In modern society, it is relevant to preserve the cultural-historical identity of Russia and the people’s moral values reflected in the mother tongue. Language plays an important social role since it is viewed as a social phenomenon that reflects the peculiarities of the national character and psychology of each nation as well as the changes taking place in society. The word embodies the national spirit and the national self-awareness of the people. Specific features of national culture, the people’s traditions are manifested in folklore, set expressions, works of art. The paper considers the basics of the content of the school Russian language course (i. e. Russian as a native language) which facilitate learners’ awareness of the native word as a tool for understanding the national picture of the world. The research has identified lexical units contributing to the formation of students’ values-based attitude to their native language and their role in the formation of a linguistic personality. These lexical units include phraseological units, small genres of folklore (riddles, proverbs, and sayings). The paper also characterises the linguocultural concept and the specific features of its analysis to cognize the national picture of the world. Mastering the mother tongue as a cultural phenomenon, schoolchildren conclude that the native language reflects the nature of the historical and intellectual development of society. Moreover, they realise it is the property of all people belonging to this society and a source of the nation’s unity and spirituality.