Meeting Learning Standard 18.A.1
Illinois Learning Standard 18.A.1 says that early elementary students should learn how to “[i]dentify folklore from different cultures which became part of the heritage of the United States.” That sounds like a fun goal to me, since so much of American folklore is really transplanted from other cultures. For instance, the Brer Rabbit stories are really reinterpretations of African folk tales. Most of the Appalachian folk tales are reinterpretations of Scots-Irish folk tales. Texas folklore would be much less rich without the wealth of Mexican folk tales, and the whole culture would be poorer without the Native American offerings. And so on. Reading this tales to or with your students, then comparing them to the originals from other cultures would not only help your students understand how American culture developed, but also show them how valuable the various cultures have been to America’s development. If you need me to direct you to some specific books or collections of tales, please respond to this blog.
<>Posted by Jim Vandergriff