It was a warm July evening and Cornerstone's Literacy Fellows were gathered on a patio outside the Ace Center. It was "only" about our tenth (or was it our twentieth) meeting during the '04 Summer Institute, and we found ourselves drifting a bit off topic—encouraged perhaps by the bottle of wine that was sitting in the middle of our table.

" You know," someone announced, "we really should write a book." Whether the idea was intended as a serious one, or just in jest was never entirely clear. But it didn't seem to matter. Suddenly we were transformed from five literacy fellows (who already had plenty to do) to five-literacy-fellows-who-were-writing-a-book. The idea took shape quite quickly.

As Literacy Fellows, we are always seeking ways to help schools translate theory into practice, particularly around comprehension strategy instruction. Too many teachers view comprehension strategies as discrete entities—a few connections here, a few inferences there—instead of an integrated palate of strategic possibilities. They also regard comprehension strategies as an end in themselves; they want the kids to "get good" at comprehension strategies, when they should set their sights on helping students "get good" at comprehension. There are also too few authentic reading-writing connections in the classroom. Teachers say they teach "literacy," but too often that means spending a lot of time teaching reading, and squeezing in some writing if time allows.

To address all of these needs, we decided to collaborate on a project that focused on the study of different literary genres through the application of comprehension strategies. The goal was to make the implementation of comprehension strategy instruction more concrete (and classroom ready) while also providing teachers with a broader and deeper vision of literacy.

Studying the elements of various genres would surely enhance teachers' and students' understanding of literacy from many perspectives. In order to fully appreciate a piece of historical fiction or a memoir or an essay, the reader needs to recognize what is involved in crafting such a text: What components comprise a memoir—or a piece of writing in any genre? Similarly, a deeper knowledge of the author's craft makes it easier to interpret a text as the reader now knows what to look for. Hence, characters, plot, conflict, theme, and setting become more accessible to readers. It also becomes much simpler for students to write in that genre when they know what elements to include.

We decided to focus on various nonfiction genres, as informational text typically receives too little attention in elementary classrooms. But how would we classify individual genres within this broad category? And exactly what is a "genre" anyway? For example, is poetry a genre? Some sources say yes; others suggest that poetry is a format to convey meaning within any genre.

After considerable discussion, we agreed to classify our genres into two basic categories: narrative (which is sometimes referred to as chronological writing by our British colleagues) and expository (defined as non-chronological writing). Then each member of our writing team chose a genre within one of these two categories. Six chapters would grow out of this thinking:

Educators will note that several of these genres may appear on the reading and writing portions of their state literacy assessments. While the prospect of high-stakes testing is not the only reason for teaching a particular genre, "adequate yearly progress" is a factor to which all teachers today are accountable. Teaching about different genres is an educationally sound means of helping students achieve that yearly progress. It isn't meant to be a "quick fix" or gimmick for "teaching to the test;" teaching about different genres is a legitimate and important dimension of any comprehensive literacy program—that just might raise test scores, too.

So, when your literacy fellow isn't working with you at your school, meeting with coaches or providing model lessons in classrooms, she is hard at work crafting a chapter that will supply you with all you need to know to teach a nonfiction genre strategically: three shared and three guided reading lessons AND the texts you will use to teach those lessons. We can't wait to put this book in your hands at next year's Summer Institute. (That's July '06.) We think you will find this a quality teaching resource that increases the rigor of literacy learning in a manner that is meaningful and manageable to both kids and teachers. Stay tuned for up-dates!