Engaging Ways to Celebrate Tamil Heritage in the Classroom

Tamil heritage is part of our global culture and I’m sharing ways that you can celebrate and appreciate it. Discover engaging activities to teach your elementary students about Tamil culture. From stories to videos, recognize and celebrate the rich heritage of the Tamil people.

Books

Here is a collection of books starring Tamil characters and/or written by Tamil authors. These will give you more insight into the culture.

Where Three Oceans Meet
Author: Rajani LaRocca
Illustrator: Archana Sreenivasan

Sejal and her mother head to India to visit her Pati (grandmother in Tamil). They take a road trip from Bangalore through the state of Tamil Nadu taking in the sights and sounds. Finally, they reach the southern tip of India - Kanyakumari - where the three oceans meet.

I’ll Go and Come Back
Author: Rajani LaRocca
Illustrator: Sara Palacios

Jyoti visits her Pati in India and despite a language barrier, they can understand each other and bond. At the end of the trip, she doesn’t want to leave, but she remembers the Tamil parting phrase, not “goodbye”, but “I’ll go and come back.” And the following summer when her grandmother visits her in America, she parts with the same sentiment.

Palm Trees Under Snow
Author: Meera Bala
Illustrator: Galina Moleskine

In Sri Lanka, Maya grew up surrounded by palm trees, the ocean, and family. Sadly, her life is upturned by a war that is tearing Sri Lanka apart. In search of safety, Maya's parents decide to immigrate to another country. Without friends and family and unable to speak the language, will Maya ever feel a sense of belonging?

Tomatoes for Neela
Author: Padma Lakshmi
Illustrator: Juana Martinez-Neal

Neela loves cooking with her mother. Neela and her mother go to the market to buy tomatoes - the vegetable that she loves to cook. They make a sauce using her Pati’s recipe. It makes her feel close to her as she’s far away in India.

Bharatanatyam

Bharatanatyam is a form of Indian classical dance. The oldest, in fact! The dance style originated in Tamil Nadu, India. Bharatanatyam is known for its form: hand gestures, facial expressions, plie-like squat, and, fixed upper torso.

Bharatanatyam in Ballet Shoes
Author: Mahak Jain
Illustrator: Anu Chouhan

Bharatanatyam in Ballet Shoes is a beautifully illustrated book. Paro comes from a dancing family. She learned Bharatanatyam from her mother and is quite good at it. In her new ballet class, Paro finds the new poses and skills to be tricky so she decides to quit Bharatanatyam to focus solely on ballet. But can she do both? Are the dance styles that different from one another?

Kolam

Kolam is a tradition that began thousands of years ago. It is a drawing made on the floor using colored rice flour. It is used to decorate the home and to welcome the goddess Lakshmi. The simplest form is made by dots of rice in a grid. They are joined together to make shapes or designs, such as flowers and animals. Kolam is similar to rangoli.

Pongal Pot Kolam Video

Pongal Festival

Pongal is an ancient harvest festival celebrated in the Tamil community in South India, Sri Lanka, and around the world. It is also known as Thai Pongal. The celebration lasts for four days in mid-January. It includes traditional rituals such as decorating homes, offering thanksgiving prayers to gods, cooking dishes like pongal, and paying respect to cattle.

Video Series
The TVO Kids series, It’s My Party, has an episode on Thai Pongal! Annalyia celebrates Thai Pongal and shares her culture with Delano.

Thai Pongal
Author: Majura Thayalan and Neera Thubeeshan

Written in both English and Tamil, this book teaches readers about Thai Pongal traditions. It was written in response to the dearth of books about this important Tamil festival!

Pongal Mini Book
I created a 9-page mini book for primary students to learn about the festival! It includes basic facts, an explanation of the traditions, important symbols, a word search, and a “what I’ve learned” page. Find it in my TPT Store or BP Shop.