How can literature help children become aware of their cultural heritage?

Answer 1

Choose stories that can help them relate to their past. It can also help them to become aware of other cultures and be more understanding of others.
Choose stories that children in your classroom can relate to.

Answer 2

Wow -- awesome question! Simply, many immigrants (forced and voluntary) tend to leave their cultural heritage at the shores of their new country, in an effort to fit in. We are finding that even 1st generation children don't know their heritage, since Mom and Dad are trying to make them "American" (here in the US, of course), so they fit in. My own nephew is 1/2 Chinese yet his mother spoke only English to him in the mistaken notion that Chinese and English would confuse him. So, that said, literature, particularly good rich literature, helps kids understand and own their cultural identities. I've found that having Hmong fairy and folk tales in the classroom helps my Hmong students feel like they belong. Similarly, they know I am not just providing those books because of where they come from -- I have fairy and folk tales from other countries which are not represented in the ethnic identities of my students. Instead, I am enriching their lives so they can see that kids who live in another country also have a Cinderella. It may be a bit different (in some cases a lot different), but we share that similarity ...

I hope you are using more than just literature to bring about cultural understandings. For instance, do you talk about the Day of the Dead when you are also learning about Halloween? Do you embrace other harvest feasts and not just Thanksgiving?

Great question --

Answer 3

a