In year long genre study, all your reading curriculum is delivered through a series of in-depth genre units. During each unit students are immersed in the genre. They read examples of the genre during read alouds, guided reading, independent reading, and literature study. The teacher delivers lessons on a broad range of reading topics and applies the lessons to the featured genre. A typical genre unit might look something like this (we’ll use historical fiction as our example):
Genre Immersion During Reading Workshop
The teachers gathers 10-20 historical fiction picture books. Each day she reads one aloud to the class and facilitates a discussion. Then, she delivers a mini-lesson. Students read historical fiction during independent reading, and respond to a reading prompt that corresponds to the mini-lesson. The teacher leads a guided reading group over a short, historical fiction text. After independent reading, students gather as a whole group to discuss their responses to the reading prompt.
Mini Lessons During Genre Study—What Do I Teach?
You can address a broad range of reading topics during a genre unit. Some of the lessons are genre-specific, but most aren’t. In a four week study of historical fiction, your lessons may look like this:
- Week 1-2: Lessons over reading strategies like decoding, inferring, summarizing, etc.
- Week 3: Lessons over literature analysis like identifying point of view, and interpreting figurative language.
- Week 4: Lessons that analyze historical fiction, like the role of a historical setting in historical fiction, or understanding old-fashioned language that appears in historical fiction.
Notice that the lessons in weeks 1-2 apply to all reading, the lessons in week 3 apply to fiction, and the lessons in week 4 are specific to historical fiction. You spend most of your time teaching strategies that can be applied to a broad range of texts, and conclude with a few genre-specific lessons.
Inquiry & Genre Study
The main difference between an in-depth genre unit and a one-time genre lesson is simple: in genre study, the teacher does not provide a definition of the genre. Instead, the teacher immerses students in the genre, then helps them compose a class definition of the genre. About three-quarters through the unit, the teacher asks students to list characteristics of the genre in two separate categories: characteristics that always appear in the genre, and characteristics that often appear in the genre.
Then, students use the always list to compose a definition of the genre. This is displayed on an anchor chart. The definition can be revised as students learn more about the genre.
What Are the Benefits of Genre Study?
The best thing about genre study is it provides a context for the myriad strategies and skills you teach throughout the year. You may select your lessons based on state standards and student needs, but teaching those lessons within a genre study framework gives your lessons a day-to-day cohesion they might otherwise lack. Other benefits of genre study:
- Built-In Spiral Review: You can teach the same concept several times a year and ask students to apply it to several genres. For example, you may review setting during your realistic fiction unit, your historical fiction unit, and your fantasy unit.
- Built-In Complexity: Each time you apply a reading concept to a new genre, you are asking your students to see the complexity of that concept. For example, the setting in realistic fiction will resemble contemporary life. But the setting in historical fiction will resemble a certain time period, and thereby make special demands on the reader.
- Authentic & Varied Reading: Asking students to focus on a certain genre for a period of time ensures they read a variety of texts throughout the year.
- Logically Framed Mini-Lessons: With genre study, you avoid “Grab Bag” teaching—your lessons are all geared toward reading and understanding a certain genre. This lends cohesion to a series of lessons that might otherwise seem disconnected from each other.
- Provides a Rhythm to Your Reading Instruction: The process of genre immersion, reading lessons, genre definition, then genre analysis gives a rhythm to your reading lessons.
- Built-In Problem Solving: Because genre study is inquiry-based, it invites students to find patterns within a genre for themselves. A one-time genre lesson/unit does all this work for students—the teacher provides definitions for the genre and students are only asked to do an occasional genre-identification. In genre study, students learn how genre identification actually enhances their reading.
How Do I Plan a Genre Study Unit?
Here’s how you can prepare a genre unit:
- Collect Books: Gather picture books for read alouds, along with texts you can use during guided reading and literature study.
- Immerse & Read: Immerse your students in the genre through daily read alouds and guided reading. Ask students to read the genre during independent reading time.
- Teach Reading Skills & Concepts: Deliver mini-lessons that address student needs and your grade-level standards. Apply mini-lesson objectives to read alouds. Ask students to apply the mini lesson during independent reading by filling out a graphic organizer or responding to a reading prompt.
- Notice Genre Traits: Once your students are familiar with the genre, list its characteristics as a class.
- Define the Genre: Use the list of genre characteristics to craft a definition of the genre.
- Analyze the Genre: Finish up the unit by delivering a series of genre-specific lessons. These lessons help students read this genre in particular.
This Sounds Like A Lot of Work…
It can be, but it gets easier over time. As you develop a list of books to use when teaching each genre the whole process gets easier. Because genre study transformed my reading workshop, I’ve created a year’s worth of genre units. If you’re curious about how I’ve organized these units, you can download this free genre catalogue.
Interested in implementing genre study? Follow this series of blog posts, check out my free genre study catalogue, or my quick-guide to genre study.
