Genre Detective Files

This worksheet engages students in Grades 4, 5, and 6 as they become literary detectives, analyzing short “case files” to determine the correct genre for each text. Learners examine brief summaries for clues about characters, setting, plot structure, and theme, then use evidence-based reasoning to classify each passage as science fiction, realistic fiction, fantasy, biography, mystery, or informational text.

Learning Goals

• Genre Identification & Classification (Grades 4-6) – Students accurately determine a text’s genre using key literary traits.
• Reading Comprehension of Summaries – Learners extract essential information from short descriptions.
• Recognizing Narrative Patterns – Students identify common genre signals such as futuristic elements, real-life events, factual tone, or problem-solving plots.
• Evidence-Based Reasoning – Encourages using specific details to justify genre choices.

Instructional Benefits

• Teacher-Created Resource – Designed by educators to align with upper-elementary ELA standards.
• Efficient, High-Engagement Format – “Case file” theme motivates careful reading and quick analysis.
• Supports Genre Mastery – Helps students classify texts accurately without needing full passages.
• Flexible Classroom Use – Ideal for assessments, literacy centers, review lessons, small groups, or test prep.

This genre detective files worksheet helps students build confidence in recognizing and classifying genres by focusing on the most important literary clues. By analyzing summaries and matching them to the correct genre, learners strengthen comprehension, critical thinking, and literary awareness-skills that transfer across reading tasks and content areas.

This worksheet is part of our Genres of Literature Worksheets collection.