Aimee Buckner’s Notebook Know-How is filled with great lessons that capture the real spirit of Writer’s Notebook. One is “Genre Switch.” Essentially, students begin writing a story in their notebooks. At the start of the piece, the teacher asks students to begin writing in the style of a certain genre. Then, after students have been writing for a time the teacher determines appropriate, a new genre is called out to the class. They make the switch to those characteristics, and so on. It’s up to the teacher to decide how many genres to use. I did this lesson for a second time in a 6th grade classroom. I reviewed the characteristics of three genres (science fiction, mystery, fantasy) I would be asking them to use. These characteristics were written on the board so they could reference them if needed. I told them each section would be timed for seven minutes. I checked for questions and we began with fantasy. After seven minutes, we switched to mystery. About one minute before that switch, I told them the next genre was approaching, so they could begin thinking about the move. Our final style was fantasy. I followed the same format for each genre. During the entire 21 period of writing, there was not a sound in the room. At the conclusion, students who wished to share did so. There stories were amazing. The point at which they switched genres was evident and the characteristics of each style were clearly embedded into the writing style. It was such a treat for me to listen to the quality of their writing and to sense the enjoyment they had as they created their stories. Later in the day, one of the students told me what they had done that morning was so much fun. She wanted to know why state testing wasn’t more like that kind of writing. Perhaps the DOE is reading this blog! ~ Christa Atkins
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When I first read about genre switch, I thought it sounded interesting but perhaps too challenging for elementary students. I appreciate Christa trying it with 6th graders and am impressed to read about such positive results. How wonderful to hear about a student describing a writing activity – a challenging writing activity – as so much fun! This is a true example of how writer’s notebook can impact language arts literacy. Early feedback tells us that students can enhance their ability to write and enjoy themselves while doing so. I am eager to read about more experiences of students and teachers.
I went over to videotape the lesson that Christa did with these six grade students, and she is not exaggerating – there was absolute silence in the room as the kids scribbled their ideas in order to finish in time. When the 21 minutes was up, they typically had two pages (front and back) of written work – incredible! Then they got up to read…their stories were full of developed characters, alliteration, personification, similes and metaphors (“shivering like a furless polar bear” is the one I remember), and full of plot twists…some not even related to the switch in genre. Speaking of that, I was wondering to myself how they were going to handle making that change while keeping with the story. Fooled me – the changes were practically seamless, with only a prop or perhaps scenery change to suggest the switch to the next style. I was very impressed (and even a little jealous – why didn’t they teach writing like this when I was in school?).
I used this in my fifth grade class recently. Because I knew the concept would be challenging, I spent extra time modeling the different types of genres beforehand. We used fairy tale (fantasy), newspaper (non-fiction), and spooky (horror). I found books in the library that represented each genre and read excerpts, which got the students excited about the writing they were about to do. I gave them between 5-10 minutes for each genre. I have a very mixed class (regular and special ed.) for writing, and the results were impressive! Every student was busy writing the entire time even though they wrote at different paces. They especially enjoyed sharing their pieces, and I always try to find time to fit them all in if they want. I look forward to trying this again soon with different genres.
So as not to cause overflow on the first page of the blog, I will place this comment here, although it may be a general statement rather than specific to the genre switch submission. You may be thinking, “Get on with it already!” To which, I respond, “Well, ok.”
Joanna’s comment, “Why didn’t they teach writing like this when I was in school?” interested me because I was noticing that the authors of the submissions to the blog are about the strongest writers around these here parts. [note: ironically, my missive will now dilute the very purified waters I am referencing.] If our most clever and technically knowledgeable writers are inspired by the qualitative and quantitative impact of this approach, we should be lining up at the door to learn how to use it for our students and for ourselves.
Knock, knock, I say.