Social Studies in regards to traditional literature, can be used to introduce and expand in different social studies topics. children can learn a great deal about a particular culture or country by reading the traditional tales from thier country. Similarities and differences among cultures can also be explored through traditional tales. Why are so many stories from all over the world alike? usually it is because themes such as those in the Cinderella stories perseverance, punishment of evil, rewards of kindness, and justice are fundamental values and motivations that are universal. When traditional literature was created it was ever meant to be for children only, yet once all the tales were written sown, they slowly became for children. A writer names Horning stated that this happened for four main reasons.
1. The common characteristics traditional stories share make them very appealing and accessible to children: concentrated action, shock characters, patterned language, elements of fantasy, and simple themes such as good and evil and weak overcoming the strong and powerful.
2. The emphasis on oral storytelling by librarians who drew heavily from traditional oral sources, which creates a demand for publishing in this area.
3. The increasing demand for multicultural literature from non-European sources over the past ten years. Traditional tales have ready-made characters and plots that can be extracted from sources in the public domain that require no royalty payments.
4. the power of the stories themselves. The tales have survived for their sheer power as stories that deal with universal truths.
This all help to connect people from all over the world like social studies. When a student from another country comes in to our classrooms they feel less over whelmed hearing a story that is similar to something that he/she has heard. Traditional literature can play important roles in our children's understanding of the heritage handed down from cultures around the world. By reading traditional literature you are giving your students great benefits for their future. For example, it will help students understand the personal dimension and standards of behavior of a culture and at the same time reduce stereotypes that we see in our world today. If we connect all cultures and make them all important than our students will grow up not being judgmental. Next it will provide students with a framework for the literature, drama, and art they will later encounter. It also provides entertainment and pleasure students in all ages enjoy reading and hearing folktales. Finally it will provide students with strong rhythm , rhyme, and repetition of patterns. Traditional stories are tailored to children's developing memory and imagination and unique way of viewing the world.
I am going to talk about stereotypes in traditional tales from around the world. A conscious effort is needed on the part of adults to introduce children to people of different cultures in other genres. otherwise, stereotypes are perpetuated. However, it they only multicultural literature children are exposed to is that of traditional literature, children may end up believing that these people are either extinct or are part of a world that is unlike the contemporary world. "Being able to see people of different races doing everyday, mundane tasks, and not only in exotic or esoteric circumstances. Lets help our students learn other cultures in a fun way, so that they can learn to love that culture and not think that its different than their own. Although we are all different in many ways we are the same in the way that we live and how we feel about good and evil. Posted below are some great links so that you as educators can help students.
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