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4th grade · English Language Arts · Unit 20 of 20

Genres and Connections

Myths, legends, historical fiction and more, and connections across cultures and eras.

What your child practices

Your child names genres (myth, legend, folktale, tall tale, historical and science fiction, biography, opinion piece) from their features and connects texts to other texts, cultural perspectives, eras and their own lives.

New York State Learning Standards learning standard: 4R9 · recognizing genres and connecting texts to other texts, ideas, cultures, eras and personal experiences

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. A myth explains nature. A legend is about a hero, with deeds that grow in the telling.
  2. Historical fiction is set in the past. Science fiction imagines future science.
  3. Connect texts to yourself, other texts, other cultures and the world.

Example: A story about a real hero from long ago grows more amazing with each telling. What genre is it? The hero may have been real. The deeds are stretched as it is retold. Answer: legend

Genres and Connections in New York

In the New York State Learning Standards, this is unit 20 of 20 in 4th grade English Language Arts, after Arguments, Evidence and Responses.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: New York State Education Department (NYSED)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    A text has an introduction, headings, photos and a glossary. What genre is it most likely?

    • poem
    • fairy tale
    • informational text
    • play

  2. Question 2

    A story is set on a spaceship in the year 3000. What genre is it?

    • folktale
    • historical fiction
    • science fiction
    • biography

  3. Question 3

    Which feature tells you a text is a biography?

    • It tells the true story of a real person's life.
    • It takes place in the future.
    • It has talking animals.
    • It starts with “Once upon a time.”

  4. Question 4

    A story explains how the sun and moon came to be, with powerful sky beings. What genre is it?

    • biography
    • how-to text
    • myth
    • news article

  5. Question 5

    Which question helps you compare two versions of the same fairy tale?

    • Which book costs more?
    • How are the characters and events alike and different?
    • Which book is heavier?
    • Which cover is shinier?

  6. Question 6

    A story written long ago uses words like “thee” and “thou.” What does this tell you?

    • It is a news report.
    • It is an instruction manual.
    • It is science fiction.
    • It was written in an earlier era.

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