Thanks to all ( a lot of you) who responded with great ideas!
Original Post:
Hi Everyone!
I'm looking for help from your collective brains before I re-invent the wheel. A
4th grade teacher has asked me to do a lesson with her class on the different types
of fiction. Does anyone have ideas? Thanks!
/////////////////////////
Susan.. I would appreciate it if you would post a hit of the information you
receive. I always use the Read Write Think website and see what they have
available and then adapt it to my situation... here is a link for your to try:
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=270.
////////////////////
I have done a genre lesson with 5th graders that my teachers really love. I
can send you a draft doc that has evolved since then. You can email me with
any questions that you might have. It 's really good to get class
discussion going and allow them to peruse the books to look for the
particular characteristics.
////////////////////////
You might try reading picture books that illustrated the different genres
for ex. realistic, mystery etc. then give them some fiction books and see if
they can identify the fiction type by reading the blurb etc. Maybe they
could work in groups.
///////////////////////
I just went through this with my 4th grade with Genres. I picked historical fic,
fantasy fic, real-life fic, etc. Does that help? Look at genres
//////////////////////
I did a series of lessons over some weeks looking at this but you could possibly
adapt it to one
lesson by splitting the class into groups. I gave each group samples of the type
we were looking at
and asked them to identify the characteristics of each type. Then we did a
think-pair-share
activity to make a common list.
You can see some of the results at
http://palmdps.act.edu.au/resource_centre/booklook/focus_fiction.htm
///////////////////////////////
Try genre lotto -
Make bingo boards by typing various genres in a bingo type board (mine is
4 X 4 for a total of 16 squares). Make the cards different with not all
same genres on each card and in different positions - I did mine by making
a template then using cut-up strips with the genres I glued the strips on
the templates and laminated)
From your OPAC selected books from differing genres, make yourself an
annotated bibliography, and read these off as clues. Make sure you write
on your slips which genre you are reaching for. Sometimes you'll need to
change some words in the annotation.
My students use cut up stickies (1/4" wide strips) to put over the genre
term on the lotto board. Four in a row and students raise hand and call
out genre lotto!
The student then has to read off the genres s/he covered and I check to
see if I read an annotation for that genre. If student is incorrect, I
just say, sorry, you have one genre incorrect. Then continue. When a
student does have lotto, I read the titles of the books and tell the genre
so everyone has a good understanding.
I give away pencils to winners.
Found this idea in a book called "Stretchy Library Lessons." Excellent
resource.
/////////////////////////
I go over the various genres with the students, then either book talk or
read from different ones over the next few weeks. I give them a handout
to put in their reading folders and they can fill in a title and author
for each genre as well as a sentence about why this book fits in that
genre. When they have completed all, they get a treat (an airhead or
something like that, I have to keep it cheap). The teachers push it
with them as well, so it works out well. I am attaching the difinitions
and form that I use.
///////////////////////////
One year a teacher had students prepare a puppet or
doll based on the alien, monster, robot, or creature
from the book. We displayed them around the media
center with a copy of the books. One of the funniest
was from EXILES OF COLSEC which featured part of a
washing machine hose sprayed brown. You had to see it
to appreciate it.
I've had my fifth graders "find the science" in their
science fiction. Perhaps my links on my science
fiction page will help.
http://www.websterschools.org/classrooms/state_library/science_fiction.html
We have a teacher doing a project for the fantasy
genre where they
design their own fantasy country with maps,
descriptions of the
inhabitants, and more. They'll be doing power point
presentations, and the best will be placed on our
school website.
travel poster to the setting of the story showing the
main characters
modeling (clay) of main character, team with art
teacher?
mobile of main characters , settings, or scenes from
story
/////////////////////////
just did a lesson on genres, about a 20 minute one, for sixth
graders. I just went through each genre, giving an example for each. Then I did
quick book talks on several books and had kids guess which genre. Almost
every one was guessed correctly. It isn't a fancy lesson, but it went well,
and all the books I presented were put on hold by the end of the day.
