Literature Genres

Realistic fiction – Realistic books have plots, characters, and settings that might be found in real life. They are stories that are make-believe, but they could have been true. An example might be The Boxcar Children.

Historical fiction – Stories that are written to portray a time period or convey information about a specific time period or an historical event. Usually the event or time period is about 30 years in the past. An example might be Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Mystery – Something that is unknown or yet unexplained. At the third grade level it could be a detective story for example. An example might be Nate the Great or Cam Jansen, Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys.

Folk Tale – A tale circulated by word of mouth among the common folk such as Paul Bunyan, Johnny Appleseed.

Fairy Tale – A fanciful tale of legendary deeds and creatures, usually intended for children. Cinderella would be a good example.

Modern Fantasy – A make believe story set in today’s generation. Harry Potter is an example.

Science Fiction – fiction about science; typically based on speculative scientific discoveries or developments, environmental changes, space travel, or life on other planets

Information – Science or Information – Social Studies – Non-fiction dealing with the topic of either science or social studies.

Information – Literature that is non-fiction written to inform

Biography – An account of a person’s life written, composed, or produced by another. There are lots of versions of Helen Keller.

Autobiography – An account of a person’s life written by the person

Plays – a literary work written for performance on the stage; a drama

Poetry – A piece of literature written in meter; verse. Shel Silverstein and Jack Prelutsky, Dr. Seuss also, are good examples.

Directions – Giving guidance, management or supervision of an action or operation

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