Name: _________________________
Identifying Genre
Directions: Read the titles and descriptions of the stories.  Identify the genre and subgenre using the word bank.  Some items may repeat.

Main Genre: fiction, nonfiction, folk tale, drama, and poetry (poetry may not have a subgenre). 

Subgenre: autobiography, biography, comedy, essay, fable, fairy tale, historical fiction, informational writing, legend, myth, science fiction, tall tale, technical writing, and tragedy (there are other subgenres but they are not tested on ISAT).	

1. Story of Alfred Bulltop Stormalong by unknown: Stormalong was said to be a sailor and a giant, some 30 feet tall; he was the master of a huge clipper ship known in various sources as either the Courser or the Tuscarora, a ship so tall that it had hinged masts to avoid catching on the moon.

Genre: ________________________________	Subgenre: ________________________________

2. The Endurance: Shackleton`s Legendary Antarctic Expedition by Caroline Alexander: Photos and first person accounts describe Shackleton's 1914 expedition to Antarctica in this companion volume to a museum exhibit.

Genre: ________________________________	Subgenre: ________________________________

3.  The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer: Humans and clones populate a corrupt drug empire located between the United States and Mexico in this futuristic thriller.

Genre: ________________________________	Subgenre: ________________________________

4. Story of Robin Hood by unknown: Robin Hood is a highly-skilled archer and outlaw who actually existed. He is known for "stealing from the rich and giving to the poor" assisted by a group of outlaws known as his "Merry Men". There are many songs and stories about him. Though he was a real person, many of the facts surrounding him have been distorted or greatly exaggerated.

Genre: ________________________________	Subgenre: ________________________________

5.  This Land Was Made for You and Me: The Life and Songs of Woody Guthrie by Elizabeth Partridge: 
An award-winning author has taken the life of this songwriting genius and woven his lyrics and other material into a touching and entertaining portrait of a true genius.

Genre: ________________________________	Subgenre: ________________________________

6. What are My Rights?: 95 Questions and Answers About Teens and the Law by Thomas A. Jacobs: Teenagers have many questions about the law, but often they don't know where to turn for answers. This book makes it easy to explore 95 legal questions that pertain specifically to them. 

Genre: ________________________________	Subgenre: ________________________________

7. The Wall: Growing up behind the Iron Curtain by Peter Sis: In his most personal work to date, Peter Sis offers a brilliant graphic memoir, taking readers on an extraordinary journey as he recalls his youth growing up in Czechoslovakia in the 1960s, when his country was on the Communist side of the Iron Curtain. 

Genre: ________________________________	Subgenre: ________________________________

8.  Story of Achilles by unknown: During the Trojan War, Achilles was the Greek's best warrior; his nymph mother, assisted by the gods, held him by his heel when she dipped him in the River Styx making him immortal everywhere but there.

Genre: ________________________________	Subgenre: ________________________________

9.  Anna of Byzantium by Tracy Barrett: In the eleventh century, the teenage princess Anna Comnena fights for her birthright--the throne to the Byzantine Empire--which she fears will be taken from her by her younger brother, John.

Genre: ________________________________	Subgenre: ________________________________

10.  Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance by Barack Obama:  Born in 1961 to a white American woman and a black Kenyan student, Obama was reared in Hawaii by his mother and her parents, his father having left for further study and a return home to Africa. So Obama's not-unhappy youth is nevertheless a lonely voyage to racial identity, tensions in school, struggling with black literature.  This is his story in his own words.  

Genre: ________________________________	Subgenre: ________________________________

11.  “My Summer Vacation in The Dells” by Jerome Gardner: Jerome Gardner describes his trip to Wisconsin Dells in five thrilling paragraphs.

Genre: ________________________________	Subgenre: ________________________________

12.  “The Story of the Three Bears” by unknown: Goldilocks, a little girl with blonde hair, is lost in the forest.  She comes upon a house that seems comfortable and safe, but the house is actually the home of a family of bears.  

Genre: ________________________________	Subgenre: ________________________________

13.  “The Lion and the Mouse” by unknown: A lion almost eats a mouse that woke him, but the mouse begs forgiveness and promises to return the favor. The lion lets the mouse go.  Later, the lion is captured by hunters and tied to a tree; the lion roars for help. The mouse hears the lion's pleas and frees him by gnawing through the ropes. The last line of the story is: “Little friends may prove great friends.”

Genre: ________________________________	Subgenre: ________________________________

14.  “Xbox 360 Operations Manual” by Microsoft: Explains how to operate the Xbox 360 and includes a trouble shooting guide.  

Genre: ________________________________	Subgenre: ________________________________

15.  “Little Red Riding Hood” by unknown: a girl walks through the woods to deliver food to her sick grandmother.  A wolf goes to the grandmother's house, eats the grandmother, and waits for the girl, disguised as the grandmother.  

Genre: ________________________________	Subgenre: ________________________________