These texts serve different purposes, are written for different situations, and feature different characteristics, including text structure, presentational formats, design and layouts, vocabulary, illustrations and graphics, and so forth. Closing Thoughts Genre research reveals that even young children are sensitive to differences in text format and structure. Ask a four-year-old to write a shopping list for a trip to the grocery store and she will inevitably create a vertical list, perhaps with numbers or bullet points before each needed item (Harste, Woodward, and Burke, 1984). Even though the child is using pretend writing to create her list, she demonstrates that she is well aware of the particular features of “list-ness,” which typically include a vertical display of listed words or phrases (rather than connected text) accentuated by bullet points (Duke and Purcell-Gates, 2003). Finally, John Mayher (2001) reminds us that learning to read is a lifelong process. Over the course of our lives, we’ll meet numerous texts that challenge our focus and comprehension (computer programming manuals, tax forms, warranty tags, and the like). As Mayher notes, “Reading is not something that one learns to do once in elementary school; it is a lifelong process of growth as one meets the challenges of new texts.”
References
Bennett-Armistead, V. S., Duke, N. K., and Moses, A. M. (2005). Literacy and the Youngest Learner: for Educators of Children from Birth to Five. New York: Scholastic. Duke, N. (2014). Inside Information: Developing Powerful Readers and Writers through Project- Based Instruction. New York: Scholastic. Duke, N., Caughlan, S., Juzwik, M., and Martin, N. (2012). Reading and Writing Genre with Purpose in a K-8 Classroom. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Duke, N. K., and Purcell-Gates, V. (2003). “Genres at Home and at School: Bridging the Known to the New.” The Reading Teacher. Vol. 57. Fountas, I., and Pinnell, G. (2012). Genre Study: Teaching with Fiction and Nonfiction Books. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Fuhler, C., and Walther, M. (2007). Literature Is Back!: Using the Best Books for Teaching Readers and Writers Across Genres . New York: Scholastic. Halliday, M. (1973). Explorations in the Functions of Language. London: Edward Arnold. Harste, Woodward, and Burke. (1984). Language Stories and Literacy Lessons. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Lattimer, H. (2003). Thinking through Genre: Units of Study in Reading and Writing Workshops 4–12 . Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers. Mayher, J. (2001). “Welcome to the Planet of the
Readers.” In Bonnie Ericson (Ed.), Teaching Reading in High School English Classes. Urban, IL. NCTE.
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GENRE AND TEXT TYPES
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