National Non-Fiction November

From Federation of Children's Book Groups

Resource type: Event

Price band: Free

Key stage: KS1, KS2, KS3

Region(s): All of UK

National Non-Fiction November was set up by the Federation of Children’s Book Groups as a way to highlight the importance of information books and to promote reading non-fiction for pleasure. Each year, National Non-Fiction November has a different theme. The theme for this year’s National Non-Fiction November is ‘Wonderful Water’.

The FCBG website provides resources to support National Non-Fiction November, including:

Themed booklists.
Ideas and activities to support National Non-fiction November.
A themed competition for children aged 5-12. The deadline for this year’s competition is Monday 4th December 2023.

About The Federation of Children’s Book Groups: The FCBG is an umbrella organisation that coordinates and supports the work of local Children’s Book Groups across the UK. As well as events for parents and children organised at a local level, the FCBG also organises the FCBG Children’s Book Award and other national events to help bring children and books together.

Further resources:

Sign up by October 15th to take part in this year’s What on Earth! Schools Quiz Challenge, a non-fiction quiz for KS2 and KS3 students. Online heats will take place at the start of November with an in-person Finals Day in London on Monday 27th November.
Schools who sign up before 30th November 2023 to run a Readathon sponsored read in 2023/24 will receive a free digital bundle of non-fiction resources and author videos and be entered into a prize draw for the chance to win one of 10 boxes of non-fiction books for the library (five for primary schools and five for secondary schools).
Meet like-minded lovers of information books at You Couldn’t Make it Up!, a one-day conference celebrating non-fiction on 11th November in Somerset. Speakers include authors Andy Seed, Isabel Thomas and Nicola Davies. Tickets cost £10 for FCBG members and £20 for non-members.
A report by the National Literacy Trust in 2022 has found that more than half of children and young people aged 8-18 read non-fiction in their free time. Non-fiction reading is also a great leveller, proving popular regardless of gender and socio-economic background. Find out more about the impact of non-fiction on young people’s motivation to read and their engagement with the world around them here.
Andy Seed, best-selling author of the Interview with a… series, has some tips on how to use factual book to get young people reading.
Are we enjoying A Golden Age of Non-fiction? This blog by Nikki Gamble of Just Imagine explores some of the features of good non-fiction writing and provides tips on what to look for when choosing non-fiction books for your library.
Good sources of recommendations for non-fiction books include CLPE’s CoreBooks and Books for Topics. LoveReading4Kids have also produced a list of 100 Great Non-Fiction Books for children of all ages.
Children’s book awards for non-fiction include the SLA Information Book Award, the Young People’s Book Prize and the UKLA Information Book Awards. Their shortlists are another good source of high-quality non-fiction titles for the library.
Get your pupils involved with choosing the winner of the SLA Information Book Award and the Young People’s Book Prize to encourage them to read and discuss non-fiction books.
Consider adding an age-appropriate newspaper and/or a non-fiction magazine to the library to provide a wide range of reading material for your students. Choose from a selection here.
Don’t forget that non-fiction authors also do author visits and workshops. Authors Aloud and Authors Abroad both have non-fiction authors on their books and can help arrange a visit that fits your needs.
Looking to explore the role of non-fiction in the primary classroom in more depth? Just Imagine and CLPE offer CPD courses that examine the specific reading and writing skills required by non-fiction and provide practical approaches for teaching non-fiction in the primary classroom.