ILTS 206 Sub-Area 3 Practice Question #19

An early childhood teacher of a culturally diverse group of three-year-olds has a goal of fostering children's knowledge and pride in their cultural identity. The teacher can begin to achieve this goal most effectively by:

setting aside a period each day for children to engage in cultural activities.displaying throughout the room photographs of children from many different cultural groups.connecting cultural activities to the daily lives of individual children and their families.arranging for children to attend cultural events in the immediate neighborhood.

Correct Answer: C

Cultural identity is the sense of belonging to a group or groups that children first begin to develop through their relationships with family and community. Though the concept of ancestry and cultural heritage is too abstract for children at age three, children this age are already aware of the traditions and activities in which their families participate. Connecting cultural activities to ideas and experiences that are familiar to children builds on what they know to establish a foundation for eventually developing a broader understanding of who they are.