The Journey Through the Genres

Hello my name is Esther and I am taking part in the 20% project. My project is on the multiple different journeys that you can be taken on when using different genres of literature. I have decided to use ages 7-9 for this project because this age group have a natural sense and curiosity for adventure but are also not easily intrigued by the quest set before them. My goal in this project is to take in the next 5 weeks 5 different genres of books and present them with hands on activities and present the kids with a big question that the kids are responsible for solving by the end of the book. They will also be questioned throughout the book to see if they are paying attention and appear intrigued or bored in this new way of reading.
I decided this goal for my project because I love reading and when I read I become part of the story, and the idea of giving young kids the adventure I embark when I read is something that excites me very much. I think all young kids should be able to journey to a new world, land, or realm every time they read whether it is the future, past, present, or in space I want them to feel as if they are really there.
I plan to reach this goal by-

• Going online and researching the word genre.
• Then I will choose the genres I will present to the kids throughout the 5 weeks and look up what each genre means.
• I will then pick out the book for that week and read over it to decide on my question the kids will try to solve in that book.
• I will create or find an activity for them to do based on that week's genre.
• Finally I will present the kids with this project and study their reaction.

I have already spoken with my mentor; she is a family friend who also happens to be a teacher at Cottonwood Creek Charter School for a second and third grade combination class. We have already met and discussed how the day each week will go and we will be furthering our discussion each week to decide on the next week's genre.

I expect that the most challenging obstacle would be to find the area of interest of the kids in an age appropriate book and in text they will understand. I very well can't bring in Shakespeare as a possible genre for drama, that would sound like Spanish to a child. I plan on overcoming this obstacle by speaking to my mentor each week once my genre is chosen and asking what books in that area of topic most intrigue the kids.

So there is my battle plan for my 20% project, I am very confident with this project and hope to morph the minds of kids more and more each week.