Identifying and learning genres What are the different characteristics of various genres of literature?

What is a genre? A genre means a category or type of story. All categories of books or stories can be fiction or non-fiction. Each genre has different characteristics.

Stories of a real person’s life that is written by that person. Autobiography Stories of a real person’s life that is written by that person.

Story of a real person’s life written by another person. Biography Story of a real person’s life written by another person.

Fantasy A story including elements that are impossible such as: talking animals or magical powers.

Poetry Poetry is verse written to create a response of thought and feeling from the reader. It often uses rhythm and rhyme.

Historical Fiction A fictional story that takes place in a particular time period in the past. Often the setting is real, but the characters are made up from the author’s imagination.

A story using made-up characters but could happen in real life. Realistic fiction A story using made-up characters but could happen in real life.

Traditional Literature Stories that are passed down from one group to another in history. This includes folktales, legends, fables, fairy tales, tall tales, and myths from different cultures.

Mystery science Informational fiction A suspenseful story about a puzzling event that is not solved until the end of the story. Texts that provide facts about a variety of topics (sports, animals, science, history, careers, travel, geography, space, weather, etc.) A type of fantasy that uses science and technology such as robots, time machines etc.

Works Cited Aguilar, David A. 11 Planets: A New View of the Solar System . Washington: National Geographic, 2008. Print. Alcott, Louisa May. Little Women. New York: Tor, 1994. Print. Bridges, Ruby. Through My Eyes. New York: Scholastic, 1999. Print. Brown, Gene. Anne Frank. Woodbridge: Blackbirch, 1991. Print. Brown, Jonatha A.. Rosa Parks. Milwaukee: Weekly Reader Early Learning Library, 2006. Print. Bryan, Ashley. Sing to the Sun. New York: Harper Collins, 1992. Print. Cleary, Beverly . Ramona the Brave. New York: Morrow Junior Books, 1975. Print. Coburn, Jewell Reinhart. Domitila. Auburn: Shen's Books, 2000. Print.

Works Cited Cole, Joanna. The Magic School Bus Plants Seeds : A Book about How Living Things Grow. New York: Scholastic, 1995. Print. Cronin, Doreen. Click, Clack, Splish, Splash: A Counting Adventure. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2006. Print. Dahl, Roald. Fantastic Mr. Fox. Oxford: Clio, 1989. Print. De Paola, Tomie. The Legend of the Bluebonnet. New York: Putnam, 1983. Print. Park, Barbara. Junie B., First Grader : Boo--and I Mean iI!. New York: Random House, 2004. Print. Peet, Bill. Bill Peet. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1989. Print. Ron, Roy. A to Z : Canary Caper. New York: Randon House, 1998. Print.

Works Cited Speare, Elizabeth George. The Witch of Blackbird Pond. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1958. Print. Spooner, Michael. A Moon in Your Lunch Box: Poems. New York: Henry Holt, 1994. Print. Created by Yahnira L. Emig. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 2.5 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/.