How to Teach Genres to Engage Your Upper Elementary Readers
Oftentimes, students feel like they can’t find anything to read because they genuinely don’t know what they like to read! One way to combat this is to explicitly teach our students about the different reading genres available to them. I mean, think about it — if you love fairies and imaginary worlds, but all you’ve ever read is realistic fiction, you might feel like there’s nothing for you to read, too!
Understanding the unique characteristics of different literary genres will help your students better comprehend the nuances of the stories they are reading. Once they know what to expect from a genre, students will be able to make more meaningful predictions, foreshadow the types of events that might occur, and identify such elements as character traits, setting, and plot. Exposure to different genres also helps students see new writing styles, build new and different skills, and acquire new vocabulary!
SO HOW DO I START? INTRODUCING DIFFERENT GENRES
I like to start at the beginning of the year by setting aside a part of the literacy block each week to introduce each genre. Explain to students the different attributes they will typically find in the genre you are highlighting:
- What types of characters might they typically find in that genre?
- Where and when is that genre usually set?
- What types of plot points might occur?
In my Genre Study Resources I include teaching slides so teachers like you can easily explicitly teach genre to your students. There are over 200+ teaching slides that will help you teach the different elements of each genre like characters, setting, problem, solution, and more.
After you go through the teaching slides, take some time to do a short read-aloud (I recommend either a picture book in that genre or a chapter of a book as a type of preview to entice students who may want to read the book independently later). This way, students get exposure to each genre, even if they don’t end up choosing to read it themselves.
My genre anchor charts are the perfect resource for you to reference as you introduce different literary genres! Each chart includes the characteristics of the genre and suggested popular titles that students my want to explore independently.
Genre Study Resources
NOW WHAT?
READING A VARIETY OF LITERARY GENRES
Once you have introduced students to the attributes of different literary genres, it’s important to give them opportunities to practice reading each one so they can start to develop their own preferences for what they might want to read independently.
But, Kristine, where am I going to find appropriate books (and enough of them for each student) in each genre?!
Don’t worry! I’ve got you covered! My Differentiated Passages and Questions: Genre Bundle gives you a variety of differentiated reading passages to help your students practice analyzing various genre texts. With 10 different genres represented and 12 differentiated passages for each (at three different reading levels!), this resource is the perfect way for you to solidify your students’ understanding of the literary genres you’ve introduced to them. This resource is perfect to use in guided or small reading groups, as intervention, for practice and re-teaching, and to assign for homework or as morning work!
Differentiated Genre Passages Bundle
STUDENT PREFERENCES AND CHOICE WITH GENRE
Encourage your students to choose a genre that they want to continue exploring in their independent reading! My fun and engaging task cards activity will help students make an informed choice of which genre they should look into further. You can have them go through the cards independently or with a partner to see if they end up choosing the same genre or have different preferences!
Genre Study Resources
Most importantly, remember to validate their preferences and help them find an engaging title in the genre they choose.
By sharing a variety of genres with your students, you give them the opportunity to explore new types of stories. And, who knows? You might just create lifelong readers out of even your most reluctant students!
