Genre Connections: Lessons to Launch Literary and Nonfiction Texts

What I liked:1) A generally well-chosen selection of quotes from a range of sources for each sample genre which could spark a good discussion among the students to whom they are offered -- the idea itself is probably of greatest value to me, as quotes are easy to find;2) A tone of tremendous respect and affection for young learners and their capacity to engage, stretch themselves, and take initiative in the classroom;3) A strong message that points up the importance of students' need for a personal connection to any kind of instruction -- through concrete "hook" experiences (for which she provides some clever, specific ideas), time for introspection, and more;4) A well-articulated philosophy about the value of students' experiencing a range of genres, deepening their understanding of what they could find in each one, and how to appreciate their varied purposes;5) Some very good lists of resources for student materials, focused bibliographies, and more.What I didn't like:1) Tanny McGregor is the most continuously-present element in this book, to its detriment -- there seems to be a lack of maturity and willingness to disengage her own ego from her goal of supporting others in their professional development -- starting with the dedication to her "published author" cat (including a putative quote from the animal), the cutesy hand-drawn acknowledgment page that looks as if it was done by one of my 11-year-old students, the prologue that includes a book she wrote in kindergarten, and her relentless focus on herself in every section -- including some 60 occurrences of "I" and "me" and "my" in the just first three pages of text (xi though 2);2) A lot of pages have little or no useful content of any kind, and many other pages quote other writers extensively instead of elaborating on her own explanations of her practice and/or expanding the number of genres that she included;3) No research-based support for her recommended strategies, including any before/after or comparative data she might have collected on her own over her 20+ years of teaching;4) Carelessness about at least some of her summaries of others' experiences and achievements, for which her editors should also be held accountable -- for example, on page 30 she credits Jules Henri Poincare with "conceiving non-Euclidean geometry" although that's one of the few things that this incredibly-versatile Frenchman did not do (he did come up with a Euclidean model for hyperbolic non-Euclidean geometry);4) Fluff coming ahead of substance (still with Tanny as the center of the universe) -- for example: on page 93, where she starts talking about informational text, we first get a page describing her father's reading habits and weekend-morning routine (including naming the bakery he patronized and the kind of doughnut he bought when he went out for the newspaper), then a full page of her personal experiences that required informational reading (a trip, a new puppy, etc.) and how it affected her, and FINALLY a wonderful "launching" lesson involving the careful reading of seed packets with students.Perhaps the line at the top of the back of the book unintentionally says it all: "Make a new connection with Tanny McGregor." What I really wanted was a new connection with ways to engage young readers with a range of genres. There is definitely worthwhile material here, but it's only a small part of the book and, in my opinion, not worth what I paid for it. I believe the author has the experience, creativity, and insight to do a much more professional treatment of her approach to teaching. I hope that will happen in her next book.

While not as powerful or as immediately practical as her first book, Comprehension Connections, McGregor has created a resource that teachers of all levels can use to make the daunting task of identifying the purposes of different genres more concrete and manageable for students. She includes a myriad of concrete object lessons and suggestions for art and music to help students deepen their understanding of the genres in the text. One disadvantage to this book is that in a time when Common Core State Standards call our attention to informational text more than ever, a single chapter focuses on informational text and another on autobiographies. However, this is a great framework for teaching students to identify and write in a variety of narrative genres!

McGregor has designed yet another eloquent sequence of Arts-infused lessons, perfect for any classroom. Students and teachers can embrace the genres together through these well crafted ideas. The lesson structure is also intentionally open-ended for teachers to authenticate by adding their own variety and creativity as they strive to meet the needs of the learners in their own classrooms.As an advocate for the whole child approach to education, I recommend this book, along with its companion "Comprehension Connections", to all educators. Both provide a strong foundation for turning abstract concepts concrete and allowing metaphoric language to become a natural part of the learning process. Engaging students in thoughtful processes that support and challenge their thinking is absolutely possible through these resources.

What an excellent, reader-friendly, multi-age friendly text. It is great for really getting the kids to think outside the box in an inquiry-based classroom. This is SUCH an asset to my classroom. I will buy more books by Tanny McGregor!

I thought this was a great resource to connect literature with music and art. There are specific examples for the art and music and it is explained how they are connected to the specific areas of literature.

It's super helpful for teaching reading to students. I meet Tammy this summer and, she signed my book. I have used several activities from the book and they were very successful.

I love comprehension connections, but this book leaves you wanting much more.

Truly a great book with engaging ideas! Fast shipping! I am very pleased with this purchase. I highly recommend this for all teachers.