Chapter 5 Response

Chapter 5: Traditional Literature

I think it is so cool how traditional literature can come from oral story tellings from thousands of years ago, and no one knows who told it first. Some of these tales include Cinderella, The Three Little Pigs, and Little Red Riding Hood. While many of these tales vary by region of the world, they usually contain the same theme and values. There ate many benefits in children reading or being read traditional folktales. 1)These stories hold a plethora of valuable lessons and all them to understand values of society. 2) Provides students a framework for literature, drama, and art. This helps prepare them for the future in these areas. There are rich plots and story lines in traditional literature, and allowing children to be exposed to them early will help them in the future. 3) Obviously, these tales are fun to read and entertaining to children, or really anyone. 4) There are repetition and patterns displayed in traditional literature tales and helps students to develop their memory and imaginative skills.

I feel like traditional literature tales can be used at any age, not just in young children. I would still enjoy reading any Cinderella story. But, when there are many considerations to consider when providing traditional literature to young students. There may be violence, sexism, stereotypes, and other topics that may not be appropriate for a certain age. It is best to use proper judgment and be sure you pick the proper version. Because, some traditional literature stories may be fine on one version, but completely inappropriate in another.

There are many categories of traditional literature, including: fables, myths, legends, religious stories, tall tales, and folktales (which has multiple subcategories like fairy tales and beast tales). Personally, my favorite categories are folktales and myths. I think a great way to allow students to be involved in their own learning is to provide a lesson on learning about all of these categories, and having the class choose their favorites for choosing a class book to read. I think traditional literature can easily be used as a great discussion starter, or writing prompt. Student's can build on abstract and critical thinking by trying to evaluate hidden meanings in these tales, and comparing them to life today. Students can also write their own versions based on what they think should happen in the story, or using their own culture and life as a guideline.