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And Robins I have Never Seen... |
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| Authors: | J P Hawkins D L Pratt |
| Institution: | Rowdown Junior School , Calley Down Crescent, New Addington, Croydon, Surrey CR0 0EG, United Kingdom |
| Abstract: | A group of children aged 9 and 10 were asked what signified Christmas to them. The children had all English as a mother tongue and were in the traditional mainstream English culture pattern. The children were asked: (1) to write random ideas on Christmas; (2) to define certain terms used in the nativity story, otherwise seldom used; (3) to identify unmarked greetings cards, isolating if possible reasons for their identification. Afterwards, they heard a reminiscence of Christmas in another land, and applied their imagination to drawing cards appropriate to that. The whole exercise was in the context of trying to give explicit reasons for signs which have implicit basic cultural significance, and the authors raise the question of whether at least partial knowledge of reasons is important in this type of semiological context, and whether making intuitive knowledge explicit could make a difference to learning. |
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