Genre- the resulting form of writing that stems from different writing purposes/goals. These stem from different social contexts that require different forms of writing.
Genre knowledge is the awareness and application of genres in a variety of print settings. It is important that students not only have an exposure to reading a variety of genres but that they are given plenty of time to experiment with writing and manipulating these genres as well. Also, genre knowledge is a big indicator of success in comprehension and composition. If a student is able to apply knowledge across many genres, they will have an easier time comprehending different forms of print as they have a wide-ranging knowledge about the many different uses of print. If, however, a student has mastered only the narrative genre, for example, they will have difficulty comprehending an informational text. The same goes for composition--a student needs to recognize and comprehend the many functions of genre (he/she does not need to know every one genre but needs to have a general sense of their existence and what they look like) before she can generate or compose her own genres of writing.
Functions of Genre:
-to inform
-to entertain
-to instruct (instruction manual)
-to remind
-to label
-to signal (traffic signs, grocery store section signs, etc.)
-to advertise & entitle
An alarming quotation:
"A current estimate is that, on average, less than 6 minutes a day is spent on information texts in first grades."
(Chapter 1: From Shopping Lists to Poetry: Forms and Functions of Written Language)
Writing Standard 2: Writing Purposes and Resulting Genres--these standards address each grade in terms of what the students should be demonstrating within certain genres.
Genres that are addressed in this standard include functional writing, narrative writing, report or informational writing, and producing and responding to literature.
Associated Assessment:
For an assessment on genre knowledge, I would use a portfolio assessment (an assessment that is drawn out over about three weeks). In the portfolio I would have students (I hope to be teaching eighth grade) displaying three genres that correspond to what they are studying in math, social studies, language arts, etc. For example, a personal narrative can be written relating a personal experience (moreover, relating a personal feeling associated with an experience) to something that happened in history. For example, some time when they helped someone like Harriet Tubman helped people. An informational piece can be written on how to make a hurricane or a thunderstorm. A piece of poetry can be written to accompany their study on haikus.
Duke, Nell. TE301, Section 003, Fall 2007, Michigan State University.
New Standards Primary Literacy Committee (2004).
The New Brunswick Group (D. Strickland, C. Snow, P. Griffin, M. S. Burns, P. McNamara) (2002). Preparing our teachers: Opportunities for better reading instruction. Washington, DC: Joseph Henry Press.
