The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of a three-step moral education program (Program Based Approach by Optimal Design, hereafter referred to as PBAOD) developed by Morikawa et al (2024), which aims to improve interpersonal adaptability and normative awareness. To this end, the effectiveness of two types of PBAOD developed for fourth-grade elementary school students was compared.

The results of this study suggest the following: PBAOD, which sequentially combines social skills training (SST), moral education classes to foster prosocial behavior, moral education classes to foster fairness and normative awareness, and classroom activities to discuss class goals, can improve interpersonal adjustment even when different moral education materials are used, as long as the theme is the same. Furthermore, PBAOD is easy for teachers to implement, and its effects are easy to see. By implementing it at the beginning of the school year, it can also be used in class management and school management, preventing classroom unrest, bullying, and school maladjustment.

This study examined whether synthetic phonics instruction promotes middle-grade elementary school students' ability to recognize phonemes and to phonetize letters. Two research questions were set. (1) Does teaching synthetic phonics increase the ability to recognize phonemes? (2) Does teaching synthetic phonics promote the ability to phonetize letters? Synthetic phonics instruction of 42 phonemes (using Jolly Phonics as the teaching material) was given to 35 third-graders and 42 fourth-graders at a Japanese elementary school during the first 10 minutes of 45-minute language class for one year. A phoneme listening test and a decoding test were conducted to verify the effectiveness of the instruction. The results showed that (1) some phonemes were difficult to learn and others were relatively easy to learn, (2) students were able to acquire digraph phonemes through instruction, and (3) their ability to phonetize letters was improved from October to March, indicating that synthetic phonics instruction is effective and may lead to higher grades.

The purpose of this study is to develop an elementary school English lesson focused on CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) and to examine the usefulness of CLIL in elementary school English lesson by analyzing changes in language and content comprehension, as well as changes in interest in language and content. This study used the 6th-grade unit "Save the animals." as an example, analyzing students' speech and questionnaire surveys during learning about endangered species' habitats, the problems they face, and solutions in English. In addition, we based MI theory (Multiple Intelligences Theory) and designed lessons so that students could utilize their eight intelligences, scaffolding both language and content comprehension. As a result, we observed improvements in both language and content comprehension, and an increase in students' motivation to engage in activities that utilize intelligences related to language comprehension. In CLIL classes, we were able to reexamine the importance of language activities that consider purpose, situation, and context from the perspective of MI theory.

This study aims to examine the effectiveness of a repeated curriculum by investigating the writing skills of 5th- and 6th-grade students in a combined-grade class. The study involved three participant groups: 5th-grade students in the combined-grade class and 6th-grade students in the combined-grade class, who both studied English through the repeated curriculum, and 6th-grade students in a single-grade class, who followed a standard curriculum. Four types of writing tests were developed based on the Course of Study, and the results were compared across the three groups. The findings indicated that 5th-grade students in the combined-grade class, despite having significantly less instructional time under the repeated curriculum, demonstrated writing skills comparable to those of 6th-grade students in the single-grade class. In addition, 6th-grade students in the combined-grade class achieved the highest average scores on all four tests. This result suggests that the repetitive curriculum enhanced their understanding of writing rules and promoted greater retention.

This study aims to examine koto music-making practices in elementary school music education that utilize the relationship between sound and wards. It connects the learning of koto using kuchi-shoga with children's spontaneous expression of sounds and onomatopoeia, specifically words that incorporate sound resonance and rhythm, to make learning Japanese traditional music more accessible to children and deepen their leaning. Analysis of the practice revealed that children were able to deepen their learning in their music making by sharing their musical images through singing and expressing in words and they were able to feel closer to traditional Japanese music. As a result, the potential of lessons that connect children's spontaneous expressions in their daily lives with the tangible understanding of traditional Japanese music has become apparent.