The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of "problem-solving study" by using a working model of lunar phases, which　was developed in this study.　 The effects of this problem-solving study were evaluated by a questionnaire measuring the students' understanding of　lunar phase before and after the practice. The questionnaire's findings are as follows: •Students tended to see the positional relationship between the sun and the moon as the angular distance by using this model. •Students retained for three months the scientific concept of lunar phase acquired by this teaching strategy.

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This study is addressed to investigate the relationship between text coverage and reading comprehension by the EFL readers. Three reading texts with different text coverages by using non-words were given to three groups of students. They were told to guess the non-words and to answer the reading comprehension questions. The results showed that there was no particular relationship found between text coverage and reading comprehension scores. It was also found that the probability of success in guessing unknown words was not dependent on the text coverage. These results probably suggest that even though vocabulary plays an important role in reading a text, other factors probably exit in reading comprehension and guessing unknown words.

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This paper investigates the possibility of conducting an art education class for elementary school, with an attempt to "encounter" cultural resources that represent present time in the everyday world. The paper also aims to identify the challenges in popularizing such teaching materials. The study mainly examined people and events that give rise to the emotions and modalities of ordinary citizens as cultural resources, focusing on the social aspects of culture. Teaching materials for expression and appreciation activities in art education were reviewed, and criteria for choosing the cultural resources used as teaching materials were investigated. Conducting classes based on this viewpoint facilitated study of the transformation of children's thoughts and judgments as expressed in their artwork. The study made clear that the active use of the media and other cultural resources prompted children toward an attitude of knowing how a reality is processed and nurtured in them an aptitude for participation in activities which are energized by the differences in children's sensibilities. The study also found that it is challenging to cultivate a capability in children that enables them to tell their own stories in their own words.

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