抄録
The aim of this research is to determine whether or not the explanations of natural phenomena made by primary school children are based on some metaphoric ideas. For this purpose I conducted an investigation using the POE (prediction, observation, and explanation) method. The subjects were twenty-nine third grade students. They were asked to predict, observe, and explain the warming of objects by sunlight and write down their reactions on paper. By analyzing their explanations, I found that some of their statements are based on metaphoric conceptions. Some statements are based on the container mataphor and the wall metaphor. These metaphors are kinds of existence metaphor. The existence metaphor is sometimes shared by scientists and students of science. The importance of this fact is discussed.
