Dialects

I know we talked about dialects two weeks ago but I am still worried about offending a child if I were to try and read a children's book with the intention that it was written for.  I am afraid that I will not portray the dialect correctly and I might offend someone with how I am reading the book because I am not an expert on dialects.

I am also afraid that I will portray the "wrong" English to my students.  Teachers work really hard to teach children how to spell correctly and form grammatically correct sentences.  Will the students be confused if I introduce a dialect in a children's book?

I thought about my fear and I thought that it would be detrimental to the children if I excluded books with different dialects from my classroom.  I want to create an environment were diverse learners are accepted and I will not be able to convey that if I do not accept multicultural literature into my classroom.

Just like with all books that I will bring into the classroom, I think that it is important to read over the book a few times to makes sure that the book is an appropriate book for the lesson I am teaching and that I can read through the book smoothly.

I found this great website that talks about the pros and cons of reading books to children that have different dialects (from the "standard English").  It is called "Dialect in Children's Literature."  If you have time to read it, click here to check it out!