Chapter 5 - Traditional Literature

Traditional literature, folk literature, or oral literature is the standard tales, stories, and poems of people that have been passed down by word of mouth through many generations. Since traditional stories have been handed down orally, no one knows who told the tales first. However, there is a reason why folk literature has traveled around the world, and this reason is because it meets a variety of human needs. These needs include: the need to explain the natural world in the absence of scientific information, the need to articulate our fears and dreams, thus making them accessible and manageable, the need to impose some order on the apparent random, even chaotic, nature of life, thus helping us to understand our place in the universe, and the need to entertain each other, as well as ourselves.

                Traditional literature provides children with values, and it is important that children become familiar with the rich heritage of folk literature that has come down to use from cultures around the world. Traditional literature also presents children with framework for the literature, drama, and art they will come across later in school. Children are also provided with entertainment and pleasure because they enjoy reading and hearing folktales. Traditional stories also contain strong rhythm, rhyme, and repetition of patterns that are created for the children’s developing memory and imagination.

                Teachers can have students use multicultural traditional literature pieces to compare different versions of the story. It helps children understand the personal dimension and standards of behavior of a culture and at the same time reduce stereotypes. For instance, when studying history or social studies, children can learn a great deal about a particular country and its people by analyzing traditional tales from that country. Traditional tales can be used to introduce and expand on many topics.

Traditional Literature for your Classroom Library