Understanding Genre

We have been talking about a new, fancy grown-up word the last few days, and that word is genre. Genre is a word we use that means different types of books. Books are split into two main categories, fiction and nonfiction, and there are many different genres in each of those categories. So far we have learned about fantasy books and science fiction books. Both of these are examples of fiction genres.

So what can you do to help your child understand what types of books he or she is reading? A simple way is to ask if they are reading a fiction or a nonfiction text. The pictures below give the definition we're using in class and some examples of each. Understanding the types of books that they are reading and the purpose for those books often helps kids start to understand books a little better. While we will be talking about all of the different genres of books during the next week, this is a topic we will review throughout the year so keep asking your child what kind of book they are reading!

We typically read nonfiction books because we would like to learn something new. Nonfiction books include facts, and they often have photographs and a variety of different text tools like a table of contents, an index, captions, and many others.

We typically read fiction books for entertainment. Fiction books are stories that include characters, setting, a plot (problem events), and a resolution. There are many different types of fiction genres including fantasy, realistic fiction, historical fiction, fairy tales, folktales, and myths.