2. Last year our Yearlong Reading Theme was Books in Bloom: A Garden
of Genres.I created websites full of links and books... Perhaps some of the links
on the different Genres will be of assistance. Each has lesson plans too.
http://www.websterschools.org/classrooms/state_library/genres.html
3. http://nancykeane.com/rl/default.htm#Genres
///////////////////////////
www.proteacher.com
Teaching Genre by Tara McCarthy
http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/scimathlit/genres.html
gives a brief description
///////////////////////
I use a lesson from Genres of Literature: An Elementary Exploration of
the World of Books, Grade 2-5 by Kelly Speer Hatfield. available at
www.instructionalfair.com for $9.99.
The book has a flow chart in it that I use with the kids. I have one
book that fits each category and we go through the questions in the flow
chart to determine in which genre each book belongs. I can send the lesson plan,
if you can get the book.
Also, check out my Reading Page online for genres.
http://www.websterschools.org/classrooms/state_library/reading.html
Our yearlong reading theme this year is Books in Bloom: A Garden of
Genres.
I have web sites and booklists for the first three months so
far...Folklore,
Mystery, & History.
http://www.websterschools.org/classrooms/state_library/genres.html
I just did a great lesson today with the third grade using the Time
Warp
Trio series and we put them all on a timeline. Probably could do this
for
Magic Tree House too.
/////////////////////////
The hardest part is making the list of what genre categories there are!
Every list I've seen has different listings, and then you must take
grade level into account. I did a genre talk last week for 3rd through 6th
graders. A 3rd grade teacher requested it and gave me a grid format
with various genre types (from a teachers' resource book, not a teachers'
textbook) plus some author names. I added a few others, but next time I
will do a genre talk one week, and an author & illustrator comparison a
different week - it was too much for some of the third grade classes.
Here's what I did for 3rd - 4th:
Research what genre types appropriate for the grade levels. Listed all
the genre types I needed to cover (list on a long descending banner or an
overhead transparency) and got 2 or 3 books to fit (demonstrate) each
category. (Get a long box and put them in order). I selected books that
gave some clue to the genre on the cover or would be commonly known as
a particular genre. For example, Alice in Wonderland is fantasy. The book
Chocolate Touch has a woman turning to chocolate on the cover -
fantasy.
I got some mysteries (we discussed that titles with the word
"mystery/ies" give us the clue, as do "The case of. . ." because a case requires
detective work) but some books aren't that obvious. However, reading
the jacket flaps or the back cover might give them a clue. Then you simply
hold them up one at a time and ask/tell what genre category it is. Ask kids
what tipped them off.
Another important thing to mention is that many books are not only one
genre - there are many that overlap two or more categories. One thing I
will do next year is eliminate the general term "fiction" from the
list.
We found that all the books (3rd grade level & up)could fit in other genre
categories - none were just "plain" fiction! (Can you think of any that
don't fit into other categories?) So my list will say Fiction Genre at
the top and then list the genre & sub-genre (example, ghost stories are a
sub-genre of horror, or fantasy) A good place to start is your state's
official educational website for state standards, or the national
standards.
For the 5th & 6th graders I made a list of the past nominees of our
annual state reading program (California Young Readers Medal)and I pulled all
the books from the first column (about 20)from my library shelves. I gave
each student a list to keep, and as I did a quick book-talk on each title in
descending order, they marked to the right whether it was FA (fantasy),
M (mystery), RF (realistic fiction), etc. I had my genre list of
definitions and abbreviations on an overhead so they could see them as we went
along. I told them to put a dot to the left of the title if they were interested
in reading that book. At the end, I told them to see if the dots showed a
trend in their favorite genre. Lots of kids noticed that they preferred
mysteries, or fantasies, or realistic fiction, etc. They also had a
great list of potential titles which most of them had passed over the year
before, just because the spine or title hadn't appealed to them.
///////////////////
Fantasy: I asked the children to make and bring to the library an object
from their book that has magical power and write about how it fits into
the story. For example a magic wand that they made, a book, a slipper.
This works if the teacher can follow up in the classroom to remind them.
Historical Fiction: Students created timelines of ten events that really
happened in history at the time the book takes place. They could be events
that happened in the book.
I often have kids do a library search worksheets using the online catalogs
to find books related to a specific genre.
