2012 Volume 53 Issue 1-2 Pages 10-21
In the course of study that was notified in March 2008, further enhancement of the environmental and energy education was included aiming at the construction of renewable and sustainable society. In junior high school science, it is aimed to give the interest and the concern into new energy such as biomasses. However, in the textbooks used now, it is limited to the explanation of the word on biomass and the photograph of biomass factory. The observation and experiment concerning the biomass energy is not described at all in textbook, and the development of teaching materials concerning these has hardly done. The objectives of this research were to obtain fundamental data for teaching materials using sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) on biomass energy, and were to inspect effect as teaching materials for junior high school students in science lesson. First, we examined the way to ferment sugarcane easily for students; secondly, we investigated its effectiveness as biomass energy teaching material by teaching practice at Asahikawa junior high school attached to the Hokkaido University of Education. As a result of these researches, sugarcane was fermented by using dry yeast, supplement, and yeast beads, and when the generated ethanol was measured with an alcoholic detector, the production of ethanol was able to be confirmed. Moreover, the student’s consciousness on environment and energy were significantly affected before and after the lesson. It was admitted that the teaching material that used sugarcane was effective for the education of the biomass energy.
