In the Science part of the new Course of Study at the lower secondary school published in 2008, the unit of "Regularity of inheritance and genes" is included again. In some textbooks of science newly published, "Extraction of DNA" is proposed as a practical work for students by the simplified method using saline solution and liquid dishwashing detergent. In this study, in order to revise and develop the simplified method and plant materials using in the practical work on DNA extraction at lower secondary schools, we tried DNA extraction by the simplified method from banana, strawberry, onion and broccoli as plant materials. We also examined the UV absorption spectrum of the extracted and precipitated substance as a cloudy mass from these plants, comparing it to the fibrous substance extracted by a commercially available DNA extraction kit. As a result of study, we here propose a revised method for DNA extraction using a mixture of 4% NaCl solution and 5% SDS solution (24:1) as an extraction solution and broccoli as a plant source, and the diphenylamine-colorimetric method for the detect of extracted DNA. Furthermore, based on trial lessons at the University attached lower secondary school, we suggest that the following descriptions rather than the detailed structure of DNA should be added to the textbook of lower secondary school; 1) DNA molecule is very small, so usually we cannot see it by our naked eye and 2) In the eukaryotic cells, DNA is present in the nucleus and forms some parts of the chromosomes when cell is dividing.

This research analyzed educational contents, primarily at the curriculum level, from the perspective of environmental ethics as described in the American BSCS high school textbook “Biology: A Human Approach First Edition.” As a result of this analysis, the following four characteristics were identified: (1) In addition to being based on National Science Education Standards, curriculum content have introduced environmental ethics clearly rather than the Excellence in Environmental Education: Guidelines for Learning (K–12). (2) Content concerning the field of ecological science was broadly divided between “Interdependence among Organisms in the Biosphere” and “Decision Making in a Complex World” and comprised learning content based on processes in keeping with the 5Es instructional model ; programs including content based on an environmental ethics perspective have been incorporated into the curriculum. (3) In the field of ecological science, “exploring the concepts of interaction and interdependence in living systems and issues concerning the impact of human activity on the biosphere” were given as curriculum objectives, and programs in this field included nurturing social skills for actually tackling environmental issues and learning decision-making processes for addressing environmental issues. (4) In programs including content based on an environmental ethics perspective, activities that encourage self-awareness of environmental ethics have been introduced, and approaches such as comparing and referring to opposing opinions and essays on environmental ethics have also been adopted.

We were able to participate in a project which made biotope by using the lesson of elective subjects “Natural environment and landscape” in Fukuoka prefectural Onga high school. The purpose of the present study is to investigate school biotope made by high school students, and to investigate their cognition the concerning biotope. The high school students spent more than 50 hours, completing their biotope that consisted of three ponds in March 2009. As a result of the questionnaire, the high school students came to recognize both the importance and necessity of biotopes. Moreover, the biotope making process became a good chance to pay for high school student attention to the regional environment. However, an increase in the willingness to learn and the desire to examine biotope more in detail, and to study was not admitted. It was suggested that it is necessary to think about the use of biotope in order to achieve two purposes when studying biotopes such as the restoration of nature and environmental education in the future.