Teaching Genre

with Purpose
Carrie Griffin

Principle 1: Engage students with reading

and writing for real-world reasons

Narrative genres:

Dramatic genres:

Primary purpose is to share and interpret experiences

To have characters come alive through conflicts and interactions

Persuasive genres:

To influence the target audiences ideas or behavior

Principle 1: Engage students with reading

and writing for real-world reasons

Informational genres:

To convey information about the national or social world to people

who want or need information

Procedural genres:

To teach people how to do something they dont know how to do

Why is it important for the teacher to understand

the different aspects of genres that they are
teaching in the classroom? What do you think would
happen if they did not?

Essential Question 1:

Common Core State Standards Tables on Range of Text Types for Grade Level
K-5

Stories

Adventure stories, historical fiction, mysteries,

myths, science fiction, realistic fiction, allegories,
parodies, satire, and graphic novels

6-12
K-5

Dramas

Poetry

6-12

Nursery Rhymes and subgenres of the narrative

poem, limerick, and free-verse poem
Narrative poems, lyrical poems, free-verse poems,
sonnet, odes, ballads, and epics

6-12

K-5

Staged dialogue and brief familiar scenes

One-act and multi- act plays, both written form
and on film

6-12
K-5

Childrens adventures stories, folktales, legends,

fables, fantasy, realistic fiction, and myth

Literary nonfiction
and historical,
scientific, and
technical texts

Biographies, autobiographies, books about history,

social studies, science, and the arts, technical
texts, including directions, forms, and information
displayed in graphs, charts, or maps
Exposition, argument, and functional text in the
form of personal essays, speeches, opinion pieces,
essays about art or literature, biographies,
memoirs, journalism, and etc.

Principle 2: Teach genre features

and their functions
Require

deeper understanding of genre

An

example of this would be getting to know

different parts of a genre
Dramatic
Have

Texts:

protagonists, antagonists

Conflicts,

climaxes, resolutions, dialogue, cast

lists, and stage directions

Principle 2: Teach genre features

and their functions
Procedural
Includes

or How-to-tests
lists of materials

Organized
Include
Makes

in the explanation in successive steps

graphics that help show the final product

the Goal explicit

What are some features and functions of the

procedural genre?

Essential Question 2:

Principle 3: Teach genre- specific

strategies

Narrative reading:

Introduce the theme

Read the story

Conduct a postreading discussion

Conclude the lesson

Principle 3: Teach genre- specific

strategies cont.

Informational reading:

Preview text

Click and clunk

Get the gist

Wrap up

Principle 3: Teach genre- specific

strategies cont.

Persuasive reading:

Identify each author or speaker and describe his or her

argument

Compare details and look for conflicting views

Make careful notes on each source

Out of all the genres discussed which do you think

would be the easiest to teach? Why? Which one do
you believe would be the most challenging? Why?

Essential Question 3:

References

Anthony, J., & Corral, R. (2012).Chopsticks. New York: Razorbill.

Carter, J. (2009). Going Graphic. Educational Leadership, 66(6), 68-72.

Colossal, E. (2015).Rutabaga the adventure chef. New York, New York:

Amulet.

Duke, N., Caughlan, S., Juzwik, M., & Martin, N. (2012). Teaching Genre with
Purpose. Educational Leadership, 69(6), 34-39.

Handler, Daniel, Maira Kalman, and Brown and Company Little.Why We Broke
up. New York: Little, Brown, 2011. Print.

Riggs, R., & McGurk, J. (2011).Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.
Philadelphia, PA: Quirk Books.

Satrapi, Marjane.Persepolis. Paris: L'Association, 2008. Print.