The Multigenre Project:
An Interesting and Engaging Alternative
to Research Papers
I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of doing my multigenre project. It was an interesting and engaging alternative to the typical research paper. After using traditional research methods like books, magazine articles, and the Internet, I was able to incorporate my imagination and creativity into the facts that I found to compose a more meaningful, appealing product. I found myself putting careful thought into my genre choices to make the selections that would be most effective in sharing the information and conveying the desired tone or mood of the pieces. The thought process that went into interpreting the research and creating my product allowed me to better understand and retain the information I learned. One thing I have come to understand about learning is that the process of transferring or reorganizing the information from one format to another provides a deeper understanding than simply restating facts found in a book or on the Internet.
As a kindergarten teacher, I would not use multigenre projects with my students, but I definitely see the benefit and value of this type of assignment. Allowing students choices in their genres of writing encourages them to take ownership of the project, which in turn leads to more meaningful, authentic learning. The freedom to be creative motivates students in a way that is beyond comparison. After completing my project, I have found myself enthusiastically sharing the multigenre project idea with my colleagues who teach older students. When creating my multigenre invitation to students, I used my husband’s 7th and 8th grade band students. I adapted a musician research project he assigns to his students each year in February for Black History Month. In my planning discussions with my husband, I asked him if he thought this was something his students would enjoy. He felt that if given the choice between writing a paper and creating a multigenre project, his students would probably choose the more familiar presentation format of a research paper. But he added that if the students were required to take the multigenre approach, they would embrace it and show a great deal of creativity. I am very excited to see what his students come up with when they create and present their Black History Month multigenre projects in February.