Entry # 11

At the start of the semester I was convinced I knew all there was to know about all of the genres of writing/reading. I was proven wrong! After reading Tompkins (2012) and watching all of my classmates presentation I learned a lot more information that I did not realize before. Throughout the semester I have learned a tremendous amount of information regarding all of the genres of writing / reading that I will use in my classroom. I learned so many different techniques to use with students and I learned helpful tips when it comes to teaching students specific genres. Obviously because I did the most research on my genre I learned the most about the expository genre. I never realized how important exposing young students to expository text was before doing my research on the genre.

As a child I loved to read Narrative and Biography texts, I found them much more interesting than any other genre of reading. That being said, I really have learned so much about the Narrative and Biography genre through the presentation. I never realized how much went into these genres. Meaning, I did not realize that there was themes behind each of the piece of writing, I also did not realize that there were so many types of both of these genres. The presentation given to the class on these genres was so extremely helpful for me. I really enjoyed the use of ‘life boxes’ to show us how to teach our students to write in this genre. It really opened my eyes to the different aspects that were found in these genres that I was over looking.

Some of the genres I never really remember being exposed to, or never really stood out to me, Persuasion genre being one of them. I learned a lot more information about the persuasion genre through the genre presentation. I only knew the minimal amount of information regarding this genre of writing. But I learned there is much more to persuasive writing than I thought. I liked that the presenters shared their personal experiences with the genre and how they used it in their every day life. I never thought about how much I could use the genre. After reading Tompkins (2012) I realized there was many types of persuasive writing that I could teach my students how to use and encourage them to use. 

Thinking about all of the different genres I have learned about this semester I feel a lot more confident in most of the genres! These presentations have really helped me understand each of the genres better. That being said, if any of the genres still intimidate me, I would say that it would still be the expository genre. Not because I don’t know how to teach it well or make it fun. But, because I still think that because I was not exposed to it as much at a young age I am still not as comfortable with the genre. I am feeling more comfortable than at the beginning of the semester! I just think it is a work in process!