Gyeongbuk Office of Education Supports 1st Graders' School Life Adaptation with Play-Based Semester Classes

Bridging Role of Early Childhood and Elementary Education Curriculum

Gyeongbuk Office of Education supports first graders' adaptation to school life through a play-based semester system.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Gwiyeol] The Gyeongbuk Office of Education is operating the ‘2022 Academic Year Play-Based Semester System’ for 1,037 first-grade first-semester elementary school classes to help students adapt stably to school life.

The ‘Play-Based Semester System’ is a program that intensively conducts easy and fun play- and activity-centered classes linked with the kindergarten Nuri curriculum. It was first implemented nationwide in 2019 and is now in its fourth year of operation.

Since first-grade elementary students may have difficulty adapting to school life due to the distinctly different classroom environment and curriculum from kindergarten, this policy is implemented to help students adapt to school stably.

The operation of the ‘Play-Based Semester System’ aims to create a stable and comfortable classroom environment to promote students’ psychological stability and reduce the burden of learning through easy and fun play- and activity-centered classes appropriate to the grade level.

Since 2019, the Gyeongbuk Office of Education has promoted the ‘Lower Grade Classroom Space Restructuring Project,’ which transforms first-grade elementary classrooms into child-friendly spaces considering students’ developmental stages, utilizing a total of 166 classrooms by last year.

Also, to minimize the learning burden on first-grade students, excessive dictation and diary writing beyond the first-semester learning level are avoided. Various efforts are being made, such as eliminating unnecessary assignments in curriculum operation.

Writing in the communication notebook is replaced by the Alimi app, class homepage, and SNS to promote smooth communication with parents.

This year, to facilitate smooth kindergarten-elementary linked curriculum operation, a ‘Education Sharing Community’ between kindergarten teachers and elementary school teachers will be operated mainly in pilot schools.

Lee Yang-gyun, Director of Early Childhood and Elementary Education, said, “We will continuously support students’ smooth adaptation to school life and healthy growth through the operation of the Play-Based Semester System.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.