These days, when students read and write, often it is not only in one genre. Instead, the types and kinds of reading and writing intertwine and blend together. Their work becomes multigenre. In Blending Genre, Altering Style (Heinemann, 2000), Tom Romano describes how multigenre texts work: “Multigenre allows us to ‘meld fact, interpretation, and imagination,’ into a series of self-contained pieces called crots that appear in forms that include poetry, prose, drama, and exposition” (109). This interactive invites students to create original multigenre, multimodal works—one drawing and three written texts. The tool asks students to name the genres for each section, making the tool flexible for multiple writing activities. The Multigenre Mapper Planning Sheet, a printable PDF, allows writers to draft and revise their work before going online to use the interactive.

Visit this interactive tool at: http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/multigenre-mapper/.

ReadWriteThink Lessons That Use This Tool

Beyond “What I Did on Vacation”: Exploring the Genre of Travel Writing (9-12)
This lesson introduces the genre of travel writing. Students read and then write travel articles as a way of going beyond simple personal narrative.

Blurring Genre: Exploring Fiction and Nonfiction with Diary of a Worm (6-8)
Students often believe that fiction writers make everything up, seldom realizing how research is incorporated into entertaining writing. They may believe that research only applies to school writing. 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 (6-8)
This lesson builds vocabulary and encourages active reading by allowing students to choose their own vocabulary words from a text that the class reads. In order to help students absorb and comprehend these new words, they create multigenre glossaries that can then be used as a classroom resource.

Engaging Students in a Collaborative Exploration of the Gettysburg Address (3-5)
Working collaboratively, students learn more about the Civil War through the Gettysburg Address. Teams of students explore multiple resources and actively engage in learning more about this historical document, using words from the Gettysburg Address as their inspiration.

Exploring Sets through Math-Related Book Pairs (K-2)
After reading and discussing a book pair of two math-related books, students investigate their home and school environments to find examples of objects that come in sets of twos, threes, fours, fives and sixes. Working either collaboratively or individually, students then create their own books on sets, highlighting their inquiry study.

Ferocious Fighting Fish: An Ocean Unit Exploring Beginning Word Sounds (K-2)
Focus students’ attention on alliteration, or repeated beginning word sounds, in this unit which explores an ocean theme. Students explore alliteration in framing texts then compose their own class book to explore figurative language in their own writing. The lesson includes a revision worksheet to apply the technique to another piece of writing.

Literature as a Jumping Off Point for Nonfiction Inquiry  (3-5)
Text sets focus on one topic or subject area, yet include texts of many genres. In this lesson, after reading a novel, here Tuck Everlasting, students choose a topic related to a theme in the novel and work cooperatively to learn more about that topic using a text set. Students will have an opportunity to read and explore many genres, while learning through the content areas.

Opening the Door for Reading: Sharing Favorite Texts to Build Community (3-5)
Students focus on reading and creating classroom displays focused on favorite texts in this lesson plan. The class explores environmental print then focuses specifically on a teacher-created display that focuses on a favorite book. After exploring the teacher’s display, students create presentations on their own favorites. By sharing favorite books in this way, teachers and students build community by getting to know one another while simultaneously exploring works of literature.

Our Classroom: Writing an Owner’s Manual (3-5)
The first few weeks of school are all about creating rules, establishing routines, and becoming familiar with the classroom. Engaging students in activities that help them get to know their classroom can make the transition easier while at the same time providing students with a sense of ownership. In this lesson, students write an owner’s manual to help them become more familiar with their classroom as well as to let others know about their classroom.

Polishing Preposition Skills through Poetry and Publication (6-8)
Middle grade students deepen and refine their understanding of prepositions through the authentic model of the literature of Ruth Heller. Students publish a poem using the Multigenre Mapper and refine their understanding of more sophisticated preposition use through a Flip Book project.

Reading, Writing, Haiku Hiking! A Class Book of Picturesque Poems (3-5)
Students make reading and writing connections as they record their observations of their environment, learn about haiku, and write original haiku poems. They work collaboratively to plan and publish a class book of their poetry and related factual notes.

Using Snowflake Bentley as a Framing Text for Multigenre Writing (3-5)
How can “multigenre” be introduced in the intermediate classroom? Using the Caldecott Medal-winning book Snowflake Bentley as a model, students will create a working definition of multigenre text; then, they will create their own multigenre piece about winter or another pertinent theme.

Zines for Kids: Multigenre Texts About Media Icons (3-5)
Using ReadWriteThink.org online tools, students write short pieces in a variety of genres about a favorite media icon. After working with each tool, students print out their work and assemble the documents into their own zines.