Cultural Aspects in Children’s Books

            I first chose Good Dog, Carl (Day 1986) because without words, it could be a good way for ELL students to practice oral language.  The book has many cultural references that students from another country may not understand.  Some students, especially those from developing countries, may find the concept of a pet dog that lives indoors incomprehensible.  For example, while my husband was in Mexico, a friend told him that when he died, he wanted to come back as an American’s dog because they were treated so well.  Before working with the book as a class, all students (both ELLs and native speakers) could bring in a picture of a pet or an animal they like and share about them.  This could lead to discussion or acting out the relationships that Americans develop with their pets.

Another cultural component is that Americans usually do not live in extended families, and the mother left the baby alone with the dog.  The concept of the laundry shoot, make-up, record player or hair dryer may also affect meaning.  To address all these concepts, students could compare the people and objects they find in their homes in their native country and in the United States. 

            Good Morning, City (Moore 1995) uses beautiful illustrations and poetic language to describe life in a large city.  Some cultural components presented such as night shift workers, garbage truck, subway and cathedral may affect comprehension.  To teach both subway and garbage truck, each student could create cards with labeled pictures of different types of transportation.  The class could practice grouping the types together, such as transportation used for work, for individuals, for large groups of people, found in the country, found in the city, etc.  Students could then create posters of the different groups and hang them in the classroom. 

Perhaps some students in class know someone who works the night shift.  They could describe the work the person completes and that person’s schedule.  Or students could create a schedule with clocks and pictures of activities for their typical day.  They could then rearrange the pictures for a night shift worker.  For donut shop, students could talk to each other about different places they eat for breakfast and what type of food they may eat.  After talking to a partner, the class could brainstorm things to eat at home and at a restaurant (using words and sketches).   

            As I think about these activities, I realize that so much depends on the background knowledge of the students and the teacher’s ability to perceive how much the student understands of the lesson.  I also realize that background knowledge is important for native speakers too and teachers need plan ways for all students can share or activate their knowledge and build upon it.