Teaching Genres

As we begin the year, the children and I work very hard on a couple of things: strategies for dealing with unfamiliar texts, communicating about literature using evidence, and identifying genres.

We begin school with reviewing the basics of using books and making good book choices as readers. We use basically the same beginning of the year mini-lessons school wide, but that doesn't always mean that by fourth grade they are making good book choices.  :-)  Several teachers in 4th found this cute acronym for choosing books on pinterest.  It adds a little variety to our usual charts, in my opinion.

 

After some procedural lessons, we worked on identifying genres.  We started with basics of fiction versus nonfiction.  I had the students bring the books they were reading at the time to the carpet and we brainstormed what made fiction and what made nonfiction.  After reinforcing a few points, we used our post its to write the title of the book they were currently reading and then place it on the correct side of the chart. 

I discuss with the kids that while fiction and nonfiction are broad descriptions of genres, by fourth grade they are expected to be able to be more specific about what type of genre it is.  We brainstorm and list genres that go under each fiction or nonfiction umbrella.  Later we explore book baskets and attempt to identify the genre on a post it.  This gives me a really good insight into how good they are at identifying genres based on the blurb, pictures, etc. of a book.  I do a lot of teaching as I go from group to group and discuss their different choices.

Another way that we reinforce identifying genres is to list the genres of class books that we read together. The students also keep a reading log in the RRJ that requires them to list the genre of the book.

 Another thing we spend a lot of time on at the beginning of the year is strategies for approaching comprehension questions on an unfamiliar text.  Since their LEAP reading section  (and almost every other standardized test they will ever take) will be composed entirely of unfamiliar texts, this is a valuable skill.  We practice lots together and go over how to "attack" the test. 

After we get back to hurricane Isaac we will move into before, during, and after comprehension strategies while we continue to discuss genres.

Love,
Mrs. Kelly