The Practice of Flood Control Education Materials Based on the Kumozu River Basin Case from Mie Prefecture

Recent intensification of natural disasters has led to discussions surrounding the limitations of flood control concerning dams and embankments. Subsequently, basin flood controls have become the central idea of the current flood control policy. In addition, developing teaching materials that reflect the concept of river basin flood controls at school level is crucial. Therefore, we have attempted to develop such teaching materials using the Kumozu River (in Mie Prefecture) as an example. This program consists of four parts: (1) Awareness of open levees and retarding basins through flood simulations. (2) Learning about modern and traditional flood control using the knowledge construction jigsaw method. (3) Lecture on the Kumozu River improvement project by Officials from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism. (4) Learning about the timeline of a typhoon’s approach. The children's self-evaluation of their interests and their understanding of the program was high. This demonstrated their interest and understanding of basin flood controls. They expressed gratitude for the people involved in flood control. Furthermore, they became aware of the need to be considerate of people living near open levees. We suggest that the use of ICT may enable children to interact with such materials without being restricted by classrooms or lesson times.