Reading and Writing Genre with Purpose in K-8 Classrooms

"Reading and Writing Genre with Purpose in K-8 Classrooms adds a new dimension to genre studies that will engage students and re-invigorate teaching. The book sharpens our focus on student motivation, an essential yet often overlooked aspect of teaching. The authors offer an array of purposeful and creative ways to teach narrative, procedural, informational, dramatic, and persuasive texts, and bring us one step closer to the kinds of learner-centered instruction so necessary to succeed in a modern world."

-Sharon Taberski, author of Comprehension from the Ground Up

"Make room on your professional bookshelf for a much needed book! You'll learn how to explicitly teach genre features and coach students as you establish meaningful writing purposes that inspire students to read. Not only do the authors provide solid guidelines for teaching genre in writing and reading, but they also invite you into classrooms to see how teachers and students create environments that engage all learners. And for each genre, you'll find lists of books to teach reading and writing!"

-Laura Robb, author of Teaching Middle School Writers: What Every English Teacher Needs to Know

"You can explicitly teach students what they need to know to comprehend and produce genres well while engaging students in captivating communicative experiences-in fact, you can do it better!"

-Nell K. Duke, Samantha Caughlan, Mary M. Juzwik, and Nicole M. Martin

Too many U.S. classrooms lack a colorful compelling context for reading and writing, resulting in flat, uninspired, formulaic writing by students. Reading and Writing Genre with Purpose in K-8 Classrooms is designed to help pre- and inservice teachers, literacy coaches, and reading specialists question status quo ways of working with language and texts, replace weaker practices with better ones, and change the way genre is taught.

Drawing from theory and research that suggests students learn better and more deeply when learning is contextualized and genuinely motivated, the book presents five guiding principles for teaching genre. Emphasizing purposeful communication, it will guide you through teaching students to read, write, speak, and listen to different real-world genres that inspire and engage them. Nell Duke, Samantha Caughlan, Mary Juzwik, and Nicole Martin:

• identify commonly used assignments and practices for teaching genre that are fundamentally flawed and explain why
• offer inspiring alternative practices, grounded in research and illustrated in real projects in real classrooms
• show how the five guiding principles come to life in reading and writing projects across the whole K-8 grade span
• provide planning sheets and other tools and tips that will allow you to manage genre-with-purpose instruction in your classroom.

This book is about teaching genre differently-with purpose. Reading and Writing Genre with Purpose in K-8 Classrooms will help you reinvigorate your teaching.