Comparing Genres | Parent Activity Guide

What is Your Child Learning?

Eighth graders are learning to compare how genre (the type of text - novel, poem, play, etc.) shapes the way stories are told. They also analyze how modern works adapt classic texts, exploring what changes, what stays the same, and why those choices matter.

This skill is highly relevant - your child encounters adaptations constantly through movies, TV shows, and modern retellings of classic stories!

Key Vocabulary

Genre: The category or type of text (novel, poetry, drama, short story, etc.)

Genre Conventions: The typical features expected in a genre (dialogue in drama, rhyme in poetry)

Adaptation: When a story is transformed into a different format (book to movie)

Interpretation: How someone understands the meaning of a text

Activities to Try at Home

🎬 Book-to-Movie Comparison Night

After reading a book together (or one your child has read), watch the movie adaptation:

Discuss: "What scenes were kept? What was cut? Why?"
"How did the movie show things the book could only describe?"
"How did the book show character thoughts that the movie couldn't?"
"Which version did you prefer for this story? Why?"

Good pairs: The Giver, Wonder, The Outsiders, Percy Jackson, Harry Potter

🎭 Same Story, Different Tellings

Find different versions of the same story:

Read a fairy tale (Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast) in original form
Watch the Disney animated version
Watch a modern live-action or musical version
Compare: What does each version emphasize? What's the tone?

📚 Modern Retellings Discussion

Many popular books are modern versions of classics:

West Side Story = Romeo and Juliet
The Lion King = Hamlet
10 Things I Hate About You = Taming of the Shrew
Clueless = Emma

Discuss: "Why do you think they updated the setting and characters? What themes are the same?"

📝 Genre Transformation Game

Take a familiar story and imagine it in different genres:

"How would Goldilocks be different as a horror movie?"
"What would The Hunger Games be like as a comedy?"
"How would a poem about Cinderella be different from the story?"
This helps kids understand how genre shapes meaning!

Parent Tip: Focus on WHY, Not Just WHAT

When comparing versions, the key question isn't just "What's different?" but "Why might the creators have made those changes?"

Prompt with questions like:
- "They moved the setting to modern-day New York. Why might that make the story more relevant?"
- "The movie cut that whole subplot. What do you think they gained by making it shorter?"
- "The book lets us hear the character's thoughts, but the movie can't do that. How did they show his emotions instead?"

Questions to Ask When Comparing Versions

What's the same? "What core elements stayed from the original?"
What's different? "What changed in this version?"
What's gained? "What can this format do that the original couldn't?"
What's lost? "What from the original is missing here?"
Why? "Why do you think they made those choices?"
Effect? "How do the changes affect your experience as a reader/viewer?"

Genre Strengths and Limitations

Novels/Prose

Can: Show thoughts, detailed description, complex plots

Can't: Show visuals, provide sound/music

Film/TV

Can: Visual storytelling, music, action

Can't: Directly show thoughts

Poetry

Can: Emotional intensity, rhythm, compressed meaning

Can't: Extended plot, detailed character development

Drama/Plays

Can: Dialogue, live performance, audience connection

Can't: Internal thoughts, location changes easily

Informacion para Padres (Spanish Summary)

Que esta aprendiendo su hijo? Los estudiantes de octavo grado aprenden a comparar como el genero (tipo de texto) afecta la manera en que se cuentan las historias. Tambien analizan como las obras modernas adaptan textos clasicos.

Actividad en casa: Despues de leer un libro, vean la pelicula juntos. Comparen que se mantuvo igual, que cambio, y por que creen que se hicieron esos cambios.

Preguntas para hacer:

"Que es igual en ambas versiones?"
"Que cambio? Por que crees que lo cambiaron?"
"Que puede mostrar la pelicula que el libro no puede?"
"Que puede mostrar el libro que la pelicula no puede?"

Comparing Genres - Parent Activity Guide