Help your students explore the different literary genres by downloading Easy Teacher Genre worksheets.

In all forms of creative expression such as art, music, and literature there are styles or forms of content that allows us to group bodies of work. These styles or groups are called genres. If you view a music app, you will clearly see all the different forms of music (Country, Hip Hop, Pop, etc.) available to be played. All of these different forms of expression have a particular feature that makes them stand out. It is important that students learn to distinguish between the different genres of work because it helps them set their expectations of the work. In literature there are five main genres of literature: drama, fiction, poetry, prose, and nonfiction. The nature of the genre of a piece of literature is often given away by the title. The cover of a book can also be a dead giveaway. The third-person view is when the author is serving as the narrator for the story. This form often uses third-person pronouns (he/she) throughout the work.

As your students make gains learning about grammar and phonics, the next step on the learning ladder involves getting the kids interested in reading books. By describing the numerous literary genres, you can direct students towards a genre or two that especially interests them. The 15 worksheets in the Genre series of grammar and phonics lessons offer different learning styles to match the unique needs of each kid. For example, more visually oriented students might prefer to learn about literary genres through the use of images. What literary genre sparks the interest in your students? You will never know until you unleash the education magic of Easy Teacher Genre worksheets.



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Printable Genres Worksheets

Click the buttons to print each worksheet and answer key.

Match Me Worksheet

Match Me Game

Match each genre with its purpose. The titles are found on the left of the worksheet and the description can be found to the right.

In Literature Worksheet

Genres in Literature

What does it mean when a work belongs to a particular genre?

Literary Types Worksheet

Literary Types

Works that belong to a particular genre share certain characteristics. Identify the primary characteristics that each of the genres below have in common. Then provide an example of each.

Identifying the Genre Worksheet

Identifying the Genre

Read the passage. Identify the literary genre. You will also be asked why you saw it in a certain light.

What's the Genre Worksheet

What's the Genre?

Match each of the descriptions of each of the books to the correct genre.

Fiction and It's Parts Worksheet

Fiction and It's Parts

In addition to the genres that you are probably familiar with, like science fiction, mysteries, or romance, fiction is often referred to by many different terms. Read each book description. Identify whether it is literary, commercial, or mainstream fiction.

Identifying Worksheet

Identifying What's Going On

Match each story description to the correct genre.

Characteristics Genres Worksheet

Characteristics of Different Genres

Match each genre to its primary characteristics. There are some secondary concept in a few of the descriptions.

Fiction and Non-fiction Worksheet

Fiction and Non-fiction Genres

Identify whether each genre is fiction or non-fiction. These basically indicate if the plot, characters, and/or settings are part of the author's imagination.

Famous Novels Worksheet

Famous Worksheet

The sentences below are descriptions of famous novels. Read the description and identify the most likely genre of each story. You may use each genre more than once.

Catch-22 Worksheet

Satire: Catch-22

Satire is characterized primarily by a strong sense of irony or sarcasm. Often, the irony is that the satire claims to approve of or champion the very aspect of individuals or society that it attacks.

1984 Worksheet

Dystopia: 1984

A dystopia is an imagined place or state in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmentally degraded society.

In the Text Worksheet

In the Text

Read each story description. Identify the most likely genre, and write it on the line. Explain your answer by referring to the text.

Animal Farm Worksheet

Allegory: Animal Farm

An allegory is an artistic work that can be interpreted to reveal an additional, "hidden" (often moral or political) meaning.

Adventure Worksheet

The Adventure Genre

A story in the adventure genre is about events that happen outside the course of the protagonist's ordinary life.

My Adventure Worksheet

My Adventure

Choose an adventure story. Read the book. Write a short persuasive paper that makes the case for why the book belongs in the adventure genre. Use the questions below as a guide.

What Are the Genres Of Literature?

But, have you wondered what the genres of literature are? Read on to find out about the four major genres of literature.

Four Primary Genres of Literature

Even though the four different genres of literature separate different kinds of literature from each other, there is no hard or fast rule that an author needs to follow to fit into these genres. You will come across numerous pieces of literature that might break genre conventions.

These genres are just a way of separating different kinds of literature from each other. Let's discuss the four primary genres of literature in detail.

Poetry

Poetry is a form of literature that focuses on imagery and feelings. It stresses the meter and rhythm to form beautiful rhyming verses that touch the soul. However, poetry doesn't always rhyme; a new kind of poetry that D.H. Lawrence spoke about has emerged. This form of poetry is called free verse poetry, and the verses do not rhyme.

Poetry is assembled in lines and stanzas. It does not require any characters, plot, or climax. It can be about anything from nature to sorrow or death; it has different themes. However, narrative poetry may sometimes have characters or a plot because writers may narrate an image, feeling, or a moment.

Fiction

Fiction is one of the most popular genres of literature. Fiction can be defined as any work of literature written in the form of prose. It is not real and stems from a writer's imagination. Real humans and events may inspire a fictional work, but they may be altered, and the characters may be given different names.

Fiction can be a fairytale, thriller, romance, horror, or novella. Unlike poetry, it should have structure and punctuations, and it is a lot of time broken up into chapters. Some famous examples of fictional work are Harry Potter and The Great Gatsby.

Non-Fiction

Nonfiction is the opposite of Fiction, which deals with actual life events or stories. The characters in nonfiction are real humans. These works of literature can take the form of essays, books, biographies, journals, and autobiographies.

For example, the unabridged journals of Sylvia Plath are a great example of a famous nonfictional piece of literature. These transcriptions by the renowned author touch upon Plath's life story and struggles.

Drama

You must have heard about the most famous drama 'Romeo and Juliet' written by the one and only Shakespeare. This genre of literature is also called a play and is meant to be performed or acted out.

Drama's come in the form of scripts that include dialogues, props, costumes, stage directions, emphasis on lighting, and background music.

They are plot-based, and mostly the plot is based upon some conflict. There are different genres of drama, such as satire, tragedy, romance, and comedy.

Wrapping Up

Now that you know about the four primary genres of literature, which one do you choose to explore first? Literature has so much to offer; a lifetime would not even be enough to explore all the beautiful works that famous writers have left behind.

So, start exploring the four genres of literature mentioned above to find out what speaks to you the most and get lost in the depths of words.