The Science Curriculum in Primary and Lower Secondary Grades
The national science standards, objectives, and content for primary, lower secondary, and upper secondary education are presented in the Courses of Study.20,21,22
Science instruction begins in the third grade, and science is a required subject throughout compulsory education. The science curriculum consists of three parts: overall objectives for the level (primary, lower secondary, or upper secondary), objectives and content for each grade or section, and syllabus design. All schools in Japan are required to address all components of science instruction by formulating an overall plan for science that includes descriptions of the following: objectives and content; qualities, abilities, and attitudes to be fostered; learning activities; teaching methodology and teaching framework; and the evaluation of learning.
The overall objectives for science in Grades 3 to 6 comprise the following: enable students to become familiar with nature and to carry out observations and experiments from their own perspective; help students develop their problem solving abilities; nurture students’ affection for the natural world; help students develop a realistic understanding of natural phenomena; and encourage students to embrace scientific perspectives and ideas.23
The objectives for science in fourth grade are to help students do the following:24
- Develop perspectives and ideas about the properties and functions of objects by investigating air, water, changes in states of matter, and electrical phenomena in relation to the functions of power, heat, and electricity, and by exploring identified problems and making learning materials with interest
- Develop a loving and protective attitude toward living things; and develop perspectives on and ideas about the structure of the human body, the activities of animals, the growth of plants, meteorology, and the movement of the moon and stars by investigating them in relation to movement, the seasons, temperature, and time and by exploring identified problems with interest
The science curriculum in fourth grade is divided into two content areas: Matter and Energy, and Life and Earth. Exhibit 3 presents the content covered in each area.25
Exhibit 3: Science Content, Grade 4
| Content Area | Topic | Content |
| Matter and Energy | Properties of air and water | Help students develop their ideas about the properties of air and water by exploring changes in volume and pressure when air and water are compressed in a closed space |
| Metal, water, air, and temperature | Help students develop their ideas about the properties of metals, water, and air by exploring the changes that occur when metals, water, and air are heated and cooled | |
| Function of electricity | Help students develop their ideas about electricity by exploring the functions of a dry battery and photocell when they are attached to small bulbs and motors | |
| Life and Earth | Structure and movement of the human body | Help students develop their ideas about the relationship between the structure and movement of the human body by exploring the movement of bones and muscles, by observing the movement of humans and other animals, and by using teaching materials |
| Seasons and living things | Help students develop their ideas about the relationship between the seasons and animal activities and plant growth by finding and raising familiar animals and plants, and by exploring the activities of animals and the growth of plants in different seasons | |
| Weather conditions | Help students develop their ideas about weather conditions and the change of water in the natural world by observing temperature changes over the course of a day and the process of water changing to vapor, and by exploring changes in weather and temperature and the relationship between water and vapor | |
| The moon and stars | Help students develop their ideas about the characteristics and movement of the moon and stars by observing them and by exploring the position of the moon and the color, brightness, and position of stars |
The overall objectives for science at the lower secondary level (Grades 7 to 9) comprise the following: enable students to take an active interest in natural things and phenomena and to carry out observations and experiments with a sense of purpose; help students to develop the ability to perform investigations scientifically and to develop a positive attitude about these investigations; help students to deepen their understanding of natural things and phenomena; and help students to develop scientific ways of observing and thinking.26
The science curriculum at the lower secondary level is divided into two fields: Physical Science, and Biology and Earth Science. The objectives for Physical Science at the eighth grade are to enable students to do the following:27
- Take an active interest in things and phenomena related to matter and energy; acquire methods for discovering patterns; and acquire methods for resolving problems through activities that explore things and phenomena related to matter and energy
- Acquire skills for observation and experimentation by making observations and conducting experiments related to physical events and phenomena and develop the ability to analyze, interpret, and express the results; understand familiar physical phenomena, electric currents and their use, and motion and energy; and develop scientific ways of looking at and thinking about physical events and phenomena
- Acquire skills for observation and experimentation by making observations and conducting experiments on chemical substances and associated phenomena and develop the ability to analyze, interpret, and express the results; understand the role of chemical substances in daily life; understand chemical changes and atoms (molecules), and chemical changes and particles; and develop scientific ways of looking at and thinking about chemical substances and associated phenomena
- Increase awareness of the connections between scientific and technological developments and human life and develop scientific ways of thinking and a comprehensive view of nature through activities that explore matter and energy
The objectives for Biology and Earth Science at the eighth grade are to enable students to do the following:
- Take an active interest in living things (including the natural things and phenomena surrounding them); acquire methods for discovering diversity and patterns; and acquire methods for resolving problems through activities that explore natural things and phenomena
- Acquire skills for observation and experimentation by making observations and conducting experiments on living things and phenomena, and develop the ability to analyze, interpret, and express the results; understand the life and diversity of living things; and develop scientific ways of looking at and thinking about living things and the continuity of life and phenomena
- Acquire skills for observation and experimentation by making observations and conducting experiments related to geological events and phenomena, and develop the ability to analyze, interpret, and express the results; understand the composition and changes of Earth and its climate, and Earth and the universe; and develop scientific ways of looking at and thinking about geological events and phenomena
- Develop respect for life, an attitude of contributing to the conservation of the environment, and a comprehensive view of nature through activities that explore living things and the phenomena in nature surrounding them
Exhibit 4 presents the content covered in the two science fields—Physical Science, and Biology and Earth Science—in eighth grade.
Exhibit 4: Science Content, Grade 8
| Field | Topic | Content |
| Physical Science | Electric currents and their uses | Understand the function of electric currents and the relationship between electric currents and voltage by observing and conducting experiments; develop elementary ways of looking at and thinking about electric currents and magnetic fields in connection with everyday life and society |
| Chemical changes, atoms, and molecules | Understand changes in substances and their quantitative relationships with regard to chemical combinations and decomposition by observing and conducting experiments; develop ways of looking at and thinking about these changes that connect them to atomic and molecular models | |
| Biology and Earth Science | Lives of animals and transitions of living things | Through observation, understand that the bodies of living things are made up of cells; understand the body structure and functions of animals by observing and conducting experiments; deepen recognition of the diversity of animal life; and understand the transitions in living things that occur over time |
| Weather and its changes | Discover the relationship between meteorological elements and weather changes by observing local weather; and deepen recognition of the mechanisms and patterns of climatic phenomena |