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 2022 is Communication.

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

Themed booklists.
An illustrated ‘Interview With’ competition. Based on the Interview With series, pupils aged 5-12 are invited to write and illustrate a Q and A style interview with an animal or historical character of their choice. Deadline for entries is 5th December 2022.
Ideas and activities to help celebrate NNFN.

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:

Science writer and children’s author Isabel Thomas will be talking about her latest book The Bedtime Book of Impossible Questions in a free online event for the ReadingZone Bookclub on Friday 11th November.
Join National Geographic Kids journalist Tim Herbert for a free, live Writing for the Planet event for KS2 pupils on Monday 28th November. Find out how journalists use non-fiction writing to explore the world around them and get some top tips on how to research and write your own own non-fiction story.
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.
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.