeth andget rid of germs!

Evacuation
rules
Let's remember!

Do not pushothers.
Do not run.
Do not talk.
Do not return.

Evacuationroute map

Day duties

Duty schedule

Example of use of healthnewsletter or school-lunch
newsletter(2) c. Development of healthy mind
and body and safe lifestyle

Guiding children so thatthey can lead a healthy andsafe life, by relating theguidance with posted
notiﬁcation such as healthgoals, health newsletter,and evacuation route.
(2) d. School lunch in view of foodeducation and the development ofdesirable food habit

In guidance of eating food which
is dealt with in the classroomactivity lesson, school lunch shallbe used as teaching material. Try
to give guidance in various ways,
for example, by eﬀectively using
lunch menu and related bulletin
posters.

Duties and the day duty

Lunch

Various goods for class meeting
Cards to put on blackboard atclass meeting (agenda, what
was decided, clock card,
decision marks, strips, namecards, etc.)

Giving an eﬀective guidance
so that children can takepractical attitudes for "(2) aDevelopment of basic
lifestyle", by connecting withthe postings of life goals
and school rules.

Cleaning(3) b. Fostering awareness ofparticipation in society and promoting
understanding of the signiﬁcance ofworking

Pick up a subject on duty activities
in the lesson of the classroom
activities (3) so that children canunderstand not only theimportance of playing theirassigned roles but the signiﬁcanceof working in general.

23

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Helping classroom management

Through practical activities,
we aim to develop children’sgeneral power which isgenuinely helpful in leading asocial life

● Through activities toward a better classroom

life, the cooperative relationship in classroom group is enhanced.
● Through activities in which everyone feels
pleasure in being helpful and respects eachother's good points, a classroom where individuals are valued is made.

Improving academic ability

Key to career education● Playing a role as a member of classroom orschool develops child's ability and attitude required for his/her living independently.
● Through activities in which a child makes efforts using his/her good points and capabilities, the child learns how he/she can realize
what he/she wants to be. (Career development)● The ability to solve problems together in agroup, which is acquired through class meetings or the like, can be used in learning ofeach subject.
● When children develop a better life and humanrelationships on their own, an atmosphere inwhich they learn together in a classroom iscreated and their motivation to learn grows.

Preventing occurrence of problems in guiding students● Learning the importance of living with respect to each other's personality leads toprevention of bullying or the like.
● Through activities or opportunities when children make decisions on their own
and make eﬀorts, their self-guidance ability is enhanced.

Connecting to moral practice● Group activities and experiences in the special activities pro-vide children the main ﬁeld for learning of moral practiceand play an important role in moral education.
● By interrelating the special activities in which children learn
through practice and the subject of moral which nurtures
their heart, their thoughts about how to live are deepened.
[Members who cooperated in the preparation of this guidelines] * Positions as of July 2018
Hisashi Arakaki, supervisor, Naha Municipal
Educational Research Institute
Masashi Haga, teacher, Otsu Municipal Katata
Elementary School in Shiga
Yuki Hashitani, professor, School of Childhood
Sport Education, Nippon Sport Science University
Hiroshi Ikeda, principal, Kitakyushu Municipal
Koishi Elementary School
Yoko Kawahara, vice-principal, Shobara Municipal
Mikoto Elementary School in Hiroshima

Kazutaka Kawamoto, associate professor, TAP
Center, Tamagawa University
Manabu Maeda, principal, Kyoto Municipal Shoyo
Elementary School
Yoji Ogasawara, vice-principal, Matsuyama
Municipal Misake Elementary School in Ehime
Mariko Sato, teacher, Semboku Municipal
Kakunodate Elementary School in Akita
Katsuhiko Shimada, principal, Yokohama Municipal
Mine Elementary School

Hiromi Shimizu, principal, Hachioji Municipal Asakawa
Elementary School in Tokyo
Hiroshi Sugita, professor, Faculty of Human
Development, Kokugakuin University
Megumi Suzuki, teacher, Saitama Municipal Oyaba
Junior High School
Atsushi Watanabe, chief and supervisor, Kazo City
Education Board in Saitama
Kunihiko Yamasaki, chief teacher, Munakata Municipal
Genkai Higashi Elementary School in Fukuoka(Titles omitted - alphabetical order)

At National Institute for Educational Policy Research, Kyoko Abe, curriculum inspector (school subject inspector, Elementary andSecondary Education Bureau, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology), was in charge of preparation and edition.

文部科学省

国立教育政策研究所
National Institute for Educational Policy Research<Edited/Issued> Curriculum Research Center, July 2018
TEL: +81 (0)3-6733-6825
FAX: +81 (0)3-6733-6978
URL: http://www.nier.go.jp/04_kenkyu_annai/div08-katei.html