Abstract: Current understandings of the notion of genre that focus on language features in the written product, underestimate the fundamental social makeup of genres. This study offers an alternative social view of genres, applying a communicative or genre practices approach to reveal the proximal social actions that take place in the enactment of genres. This ethnographic study takes place in a third grade class, and follows the activities of four children as they respond to situations for composing provided by their teacher. The genre practices approach taken helps make explicit the links between the social-situational features and activities given by the teacher, and the emergent activity taken by particular children in response, in the enactment of genres. In so doing, it highlights the importance of providing a diversity of situations and activities, including child-chosen and controlled ones, for the growth of children's facility with an expansive repertoire of genre practices. Current understandings of the notion of genre that focus on language features in the written product, underestimate the fundamental social makeup of genres. This study offers an alternative social view of genres, applying a communicative or genre practices approach to reveal the proximal social actions that take place in the enactment of genres. This ethnographic study takes place in a third grade class, and follows the activities of four children as they respond to situations for composing provided by their teacher. The genre practices approach taken helps make explicit the links between the social-situational features and activities given by the teacher, and the emergent activity taken by particular children in response, in the enactment of genres. In so doing, it highlights the importance of providing a diversity of situations and activities, including child-chosen and controlled ones, for the growth of children's facility with an expansive repertoire of genre practices.