Writers use narrative, informative, and opinion modes of writing across genres.
A slide from my key note, “Mandates, Standards, and Evaluations: Can Teachers Still Change the World? (All Write Summer Institute, Warsaw, IN June 2012)
Along with this slide, I said these words in the section of my key note called, “Using narrative, informative, and persuasion to tell your Story.”
One of the things unsettling to me is the segregation of the text types. Even though the text types appear to be separate, segregated into nice neat boxes, divided into narrative and informative standards, we know they aren’t separate little packages. They wrap around one another, working together with purpose and meaning. I used to think of narrative as a synonym for story. Common Core has made me reevaluate this, though. Sure narrative is a series of events told in a story-like fashion. But Story is bigger. Story, with a capital S, is much bigger.
Recently I had the privilege to hear James Kofi Annan tell his story. He is a survivor of child slavery. After he escaped, he eventually became a business man. Then he left his promising career in order to fight for freedom for Ghana’s children. He started Challenging Heights, a school, as a place to protect and educate children.
I am moved by his story. It is one made up of nightmares and eventually overcoming them. It is a story of walking away from prestige and money. James’ story faces the horrors of this world, and compels me to do everything I can, in my corner of the world, to make it right.
Story, the kind of story James Kofi Annan tells, changes the world. This rubs against the tendency to separate the text types – argument and informative and narrative. I remember James and how his story moves me. It wasn’t just a narrative, although narrative is the heart of making sense of the world. Informative reading and writing is the fodder for understanding the intricacies of the world. And opinion helps move us to action. James Kofi Annan used all three modes to tell his Story. One mode is not more important than another. The stories that inspire us eloquently combine all three.
Story is dependent on narrative, informative, and opinion. When I write fiction, my story is driven by research. The heart of my message is often found because of my opinions. It works the other way also. When I write an informative article, it is typically grounded by a narrative, and of course influenced by my opinions. These text types work together, each giving a little or a lot depending on the genre.
This weekend Sam and I had a conversation that reminded me of this. On Sunday morning he was reading A SEA FULL OF SHARKS by Betsy Maestro and illustrated by Giulio Maestro (Scholastic, 1990). In fact, he took it with him in the car because he didn’t want to leave without it. On the way home, after he finished reading the book and sharing some of his favorite facts, I asked him, “So howdo you think the author feels about sharks?”
He thought and said, “Probably that they are a good animal and interesting.”
“What makes you say that?”
A little more thinking, and then, “Well, all the pictures show cool stuff about them. And now I think they are a good animal too. Not as good as snakes, but maybe as good as dogs.”
“He’s right, Mom. They don’t look very scary in that book,” Hannah said, adding to the conversation.
We pulled in the garage and the day went on. I didn’t think much about our conversation again until it was time for books + bed at the end of the day.
Stephanie brought SHARK-A-PHOBIA by Grace Norwich (Scholastic, 2011) to the couch. “Well I bet that author thinks differently about sharks than what Sam was reading earlier,” Hannah said.
We all paused and looked at the cover. Sam retrieved the other shark book, and we looked at them side-by-side, deciding that it definitely looked like the authors were sending different messages about sharks.
All three modes of writing — narrative, opinion, and informative — influence everything we write.
This is a truth about writing. We may think we are writing an informative article or book, but in fact our opinions and stories influence the project. Just as we may be writing a narrative, but research and opinions will influence the way we tell the story.
In our world of instant information, it is crucial our students begin to consider the message authors are sending. Even if something is informative, it is still influenced by the author’s opinions. I think it would be interesting to collect several other shark books and articles (like this one from November 2011, “Shark fins off the menu at at top hotel” (CNN, online)) and give students a chance to reflect on the way the author’s message varies across the informative texts. Of course, sharks wouldn’t be the only topic I would gather in a basket. I would consider the interests of students and the availability of text and make several baskets of informative articles and books around many different topics.
