Why multigenre?
Multigenre also can work in a number of subject areas as a way for students to review or research an unlimited number of topics.
By giving your student writers some choice and freedom you will likely receive much more than you ask for. When was the last time you had that happen with a writing assignment?
Fetching blurbs now... please stand by"Before we can define multi-genre, you must understand what genre is..."
What is genre?
A genre (, also ; from French, Category: wikt - :genre|genre , "kind" or "sort", from Latin: Category: wikt - :genus|genus (stem gener-), Greek: genos, Category: wikt - :?????|?????) is a loose set of criteria for a category of composition; the term is often used to categorize literature and speech, but is also used for any other form of art or utterance. Genres are vague categories with no fixed boundaries, they are formed by sets of conventions, and many works cross into multiple genres by way of borrowing and recombining these conventions. The scope of the word "genre" is sometimes confined to art and culture, particularly literature and music, but it has a long history in rhetoric as well. In genre studies the concept of genre is not compared to originality. Rather, all works are recognized as either reflecting on or participating in the conventions of genre.
Multi = Many
And so if multi means many or multiple then multigenre means many genres.
Tom Romano's definition:
A multigenre paper arises from research, experience, and imagination. It is not an uninterrupted, expository monolog nor a seamless narrative nor a collection of poems. A multigenre paper is composed of many genres and subgenres, each piece self-contained, making a point of its own, yet connected by theme or topic and sometimes by language, images, and content. In addition to many genres, a multigenre paper may also contain many voices, not just the author's. The trick is to make such a paper hang together.
The father of multigenre
Blending Genre, Altering Style : Writing Multigenre Papers
Amazon Price: $25.08 (as of 12/31/2009)
More advice
A Teacher's Guide to the Multigenre Research Project: Everything You Need to Get Started
Amazon Price: $26.57 (as of 12/31/2009)
More tips
The Multigenre Research Paper: Voice, Passion, and Discovery in Grades 4-6
Amazon Price: $26.25 (as of 12/31/2009)
My model text
Desert Seasons: A Year in the Mojave
Amazon Price: (as of 12/31/2009)
Another great example
Rattlesnake Dance: True Tales, Mysteries, and Rattlesnake Ceremonies
Amazon Price: $8.76 (as of 12/31/2009)
Another example
(and one your kids are likely to know)
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Amazon Price: $7.96 (as of 12/31/2009)
Question, comments or tips about multigenre writing assignments?
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Reply
- ElizabethJeanAllen ElizabethJeanAllen Jul 23, 2009 @ 9:22 pm
- Welcome to The Totally Awesome Lenses Group
Lizzy
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- tdove tdove Jun 17, 2009 @ 3:20 pm
- Thanks for joining G Rated Lense Factory!
Some additional thoughts
- Squidoo
- Squidoo. The popular (free) site for creating single webpages on your interests and recommendations. Even earn money for charity or yourself.
- Blogger
- Blogger is a free blog publishing tool from Google for easily sharing your thoughts with the world. Blogger makes it simple to post text, photos and video onto your personal or team blog.
- Wetpaint
- Wetpaint is the largest network of free websites. Wetpaint sites are great for fansites, groups, classes, and more; start your free website in 3 steps.
- Prezi
- Prezi is the zooming presentation editor
Other multigenre assignments
- Multigenre web
- For use with Literature Circles
- America the Beautiful
- Using Music and Art to Develop Vocabulary
- Travel writing
- Students read and then write travel articles as a way of going beyond simple personal narrative.
- Diary of a Worm
- In this lesson, students incorporate facts into a variety of text types, creating a class book similar to Diary of a Worm.
- Building vocabulary
- Making Multigenre Glossaries Based on Student Inquiry
- Understanding historical context
- Engaging Students in a Collaborative Exploration of the Gettysburg Address
- And more
- Literature as a Jumping Off Point for Nonfiction Inquiry
- Building on literacy
- Opening the Door for Reading: Sharing Favorite Texts to Build Community
Additional multigenre resources
- Multigenre Mapper Planning Sheet
- This student reproducible, from a ReadWriteThink lesson, guides students in planning multigenre writing pieces.
- Multigenre Texts
- A list of books that can be used as multigenre models
- Possible genres
- List of possible genres for multigenre projects
- Multigenre text analysis chart
- Chart for multigenre text analysis
- Multigenre Glossary
- An example of a glossary guide you could create with your class to support students during multigenre projects
by rwoman
I have come to terms with my Squidoo addiction at Squidooholic by taking the Squidoo Pledge! But being a Squidooholic can't be all bad as it helped me...
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