Traditional Literature

Traditional literature are stories, tales and poems that have been around for a very long time and have been passed down through the generations. Often many of the stories have been retold in a way that fits the current culture and/or the need of the audience.


I have read this Little Red Riding Hood Story and loved it!

           




 In recent years, authors have taken to retelling traditional tales from an alternate point of view.

 

Although this genre was not intentionally targeted towards youth, this has overtime become the main audience due to :

• Common characteristics these stories share are appealing to children such language use and the fantasy world created. 
• Stories that were told orally to children became a demand for publishing.   

Traditional literature helps students understand a variety of rich cultural backgrounds. These stories often contain moral elements along with standards of behaviors of c culture.

Many stories provide rhythm, rhyme and repetition of patterns.

Many teachers have become cautious in using traditional literature in their classroom. This is due to the elements of violence, sexism and even religion in these classic tales. Although I understand their concerns, I feel shielding students from these timeless tales does not protect them. We as teachers could use these stories in so many ways to provide richness to our classroom, and if content is a concern we can use that concern as a lesson to highlight the cultural differences from then to now.