The purpose of this paper is to explain the development process of the environmental perception of third and fourth graders in Japanese elementary schools. About 24 children participated in this study, which used a sketch map survey. Inagi City’s Ohmaru area, in the suburbs of Tokyo, Japan was selected for the area to be covered in this study. Over the course of the study, the point of view from which children drew sketch maps shifted from the horizontal to the vertical through the third grade. Additionally, the method of drawing architecture changed from the three-dimensional type to the position type. From the third to fourth grades, the number of elements on sketch maps increased and sketch maps changed from route maps to survey maps as the children became older. Field research on geographic learning plays an important role in the third-grade geography curriculum. At the beginning of the third-grade in social studies children usually learn to read and draw maps of neighboring area. Children can develop their environmental perception and cognitive abilities through field research, which can provide them with the opportunity to read and draw maps of neighboring areas. On weekdays, after school, children often play in the park and on school playgrounds. This experience of outdoor spaces also influences their development of environmental perception.
