Abstract
The purpose of this study is to clarify the relationship between cognitive situations and the affective state of students regarding the function of electric current in the sixth grade of elementary school. 236 children from the 3rd grade of elementary school to the 3rd grade of junior high school participated in this research. There were three steps in this study. First, the introduction to the function of electric current taught during Sixth grade elementary school science classes was focused on. Second, the affective state of students whilst learning about the function of electric current was measured. Third, the relationship between the cognitive situations and the affective state of students was analyzed. In measuring their affective states, the following means were adopted. In the first place, "why" and "certainly" adverbs of objective judgment were chosen. At the same time "surely" and "maybe" adverbs of subjective presumption were chosen. Secondly, the way to write down one's impressions was also looked at. The results showed that children who had not learned the function of electric current will choose the adverb "why" more often, while the others who had already learned about it, were more likely to choose "certainly." The affective state of students changed during the process of learning about the function of electric current from being questioning to being able to predict the consequences.
