Beyond “What I Did on Vacation”: Exploring the Genre of Travel Writing

Materials and Technology

Student Interactives

Printouts

Preparation

 

MATERIALS AND TECHNOLOGY

• Suggested Reading in the Travel Writing Genre
  
• Sample Piece of Travel Writing: “The Visit” (or substitute with your own piece if you prefer)
• Computer with Internet access

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STUDENT INTERACTIVES

Grades   3 – 10  |  Student Interactive  |  Writing & Publishing Prose

Multigenre Mapper

This interactive invites students to create original multigenre, multimodal works--one drawing and three written texts--making the tool flexible for multiple writing activities.

 

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PRINTOUTS

• Analysis of Travel Writing
  
• Elements of Good Travel Writing

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PREPARATION

1. Read and the Analysis of Travel Writing and note how the characteristics apply to “The Visit.”
   
2. Consider how travel writing might fit into your larger conversations with students about writing. For example, using travel writing as part of a genre approach to teaching writing can allow teachers to compare and contrast it with other forms of writing. There is a strong overlap between travel writing and personal narrative, as good travel writing centers on good stories and engaging voice and style. Mixed in with that, however, is the description and informational aspects of expository writing. Travel writing also often overlaps with persuasive writing, making emotional appeals to entice readers to take particular sorts of trips. Seeing travel writing as a hybrid genre not only will give students an additional form to work in; it will help them see aspects of familiar forms by comparison.
   
3. Make one copy of the Analysis of Travel Writing and Elements of Good Travel Writing for each student.
   
4. Test the Multigenre Mapper on your computers to familiarize yourself with the tool and ensure that you have the Flash plug-in installed. You can download the plug-in from the technical support page.

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