What Are Genre Booklets?
Genre-based approaches to teaching writing…achieve spectacular improvements in student outcomes, from twice to more than four times expected rates of learning’ (Martin & Rose, 2007, p.1)
Our booklets teach children the meaning and purposes behind certain text-types. They make this information explicitly available to teachers but are also really child friendly.
The booklets share with children the characteristics of the different text-types. They cover the most popular genres across the curriculum and also children’s favourite genres. They explain the social goals of the text type without telling children exactly what to do! Instead, they help children enjoy and develop their own ideas and make their writing academically successful.
I’ve used these genre booklets and think they are utter genius. Brilliant, so thank you!
These booklets are brilliant. They are a ‘show rather than tell’ of how to write.
What Genre Booklets Do:
- Explain the social purpose of the the text-type.
- Share with children what people usually write about.
- Explain how to interact with your reader.
- Suggest how to display your writing.
- Give hints about what grammar and linguistic features are going to be useful.
- Share exemplar texts of the genre in action.
- Provide a planning grid, showing the stages your writing can go through.
Our Current Genre-Booklets:
- Narrative writing
- How to write a memoir (personal narrative)
- How to write a short story
- How to write a fable
- How to write a horror/scary story
- How to write a vivid setting
- How to write an interesting character
- How to write a memorable and vivid story (advanced)
- Non-fiction writing
- How to write an information text
- How to write a book review
- How to write instructions
- How to write rules
- How to write an explanation
- How to write a discussion text
- How to write persuasively
- How to write a persuasive letter
- How to write a persuasive leaflet and advert
- How to write a newspaper article
- How to write advocacy journalism
- How to write a match report
- Letter to the editor: responding to a newspaper article.
- How to write a letter of complaint
- History writing
- How to write public history
- How to explain the past
- How to debate the past
- How to write a biography
- How to write a science report
- How to write a free-verse poem
How To Use Our Genre Booklets:
Firstly, we use the Genre-Booklets to write our own exemplar to share with our class. Whilst sharing, we explain our intentions for the piece: why we wrote it, why we chose the topic and what impact we wanted it to have on our readers. The children then give their critique and ask questions. We then invite the children to have a go at writing their own piece – using the Genre-Booklet to help them.
We recommend that our Genre-Booklets be used as part of our Real-Word Literacy approach. You can find out more by clicking here.
These Are Our Main Reflections:
- Children no longer seem to require so much support from us. They write more freely and happily.
- Children are taking greater care when planning.
- Children’s writing is purposeful and always reflects the genre being written.
- Their writing is genuinely informative or entertaining and is often cohesively produced.
- Children aren’t so tentative to begin writing.
- Children’s motivation to write has increased dramatically.
- Children’s motivation to research and undertake independent study in the foundation subjects has increased dramatically.
- Children are taking writing in the foundations subjects more seriously.
- Children are reading more critically.
- A sharp increase in children asking to take writing home.
- A sharp increase in children purchasing writing-notebooks and writing at home for pleasure.
- Children’s writing outcomes have so far been impressive across ability ranges.
- Children are beginning to talk like real writers.
Why Did We Make These Genre-Booklets?
We wanted to share with children the variety of writing that is available to them even as apprentice writers. We wanted to move away from simply asking children to include ‘genre features’ and instead concentrate on the social aspects of their writing. We wanted them to learn how they can share their artistry, memories, knowledge and opinions with others.
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To see all the booklets, just email us at literacyforpleasure@gmail.com
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They are also available for purchase through our TES shop here. However, please get in touch through our email as we can provide them at a far cheaper price.
For more updates and resources, please follow us by pressing the follow button at the top right-hand side of this webpage. Alternatively, you may want to follow and contact us through twitter at @Lit4pleasure
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To Learn More About Genre Booklets See Our References:
- Coffin, C. (2006) Mapping subject-specific literacies In NALDIC Quarterly, vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 13–26.
- Corbett, P., Strong, J., (2011) Talk For Writing Across The Curriculum. Maidenhead: Open University Press
- Christie, F. and Martin, J. R (eds) (2007) Language, Knowledge and Pedagogy:Functional Linguistic & Sociological Perspectives, London: Continuum
- Hyland, K. (2007) Genre pedagogy: Language, literacy and L2 writing instruction In Journal of Second Language Writing 16: 148-164
- Kerfoot., C & Van Heerden, M., (2015) Testing the waters:exploring the teaching of genres in a Cape Flats Primary School in South Africa In Language and Education, 29:3, 235-255.
- Martin, J. R. (2009) Genre and language learning: a social semiotic perspective In Linguistics and Education, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 10–21
- Martin, J., Rose, D., (2008) Genre relations: Mapping culture. Equinox Publishing
- Purcell-Gates, V., Duke, N. K., & Martineau, J. A. (2007). Learning to read and write genre-specific text: Roles of authentic experience and explicit teaching In Reading Research Quarterly, 42(1), 8-45.
- Svalberg, A. (2009) Engagement with language: interrogating a construct In Language Awareness, 18: 242-258
- Whittaker, R. (2010) Using systemic-functional linguistics in content and language integrated learning In NALDIC Quarterly, vol. 8, no. 10, pp. 31–6.
- Bourne, J. (2008) Official pedagogic discourses and the construction of learners’ identities In Martin-Jones, M., de Mejia, A.M. and Hornberger, N.H. Encyclopaedia of language and education, Vol. 3 Discourse and Education, 2nd edn, New York, Springer.
- Donovan, C.A. (2001). Children’s development and control of written story and informational genres: Insights from one elementary school In Research in the Teaching of English, 35, 452-497.
- Donovan, C. A., & Smolkin, L. B. (2002). Children’s genre knowledge: An examination of K-5 students’ performance on multiple tasks providing differing levels of scaffolding In Reading Research Quarterly, 37(4), 428-465.
- Graham, S., Harris, K. R., & Mason, L. (2005). Improving the writing performance, knowledge, and self-efficacy of struggling young writers: The effects of self-regulated strategy development In Contemporary Educational Psychology, 30(2), 207-241
- Scott-Evans, A., Crilley, K., & Powell, E. (2004). A critical study of effective ways to teach instructional texts In Education 3-13, 32(1), 53-60
- Thwaite, A., (2006) Genre writing in primary school: from theory to the classroom, via first steps In Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, Vol.29(2), p.95(20)
