LITERATURE GENRES

By: Kristin Joe July 2, 2013 4 th Grade

Fiction vs. Non-Fiction

 Fiction   Make-believe Talking animals    Magic Fake characters Usually begins with “Once upon a time…” or “There once was…”  Non-Fiction   Real or true Real characters   Important info. about a person’s life Tells how a person talks, feels, and thinks

Fable

    Stories are very short Stories usually have two or three characters The characters may be animals or things that act like people Teaches a “lesson” or moral

Fairy Tale

       Usually begins with “Once upon a time…”or “Once there was…” Setting is a faraway or imaginary land Characters are often royal (kings, queens, princes, princesses) Things happen or appears in threes The granting of wishes The use of magical powers A happy ending where good wins over evil

Adventure Tale

    A story has characters who behave like real people and animals The settings are real or could be real The events could happen in real life The story has action or suspense, or both

Biography

     An account of a real person’s life written by someone else Tells important info. about a person’s life, including his or her achievements or talents Tells how a person talks, feels, and thinks about things May be about a person’s whole life or part of their life Events are usually told in the order they occurred (chronologically)

Narrative Non-Fiction

  Characters are real people, settings are real places, and the plot is comprised of real events presented in the form of a story Story includes thoughts and feelings the author imagines the characters might have had

Auto-Biography

   An account by a person about his or her own life Tells important info. about the person’s whole life or part of their life Events are usually told in the order they occurred (chronologically)