1. Literary Genres Poetry Science Fiction Historical Fiction Mystery
Fantasy
Tall Tale
Informational
Fable
Fairy Tale
Biography
Legend
Myth
Drama
Autobiography
Realistic Fiction

2. Genre can be defined as …
A category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
A category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, marked by a distinctive style, form, or content

3. Fiction vs. Nonfiction
Fiction  a literary work based on the imagination and not necessarily on fact
Nonfiction a literary work based on factual information

4. Types of Literary Genres

5. Types of Nonfiction
Informational
Biography
Autobiography
Memoir

6. Informational
Nonfiction writing about a topic, including books and newspaper or magazine articles

7. Biography An account of a person's life written by another
Nonfiction that is informational writing about real people

8. Autobiography An account of a person's life written by themselves
Nonfiction that is a biography of a person written by himself or herself

9. Memoir An account of the personal experiences of an author
A memoir usually focuses on a particular event or time period in the author’s life

10. Types of Fiction Realistic fiction Traditional Literature Folktales
Historical Fiction
Science Fiction
Fantasy
Mystery
Traditional Literature
Folktales
Fairy Tales
Legends
Tall Tales
Fables
Myths

11. Realistic Fiction Believable fiction that is set in the present
Realistic fiction is simply stated as real kids with real problems solved in a realistic manner in a real world setting.

12. Historical Fiction Fiction that is set in the past
Fiction in which the story is set among historical events, or more generally, in which the time of the action predates the lifetime of the author

13. Science Fiction Fiction that deals with science and technology
Scientific discoveries or developments, environmental changes, space travel, or life on other planets, forms part of the plot or background.

14. Fantasy
Highly imaginative fiction that uses unrealistic or supernatural elements

15. Mystery
Fiction that includes secrets or crimes to be solved

16. Traditional Literature
Traditional Literature originated in the stories passed down orally throughout history
Folktales
Legends
Fairy Tales
Tall Tales
Fables
Myths

17. Folktales
Folktales deal with adventures both plausible and implausible wrapped in the forms of human or animal abilities

18. Fairy Tales
Traditional Literature that showcases magical characters and objects

19. Legends
Traditional Literature that portrays a hero figure, supposedly based on a real person but often exaggerated

20. Tall Tale
Traditional Literature that is usually humorous and exaggerates characteristics and accomplishments
Usually assumed to be untrue

21. Fable
Traditional Literature that teaches a moral or lesson, often including animals as characters

22. Myth
Traditional Literature that attempts to explain how things came to be and may involve heroic quests

23. Poetry
Poetry is an imaginative awareness of experience expressed through meaning, sound, and rhythmic language choices so as to evoke an emotional response.
Poetry has been known to use meter and rhyme, but this is by no means necessary.

24. Drama
A dramatic work intended for performance by actors on a stage (theater)

25. Follow-up Activity
Now that you are familiar with each genre -please work in groups of 4 to identify the genre of each book in the bucket that corresponds to your group’s number.
Be prepared to explain your choices.
Created by Lynn Gingras (2007)