Multiple Angles for One Issue
Using multiple genres to write about one topic can really open students' perspectives!
Welcome to From the Teacher’s Desk, where we take turns further reflecting on our episodes and applications to the classroom.
I think about this every time I put my toddler to bed and they want more: Am I teaching them to engage in or to challenge our consumer society?
And with media like Upload, I think about this issue even more. Is it possible to exist in this world without the constant need for more and new?
You can get your students to wrestle with a similar question when you introduce a different type of research paper. Have you ever tried a multigenre paper model in your classroom? If not, here are some great resources to get you started!
Why MultiGenre
In Camille Allen’s The Multigenre Research Paper, she describes multigenre work as this:
“The best way I can describe a multigenre paper is to say that each piece in the paper utilizes a different genre, reveals one facet of the topic, and makes its own point. Conventional devices do not connect the pieces in a multigenre paper, nor are the pieces always in chronological order. The paper is instead a collage of writing and artistic expression with an overarching theme that engulfs and informs the reader.”
Think about it this way. Whenever you scroll through your social media, you’re going to learn about your friends’ lives through a series of infographics, original photos, memes, video clips, favorite recipes, and more. This in itself is multigenre reading.
And teachers like Allen believe this is a more authentic approach to researching one issue than the rote claim-evidence-analysis structure we always lean on. Multigenre papers allow you to explore an issue from a variety of different lenses and voices. It allows you to practice both literary and non-literary art forms.
I mean, honestly, multigenre analysis is lit thinking :)
What MultiGenre
So what exactly might this look like? Here’s a web brainstorm I completed around gluten intolerance to show my students:
Notice how each new perspective comes with its own genre for conveying ideas. Through this simple shift, you open up students to a new conversation about audience, purpose, and tone across every possible channel of communication.
And think about how important this work is! Especially in our internet age, we need to constantly be reminding students of HOW to convey their ideas, plus WHEN and to WHOM they should be conveying them.
Sarah loves to remind me that there’s an argument behind everything these days. A multigenre paper gives students a whole new way to realize that for themselves.
Where MultiGenre
It doesn’t have to be a whole unit. It doesn’t have to be a whole assessment. But even spending a day exploring any social issue through a multigenre lens will better connect your classroom to the 21st century.
Here are three great resources to get you started:
List of genres - Start with this list, then see what your students can think of to add to it. Then pick a topic and see how many genres your students can connect directly to it as a form of analysis and perspective.
Challenger activity - This is a great historical example of how varied genres can address the same topic. With a little background on rhetoric, you can easily complete this activity in one class period.
To This Day video - Or watch this video! It’s an oldie but goodie spoken word poem, and it’s FULL TO THE BRIM with genre play around the topic of bullying.
What multigenre work have you done with your students? Share with us below.
Please “like” by clicking on the ❤ and share this post with your friends, colleagues, and fellow lit thinkers.