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

“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 K. Duke, Samantha Caughlan, Mary M. Juzwik, and Nicole M. 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.

Nell K. Duke, Ed.D., is a professor in literacy, language, and culture and also in the combined program in education and psychology at the University of Michigan. Duke received her Bachelor's degree from Swarthmore College and her Masters and Doctoral degrees from Harvard University. Duke's work focuses on early literacy development, particularly among children living in economic poverty. Her specific areas of expertise include the development of informational reading and writing in young children, comprehension development and instruction in early schooling, and issues of equity in literacy education. She has served as Co-Principal Investigator of projects funded by the Institute of Education Sciences, the National Science Foundation, the Spencer Foundation, and the George Lucas Educational Foundation, among other organizations. Duke has been named one of the most influential education scholars in the U.S. in EdWeek. In 2014, Duke was awarded the P. David Pearson Scholarly Influence Award from the Literacy Research Association, and in 2018 she received the International Literacy Association's William S. Gray Citation of Merit for outstanding contributions to research, theory, practice, and policy. She has also received the Michigan Reading Association Advocacy Award, the American Educational Research Association Early Career Award, the Literacy Research Association Early Career Achievement Award, the International Reading Association Dina Feitelson Research Award, the National Council of Teachers of English Promising Researcher Award, and the International Reading Association Outstanding Dissertation Award. Duke is author and co-author of numerous journal articles and book chapters. Her most recent book is Inside Information: Developing Powerful Readers and Writers of Informational Text through Project-based Instruction. She is co-author of the books Reading and Writing Informational Text in the Primary Grades: Research-Based Practices; Literacy and the Youngest Learner: Best Practices for Educators of Children from Birth to Five; Beyond Bedtime Stories: A Parent's Guide to Promoting Reading, Writing, and Other Literacy Skills From Birth to 5, now in its second edition; and Reading and Writing Genre with Purpose in K - 8 Classrooms. She is co-editor of the Handbook of Effective Literacy Instruction: Research-based Practice K to 8 and Literacy Research Methodologies. She is also editor of The Research-Informed Classroom book series and co-editor of the Not This, But That book series. Duke has taught preservice, inservice and doctoral courses in literacy education, speaks and consults widely on literacy education, and is an active member of several literacy-related organizations. Among other roles, she currently serves as advisor for the Public Broadcasting Service/Corporation for Public Broadcasting Ready to Learn initiative, an expert for NBC News Learn, and advisor to the Council of Chief State School Officers Early Literacy Networked Improvement Community. She has served as author or consultant on several educational programs, including Connect4Learning: The Pre-K Curriculum; Information in Action: Reading, Writing, and Researching with Informational Text; Engaging Families in Children's Literacy Development: A Complete Workshop Series; Buzz About IT (Informational Text); iOpeners; National Geographic Science K-2; and the DLM Early Childhood Express. Duke also has a strong interest in improving the quality of educational research training in the U.S.

Samantha Caughlan is Assistant Professor of Teacher Education specializing in English language arts education at Michigan State University. A former English and drama teacher, Caughlan researches the effects of policy on teaching, classroom discourse, and literature study in secondary classrooms.

Mary M. Juzwik is Associate Professor of Language and Literacy in the department of Teacher Education at Michigan State University. A former middle school English teacher, Juzwik's research focuses on narrative discourse, hybrid genres, and writing in middle school classrooms.

Nicole M. Martin is Assistant Professor of Reading Education at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. Martin taught second and fourth graders in urban schools for several years, and her most recent research study explored how children read biography, persuasive texts, and procedural texts.