Features of the many genres called factual, informational or non-fiction are discussed under separate entries. Supporting children’s reading and writing of non-fiction is covered under the entry ‘non-fiction reading and writing’. This section considers the nature of factual kinds of material in general and its relevance to Primary English.
Factual genres describe, explain, organise and explore aspects of the real world we all inhabit. This contrasts with fiction which is less tied to the actual, exploring the possible and the inner world of the human imagination. The differences can be quite difficult to pin down, though generally we can tell to which general category – fact or fiction – a particular piece of written material belongs. Good factual writing often demands imaginative power and the ability to think laterally. Some experts can write speculatively about their field and show the same wonder and curiosity as a young child. Nearly every factual topic carries ethical issues which demand the sort of discussion we often associate with the best work in English lessons. The information explosion brought about by human endeavour and progress together with the technological revolution, the use of powerful computers and the Internet, has transformed the sheer amount and variety of information available to us – a veritable explosion. This has made it all the more necessary to have strategies for selecting and accessing and making sense of and critically assessing all the information now available.
Fiction in all its forms and children’s response to it is the beating heart of English and so we can think of factual kinds of reading and writing mainly informing other lessons. But we all know this division is too stark. Just as stories and poems can infuse life and meaning into work across the curriculum, some factual genres have an important place in the English lesson. In the introduction to this encyclopedia, it is argued that feelings about issues and events as well as thought and reflection are central to learning in English. Teachers draw on all kinds of text in a classroom where there is informed discussion about all the issues that concern human beings. Newspapers and magazines are worth rifling for features and readers’ letters on themes like homework, hunting and waste disposal. These can serve as models for children’s own letters and oral arguments. Children now often share these reflections using e-mail and the Internet to link with children in other schools.
Factual books and the Internet can often enrich reading stories and novels involving interesting issues. Children reading Dick King-Smith’s The Sheep-pig asked for information about pigs to do with their breeding, life span and intelligence. Information books were sought on all these aspects and energised the children’s response to the story (Mallett, 1992). I observed work in a Year 6 class where factual texts were used fruitfully alongside Ted Hughes’ The Iron Woman to illuminate environmental issues.
The National Curriculum and the 2006 Framework encourage teachers to widen the range of texts used in the primary classroom. The six categories of non-fiction included in the Framework are recount, report, explanation, discussion, persuasion and instruction (procedural). Medwell et al. suggest a slight revision of the text type list, placing ‘explanation’ under the ‘report’ category and adding ‘reference’ and ‘records’ (Medwell et al., 2007). There are also some literary non-fiction genres, for example autobiography, biography and travel books. In the later primary years, children make progress in the more challenging kinds of factual genres, such as persuasive and journalistic kinds of reading and writing. The discussion text gives more than one viewpoint which children can then talk about, perhaps justifying their own opinion.
Derewianka, Beverley (1996) Exploring the Writing of Genres Royston, Herts: UKRA.
Mallett, Margaret (1992) ‘How long does a pig live?’ in Kimberley, K., Meek, M. and Miller, J. New Readings: contributions to an understanding of literacy London: A&C Black.
Mallett, Margaret (1999) Young Researchers: Informational Reading and Writing in the Early and Primary Years London: Routledge.
Medwell, J. Moore, G., Wray, D. and Griffiths, V. (2007, third edition). Primary English: Knowledge and Understanding. Exeter: Continuum.
Wilson, Angela (2005, third edition) Language Knowledge for Primary Teachers London: David Fulton.
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