Abstract
This study examined the state of, and issues in, craftwork in lower elementary school and junior high school, based on the curriculum guidelines for elementary school arts and crafts and junior high school technology/home economics classes [technology field] and reflecting on woodworking lessons for second and fourth grade pupils at the elementary school affiliated with Hirosaki University Faculty of Education. From a technical perspective, an understanding of "mechanisms" (related to structure/function) is necessary for craftwork. When children actively want to use materials and tools, and understand how to do so, through repetition they learn to work quickly and skillfully. In order to ensure that the significance of craftwork in the lower and middle elementary grades is recognized anew, and that skills are fully mastered in the limited time available, it will be necessary to review the curriculum that was the system for the whole of elementary school.
