Genre Study = Automatic Spiral Review

I don’t know about you, but I feel overwhelmed by the phrase “spiral review.” Sure, you want to give students opportunities for meaningful review, but “spiral review” brings to mind convoluted spreadsheets. You chart out a complicated course only to find yourself constantly treading water.

But there’s good news, if you’re a reading workshop teacher (especially if you use genre study), you can engage in meaningful review without the spreadsheets.

All reading instruction falls into a few broad categories. In genre study, each genre unit addresses these broad categories and fills in the details according to the genre you’re currently studying. Here’s an example:

Instead of having a “text structure” unit where students learn ALL the text structures (then review them later when you “spiral” them back in), they learn about text structure throughout the year. During fiction genre units they’ll focus on narrative structure and plot. During nonfiction genres they’ll learn how authors organize information (sequential order, cause & effect, problem & solution, etc.).

Voila! Students learn about text structure throughout the year in the context of relevant genres. No need for a big “text structure” unit, and no need for complicated spiral review. The spiral review is built right in!

This is just another way that genre study made my teaching life easier. I prefer this method to a spiral review that’s tacked on to an already hectic curriculum.

What do you think? If you’d like more visuals about genre study and spiral review, see the paint swatches in this post. And if you’d to learn more about the progression of year-long genre study, download this free Genre Study Catalogue.

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