1. Review of the Preceding Year's Activities
　In 1999, we visited two cities in the Midwest and one on the East Coast: Minneapolis, MINN. Pittsburgh,PA., and New York,NY. for the purpose of further developing the teaching materials for social studies. The teachers who attended this project participated in home stay situations in Pittsburgh. According to the course of study offered by Japanese Ministry of Education in 1998, the contents about the United States were enlarged, including the area of geography at the junior high-school level. To accomplish this, they need more materials for social studies, so we developed the materials, including photograph materials, to be used in social studies classes. The results of the 1999 project are as follows;
　(1) We developed the materials, in collaboration with American social studies teachers, to understand the United States deeply. The materials were actually used in classroom activities. Then, we made a report of 114 pages, including the results of actual teaching using the materials. We distributed the report to many schools.
　(2) We made photographic materials (posters), which we took in our field survey. Those photograph materials were used in many ways and they were highly valued because of their appropriateness.
　(3) We opened a home page in the Internet so that many teachers can use the information that we collected. (http://www.juen.ac.jp/shakai/beinichi/)

　In the 1999 project, our field survey was focused on agriculture and industry.
　In Minnesota State, we focused mainly on agriculture. We visited the large-scale wheat and corn farmer, the egg manufacturing factory which has more than two million hens, and Farmers Elevator, which were located in Renville, the suburbs of Minneapolis. We also visited the agricultural museum, which is attached to the University of Minnesota, and the Mall of America, which is the largest mall in the United States.
　In Pittsburgh, we focused mainly on industry. Pittsburgh is famous for its steel industry and known all over the world. We visited steel works and related institutions, the head office of USX, beer factory, and water purification plant.
　In New York City, we visited Wall Street, the New York Stock Exchange, and the United Nations.

2. The Aim of the Project Objectives in 2000
　Our aim is to develop the materials for teaching social studies at the junior high and high school levels, so that the Japanese students can understand the United States deeply.

3. Project Description
　In the 1998 project, we visited four cities: Washington, D.C., Pittsburgh, PA. Boston, MA., and New York,NY. and developed a multi-media materials. We made 500 copies of a set of materials, which consisted of a report and posters, and we sent them to universities, high schools, junior high schools, and elementary schools. We included a return page in the report, which we are now receiving. They are saying that the report and posters are useful. We put our e-mail address in the report, so we are also receiving impressions through e-mail. We had more than 1,000 access times to our home page in the Internet. We are still continuing PR by sending a booklet and developing a home page linked to the home page of our university in the Internet.
　In the 1999 project, we visited three cities: Minneapolis, MINN. Pittsburgh,PA., and New York,NY. And developed photographic materials.
　In the 2000 project, we are planning to visit three cities: San Francisco, CA., Minneapolis, and MINN. and Pittsburgh,PA..
　The theme of the 2000 project is "nature". The first aim of this project is to grasp the grand nature of the United States. The second aim is to understand how the American social studies teachers are teaching about the nature of the United States.
　The word "nature" reminds us of the preservation movement of nature and the national parks. San Francisco and Pittsburgh are known as the Mecca of environmental preservation of the West Coast and the east. We are planning to focus on the following items;

Sep.15 Fri. San Francisco
Government office (a bureau of development at the city hall), Coyote Point museum for environmental education, Berkeley Ecology Center, Sierra Club-National Headquarters
Sep.16 Sat. Yosemite
Yosemite National Park (National Park Service, Ansel Adams Gallery)
Sep.17 Sun. Yosemite
Yosemite National Park (Recycling Centers, Valley Visitor Center, Yosemite Museum, Wilderness Center)
Sep.18 Mon. San Francisco
Intel Museum, Recyclery, a wind power plant
Sep.19 Tue. Pittsburgh
A.M. move from San Francisco to Pittsburgh
P.M. Carnegie Science Museum, Rachel Carson Memorial Hall
Sep.20 Wed. Pittsburgh
Observe schools and educational administrative organizations
Sep.21 Thu. Pittsburgh
Observe schools and educational administrative organizations
Sep.22 Fri. Minneapolis
A.M. move from Pittsburgh to Minneapolis
P.M. Metropolitan Council Environmental Service (A company which is contributing to environmental preservation and recycling along the Mississippi River), Recycle America (A recycling company which is also contributing to lightening recycling)
Sep.23 Sat. Minneapolis
Audubon Center of North Woods (a nature preservation group), Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge (A society which is contributing to preservation of wet land and woods, environmental education, and trying to make up a law about a preservation of wild life)
Sep.24 Sun. Minneapolis
Minneapolis History Center

　In the 1998 project, members of the project were divided into subgroups and in the 1999 project; members of the project acted as one group. In the 2000 project, sometimes members will be divided into several groups and sometimes they will act as one group according to the aim of each activity. In the 2000 project, we are planning to develop and spread the useful teaching materials for social studies classes in Japanese schools, including the multi-media materials, so that the students can understand the United States deeply.
　The following three things are the concrete actions;

(1)Publishing a report which can be used in social studies classes
(2)Making posters which will be useful in teaching
(3)Completion of the home-page in the Internet
　
　In addition to those things, we are planning to hold a periodical study meeting for social studies teachers, in which the former participants of this project will present their classroom activities using the materials which we developed. We will put the results of each meeting into the Internet.
　We are planning to set up a mailing list titled "The Understanding of the United States" in the internet, so that people can exchange information about the geography, culture, public thought, and history of the United States. The teachers of this project will take video-letter to show the American students when we visit schools in Pennsylvania.

4. Methodology
　To continue developing the materials for social studies and to promote the project activities of this year, we are planning to perform the following things, which should be based on the activities of the last two years;

　(1) Develop teaching materials, which will lead Japanese students to understand the United States with American teachers' cooperation. Use the materials, which will be developed in this project in actual instruction in the classrooms.
　(2) Pursue the aim of this project in two ways in the field survey in the United States. Investigating and collecting the teaching materials for social studies is one way. Another way is developing teaching materials according to the target audience's individual matter of concern, which would include related field. In this project, the members will observe actual classes in the American schools to get some ideas.
　(3) Draw up a report using many photographs so that the report can be used in many situations. Construct posters, which will be used in the classroom activities. Open a home page in the Internet to spread the information.
　(4) Present the teaching materials, which will be developed in this project, to teachers of social studies and college students who are majoring in social studies, and ask them to evaluate the materials. In this way, we can modify the materials to make them better.

7. USJF Budget 2000
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