Reading Genres

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Reading Genres

• Melissa Lange
• 3rd Grade
• Hall-Woodward Elementary

2
Background

• AR is a large component of the reading program at
  my school. Some teachers push their students to
  take as many test as possible (even if the book
  is too easy.)
• I wanted my students to experience reading
  different genres of books at their reading level
  instead of the usual Arthur or Little Critter.

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Research Question

• How are the student's choices of books during SSR
  affected by the introduction of different genres?

4
Participants

• 6 participants
• 3 students reading at grade level
• -2 Hispanic (1 male and 1 female)
• -1 African American (male)
• 3 students reading below grade level
• -2 Hispanic (1 male and 1 female)
• -1 African American (female)

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Introduction to Genres

• Genre of the Day
• -Provided descriptions of each genre used
• -Whole group discussions of each genre
• -Read aloud books from each genre
• -Provided examples of the genre
• -Constructed a reading center that consisted of
  books from various genres

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Interventions/Instruction

• A new genre was introduced daily
• Students had the opportunity to share and discuss
  a new book/genre they enjoyed with a friend.
• The students completed a self assessment of the
  stories that they read. Each student wrote their
  name, date, title, and genre on a post-it note.
  They also determined if they loved it, liked it,
  or didnt enjoy the book. Each post-it was placed
  on a poster board that was created for the study.

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Data Collected

• Pre and Post Reading Inventory
• AR test records
• Observational Notes during SSR time (3-5 times a
  week)
• Student Interviews

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Data Analysis

• I compared the pre and post reading interest
  inventory of each participate to see if there
  were any changes in their answers.
• I looked at their AR scores at the beginning of
  the project and at the end of the project to see
  if there was significant grow from the beginning
  of the school year.
• I tallied the genres they read during SSR time
  and put the results in pie graphs.

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Results- Notes CollectedBelow Grade Level Reader

• Africa tried to read different genres, but they
  were too hard for her. She enjoyed looking at
  the pictures.

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Results- Notes Collected Below Grade Level Reader

• Fred made an attempt to try a couple of different
  genres, but went back to fantasies because most
  other genres were too hard.

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Results- Notes Collected Below Grade Level Reader

• Michelle enjoyed reading different genres and was
  able to comprehend most of them, but majority of
  her reading was in the fantasy genre.

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Results- Notes Collected At Grade Level Reader

• Axel enjoyed learning about and reading different
  genres. It surprised him that he liked Fairy
  Tales.

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Results- Notes Collected At Grade Level Reader

• Jacqueline loved reading the different genres.
  She was always excited when a new genre was
  introduced.

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Results- Notes Collected At Grade Level Reader

• Kahiem read a variety of different genres. He
  made an attempt to try most of them.

15
Results- AR

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Results- Reading Interest Inventory

• The students interest in other genres expanded.
  The students still enjoyed the things that they
  usually read, but each students selected
  additional genres on the post interest inventory
  survey. The students were at different reading
  levels, but their interest in different genres
  grew.

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Results- Interviews

• What is your favorite genre? Why?
• Axel Fantasy because almost all books are
  fantasy and they are fun to read.
• Jacqueline Mysteries because it is an adventure
  through the book and I like to figure out the
  mystery.
• Kahiem Science Fiction because they go outer
  space and cool stuff in them.
• Fred Fantasy because they are fun.
• Michelle Fairy Tales because they are
  interesting.
• Africa Fairy Tales because they are cute.

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Interview

• What are your favorite things about your favorite
  genre?
• Axel Fantasies have new words that I do not
  know.
• Jacqueline Mysteries are good to read and it is
  going to be my favorite the rest of the year.
• Kahiem Things in Science Fiction can not happen
  in real life.
• Fred I enjoy Clifford and Arthur.
• Michelle In Fairy Tales the characters use
  magic to pretend to be other people.
• Africa Fairy Tales have fairy godmothers.

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Interview

• What did you like and dislike about learning
  about different genres?
• Axel There were books I have never read before.
  There were hard words I couldnt figure out.
• Jacqueline I learned about new genres that I
  didnt know about before. Some of the genres
  were hard to read.
• Kahiem There were cool book I wanted to read.
  There was nothing he disliked.
• Fred They helped me know the answers. There
  was nothing he disliked.
• Michelle I liked learning about different
  genres. There was nothing she disliked.
• Africa They were fun to learn about. There was
  nothing she disliked.

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Research Says

• Childrens problems with reading of various text
  are often caused by the form and structure of the
  text rather than the content (Littlefair, 1991).
• An important aspect of childrens literacy
  development is to provide social and cultural
  content purposes (Hiles Smith, 2000).

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Discussion

• The majority of my class enjoyed learning about
  new genres.
• During the middle of my research, we started team
  teaching which made it more difficult.
• The students reading at grade level were more
  motivated to read or at least attempt to read
  different genres than the students reading below
  grade level.
• It is hard to find most genres written for my
  below grade level readers, so they got frustrated
  and resorted to what they were comfortable with.

22
Future Direction

• I am going to continue to challenge my students
  through the school year and encourage them to
  read different genres.
• I plan on doing this next year, but at a slower
  pace.

23
References

• Hiles, J., Smith, B. (2000). Genre development
  in first gradea multi-task investigation.
  Illinois Reading Council Journal, 15(2), 34-48.
• Littlefair, A. (1991). Reading all typed of
  writing the importance of genre and register for
  reading development. Milton Keynes Open
  University Press.