A Lesson Plan of Life Environment Studies for Developing Spatial Cognition (I) : A Case Study of "Exploring Our Surroundings" for the Second Graders

This paper aims to examine the actual conditions of children's spatial cognition by the hand-worked maps, to make a model lesson plan for developing spatial cognition in Life Environment Studies, and to consider the relevancy of this lesson plan in the actual classroom situation. We got the result that the greater number of the children in the second grade see their space within their familiar surroundings in terms of the route they are involved in. We made the model lesson plan and the thematic unit named "Full of Excitements and Wonders in Our Town". The practice of this unit is considered to have positive effects on children's spatial cognition