Last year, I took a course at EIU about Genre Theory, and as part of the course readings, I discovered an opinion from one author who claimed that readers determine the genre of a literary work. This seemed counter-intuitive to me, so I tested the claim in my classroom. I found it to be an interesting experiment, so I repeated it this year in English IA.
On Monday, I discussed the features and characteristics of three different genres (Action/Adventure, Horror, and Suspense/Thriller) with my students. On Tuesday, the students read "The Most Dangerous Game," and answered reading check questions on Wednesday. Yesterday, I surveyed the students and had them label their genre identifications of the story. Once again, the theory was supported by the varied answers to the survey.
Additionally, I expanded the lesson to provide an overview of the methods used to conduct academic social research. We went through the adaptation of the Scientific Method, collection of data, and analysis/interpretation of data. All in all, it was an interesting and enlightening day for me and the students.