I have stayed away from science fiction because our library doesn't have
many of those books.
Hope this helps.
I just sent this to someone else asking about mysteries.
I just did one that worked great. I made up clues for five groups. That
clue for each group led to another clue somewhere in the library. When
they found the second clue, it led them to a mystery book on the shelf. They
pulled it and came to sit with me. It was a bit noisy but they settled
down when everyone finished. I read the titles of all the books found and
asked what they had in common. (mysteries) I held up a poster that had good
characteristics of a mystery.
-Characters are well developed.
-Reader can solve mystery along with main character because all clues
are given
-something like, plot is interesting and keeps moving....
-mystery is always solved at end of the book
(I'm at home and can't remember them all, I got it from a recent BOOKBAG,
I think October 2001)
Then I explained that mysteries are good for problem solving which makes
us smarter.
2nd visit, I read some passages from good mysteries to get them
interested.
They also will be writing a paper called, The day the librarian
disappeared,
which will be collected into one booklet and put in the library magazine
area so others can read the stories.
I used several resources for teaching genre. Among them were:
"But That's Another Story" edited by Sandy Asher
"Reading and Writing Literary Genres" by Kathleen Buss & Lee Karnowski
"Teaching Genre" by Tara McCarthy
Of the three, "Reading & Writing" and "Teaching Genre" were also used
heavily by the faculty in my professional collection.
Good luck!
But that's another story: famous authors introduce popular genres/edited
by
Sandy Asher. -- NY : Walker Publishing Co, 1996.
166p., photos.
Contents: Angela Johnson; Barbara Robinson; Elaine Marie Alphin; Kristi
Holl; Gary L. Blackwood; Patricia Calvert; Joyce Hansen; Pamela Service;
H.
M. Hoover; Marion Dane Bauer; Carol Kendall and Yao-wen Li; Marie G. Lee.
Includes short stories of various genres, author interviews, and an
introduction to each genre.
ISBN 0802775705
1. Short stories.
Withington, Janice J.
Genres of literature: thematic study guides & bibliographies. --
Torrance, CA : Good Apple, 1996.
144p.
Includes: genres of literature, assessment, worksheets, Bloom's
taxonomy.
ISBN 1564178447
1. Childrens literature. 2. Genres.
Hi! I tai=ught 4th grade for 4 years. I Used a book caleed Teaching Genre
which gave the various elelment s of genre to point out to students. A
better source is Fountas and Pinell's book, Guiding Readers and Writers,
Grades3-6, which suggests books for the genres and tells you characteristics for
each
genre. .
Students loved The Pagemaster for fantasy. I read it aloud. Discussed the
elements of fantasy , and then watched the video to make a comparison. We
also read Flat Stanley (Brown 1962 hard to find) and each made a Flat
Stanley to send around the world. The person who received Stanley had to
take pictures and so something spedial with Stan and then return to the sender.
It is an awesome activity.
Fourth graders love the following for historical fiction: Sarah,Plain and
Tall narrated by Glenn Close is excellent. Students read along silently.
Farmer Boy and Little House on the Prairie are also good reads which 4th
graders loved. Students were put in groups and chose favorite chpater in
Farmer Boy to role play. I video taped. They loved the activity. In
science we studied the prairie, visited the prairie, and read the stories in lit
so it was all integrated.
////////////////////
pull the books a put them on a specially decorated cart to make it easy
for the kids to find the featured genre of the month. I publicize what
I'm doing in a newsletter to my teachers.
---
My news team talks about fairy tales on the morning news broadcast with
stories and/or jokes... for the older kids I have made a fairy tale
Jeopardy game.
---
If you can get your hands on a copy of Educator's Companion to Children's
Literature, Volume 1: Mysteries, Animal Tales, Books of Humor, Adventure
Stories, and Historical Fiction and/or Educator's Companion to Children's
Literature, Volume 2: Folklore, Contemporary Realistic Fiction, Fantasy,
Biographies, and Tales from Here and There. These are available through
bn.com and cost about $24.