This is also something I can see working at every grade level. We need to learn how to read texts and sort out the facts, as well as determine what facts are missing, and what the author’s ultimate message is. These are skills that will take years to hone.
How about you? Can you imagine this working in your neck of the woods?
Great Post! I love the line ” It wasn’t just a narrative, although narrative is the heart of making sense of the world. Informative reading and writing is the fodder for understanding the intricacies of the world. And opinion helps move us to action.” It says it all!
My 4th grade students and I got caught in this discussion last year ( and were late for gym). We were looking at the thin line between historical text and historical fiction text. We also discussed story that held our interest and helped us to see and feel the time period, information/ facts that told us what happened and opinion whose point of view were we reading. At fourth grade they really struggled to know which book fit in which genre basket. It was a very thin line. We as writers need all three to connect with our readers and move our story forward. We are readers need to see which part of each story is narrative, information and most importantly opinion.
Thank you for reminding me of that conversation. It will be a topic we will touch on often this year as we read and write.
When I heard this the first time in your keynote, it was an idea that stuck with me. Something I knew I wanted to do more thinking about. It amazes me how you are able to continuously deepen your thinking when it seems you already have ideas like this ‘figured out.’ I enjoy following your thoughts–the way you develop ideas and anchor them to your thinking.
Although, like you said, other topics would work, the idea of using sharks is brilliant. It is such a concrete place to start because they are portrayed both negatively and positively in the media, depending on the situation.
Working with students in writing workshop, helping them to tell what they want to tell does include all the facets of genres. We can go back, way back, to before print, to the storytellers around the fire, telling stories for others that helped make sense of the world as much as they could (how the world began), or to give a lesson (think of the Coyote tales), or to entertain. When we say Story, as you have so beautifully described it, I also think “make sense of the world as I see it”. Sometimes it’s feelings, perhaps through poetry, sometimes it’s knowledge, perhaps through how-to diagrams. I love that you started this kind of thinking Ruth. Thank you.
Ruth, I loved this idea. In fact, I loved it so much and used it as a spring board to do my blog today. Hope you are okay with that. I did reference you!!! Thanks for getting me to think in a different way. You always have a way of doing that!
I loved this post and would enjoy seeing more glimpses into your slides/what you said along with additional thoughts as you did in this post. I agree that raising students’ awareness of author’s intentions/opinions is huge. I can definitely see your idea of exploring/discussing multiple texts as being relevant for my 6th-8th graders. I also like the possibilities for interactions with younger students as was illustrated by the multi-age interactions between you and your kids.
The TCRWP calls these hybrid texts. It is so funny that you are blogging about this . . . we were just talking about this on twitter. Information, opinion, narrative – all are in the service of intention. What is the writer trying to say? We write to be heard and so we often tell a story to inform or persuade, or we inform through linking story and opinion, or we voice our opinion through weaving story and information together. What are the implications for our teaching? While I think there is merit in teaching genres, it is important for the continuum to be spiraling so that inside of our teaching, and our work with mentor texts, we’re highlighting how writers often draw on these different ‘modes’ regardless of the genre or UOS that is driving their work. It is such a great argument for a unit on choice, which genre will best communicate what you are trying to say? This would support large scale revision – Does this sound better as a poem, a feature article, an editorial or memoir? Great food for thought.
I, too, have had a difficult time keeping genres separate. I feel like I’m limiting students when I ask them to write personal narratives or realistic fiction or expository piece. When we look at picture books as mentor texts, authors inspire ideas that fit outside of the traditional genre labels.
I think it’s far more effective to enjoy a book and, later in the year, read it again in order to discuss specific things the author(s) did.
In the case of nonfiction, authors send a message that “Sharks are [insert adjective] and circle around that theme. A thesis usually includes an opinion statement.
I guess it would be nice (for teaching purposes) if all books fit into defined genres. Yet those defined genres would be so limiting.