Lurline V. Simpson

Bio: Lurline V. Simpson is an academic researcher. The author has contributed to research in topics: Fifth column. The author has an hindex of 2, co-authored 2 publications receiving 11 citations.

Examining instructional assumptions: The child as informant

Abstract: Jerome C. Harste Carolyn L. Burke Indiana University A great deal can be learned about the validity of language activities in a classroom by looking at the assumptions that lie behind those activities. While the activities may appear on the surface to be varied and creative, a closer examination often reveals that they reflect unfounded assumptions about language growth and development, which may in fact debilitate rather than facilitate the process of language literacy. A case in point is the first grade classroom of Alison, age 6. As we will illustrate later in this article, Alison had already had a variety of experiences with written language when she began first grade. While her teacher was well intentioned, the reading and writing activities which she provided did not build upon Alison's range of experience. We would like to share with the reader some examples of these activities, as we think they are typical of the language activities found in first grades. They may even be better than those found in many classrooms, though we wish to argue that they are not good enough, because of the unfounded assumptions that lie behind them.