------
We make a book bingo w/genre. Historical Fiction, Biography, How-To Book,
Folk Tale, Fairy Tale, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Free Choice, Animal Book,
Plant Book, Poetry Book, Realistic Fiction, etc. The students bring their
book bingo to the library and select books that will help fill in the
bingo card. They turn in their short book reports to their teacher including
the type of genre. The students are rewarded accordingly. It works out
really well.
----
I use genre tags - plus have some great (older) filmstrips from Pied
Piper - I think they have them on video now about different genres. We do
worksheets that tie in with them where students answer questions and list
titles from each genre by looking at fiction shelves. I also have large
posters explaining each genre that are hung in that section.
---
I have used the following website:
http://www.nashville-schools.davidson.k12.tn.us/CurriculumAwards/lakeview/ge
nres.html
----
I've found this useful: Teaching genre: exploring 9 types of literature to
develop lifelong readers and writers - McCarthy, Tara. - Scholastic
Professional Books, New York: c1996. ISBN 0-590-60345-0. It is very
thorough
amazon.com for about $11.
----
I have a "genre of the month" lesson each month. A bulletin board
displays posters of books in the genre plus a poster I made of the characteristics
of the genre. We talk about the characteristics as I booktalk for the upper
grades or read a picture book for the younger kids. It works great. Of
course the first thing we did this year was to discuss what we mean by
"genre".
---
I do a program with my third grade called Fiction is Fun. The students
are told about 12 genres of fiction books, e.g. mystery, sci fi, etc. For each
book they read they get a sticker for the genre on a certificate. (got
them from Highsmith). I made up some to go with some stickers...then at the
end of the year, they get points for each sticker to spend at the "factory
outlet sale" (small things I collect throughout the year and from the
bookfair, etc.) They only get one sticker for each genre; any additional
books in the same genre counts for points but doesn't get another sticker.
If they collect all 12 stickers, their points are doubled. Very
motivating
and they get to discover all of the different kinds of fiction.
----
I am doing "Genre Genre" this year in my media center -- I am offering a
session a week for up to four weeks on 8 different genres. I start with
first session defining and then sharing an example. With fairy tales, I
talked about variants and read some and we did some compare contrast. If
teachers bring back for a 2nd, 3rd, and 4th time, I continue to read
fairytales and we talk about elements that make the story a fairy tale. I
also have a web page with links to different fairy tales and activities
I've found on the web. I'll repeat this kind of thing each month with each
genre.
///////////////////
One approach I have used is to have the youngsters read a fantasy and
identify elements that could really happen and elements that are
fantasy. Venn diagram perhaps could be used as a graphic organizer.
This could be modeled using a picture book such as Hot Air Henery in which
a cat accidentally flies a hot air balloon. The factual part about flying
theballoon is accurate but the cat's participation is fantasy. By practicing
in small groups on picture books they can then independently apply the
strategy on a chapter book.
If it's still in print, Fantasy For Children by Lynn is great
Fantasy is basically a fairy tale written by one author. All the elements
of a good fairy or folk tale can be found in a fantasy
Please share what you find out! We are spending a few weeks covering genres
in 4th grade and one period was devoted to fantasies. I found some
characteristics of fantasies and listed them on an overhead transparency.
Then, handed out sheets to the students with questions such as:
Does this selection have events that probably would never happen? What were
they?
List any talking beasts in this selection.
Did any of the characters have magical powers? What were they?
Stuff like that. Students filled them out while I read a selection from
Dahl's James and the Giant Peach. They seemed to enjoy it, but it obviously
could have been a better lesson. I would be very happy to hear the ideas you
get!
/////////////////////
We did a fun exercise at a teacher's retreat yesterday. We were divided into
groups of 4 or 5 and worked on poster+ size sudoku puzzles - using religious
symbols instead of numbers. We had laminated symbols to place in the empty
boxes.
After you did your different types of fiction lesson - if you found 9
different kinds - you could do something like this for fun, team building
and thinking. You could also do it with 2x2 squares instead of 3x3. I might
do this at my school.
////////////////////////////
Susan Hanlon
K-4 Librarian
Northwestern Elementary School
6493 Route 309
New Tripoli, PA 18066
hanlons@nwlehighsd.org
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