Fiction is literature drawing on invention and the inner world of the imagination, often using figurative language to get meaning across. The books listed below, and particularly Barrs’ The Core Booklist, give help in choosing good examples of children’s picture books, novels, short stories, play scripts and poems as well as taped and electronic books. Mills and Webb (2004) clearly explain some of the elements in good texts for younger readers, for example, familiarity and the possibility of growth and challenge. Journals which regularly review children’s fiction include Books for Keeps, The School Librarian, The Times Educational Supplement, Signal and Language Matters. Annotated and regularly updated book lists for different age groups and abilities are available from the Young Book Trust (www.booktrusted.co.uk). There are also many helpful Internet sites to guide resource selection including: http://www.listening-books.org.uk.
What is a quality fiction text for children? It might well have some of the following qualities: strong plot, interesting and convincing characters, language that is alive and powerful, layers of meaning, well-described settings providing virtual experience of other environments, relevance to a range of human issues and engaging feelings as well as thoughts. The best books have something profound to say about the human condition and particularly the experience of the growing child – but not in a self-conscious way. In fact, children respond to humour, even if some darker issues are explored. Although nearly every possible topic has been explored in children’s fiction, I cannot think of a book which is completely pessimistic – the ending offers at least some hope. Looking at the whole fiction collection we would want to have books that appeal to both genders, which include children who have their roots in every part of the world and avoid unwelcome bias.
By the end of the primary years we hope that children will have become confident and enthusiastic readers of fiction both at home and in school. We have succeeded if children read fiction independently and by choice. The entries on the novel and on emotional literacy aim to explain the distinctive contribution reading quality fiction makes to a child’s intellectual and emotional development. New technologies are making an impact on the way fiction is taught in schools. Children are looking at the diversity of fictional narratives in film, picture books and DVD games. As Gamble (2004) points out, interactive gaming, role-playing and storymaking are likely to be significant in the classrooms of the future.
In the United Kingdom, primary teachers work within the frameworks of the National Curriculum English programmes and the 2006 Framework; the fiction element of these frameworks assume practitioners have a certain level of language awareness and subject knowledge (see Angela Wilson, 2005). At whole-text level, there are some questions which can usefully be asked of each work: what kind of text it is; if appropriate, what is important about the plot, characterisation and setting; how the resolution of central conflicts is achieved; whether there are some particular human issues considered in an illuminating way. Sentence-level study will involve drawing attention to kinds of syntactic structures used and use of literary devices like metaphor and simile while word-level work will focus on the vocabulary used and its impact. Statutory requirements must be heeded, but hopefully this will not prevent us from emphasising reading for meaning and pleasure in our daily practice. Response to fiction can be explored and deepened by carefully chosen activities. Benton and Fox (1986) consider that activities before, alongside or after hearing a story, play or poem should be those which lead children deeper into the layers of meaning. Sometimes just to listen or to read and reflect silently is enough, but often the children’s response will be developed by a carefully thought out activity. Teachers know best which activities are most likely to interest the children in their class after they have enjoyed a particular piece of fiction. The suggestions in books by Chambers, Graham, Mallett and Marriot and in the list below may be helpful, particularly to students and to beginning teachers. This list is culled from many books and classroom examples. There is some evidence, for example, that greater success is experienced by girls in GCSE English, and that very generally boys lag behind in reading and appreciating fiction. In my experience both boys and girls enjoy the activities listed below where they have been explained and introduced well. I will never forget the power and passion of a discussion about what makes a good friend by a group of ten year old boys and girls after a teacher’s lively reading of Gene Kemp’s The Turbulent Term of Tyke Tiler. You need to decide at which point to introduce an activity – before, during or after the shared reading. Your choice will be affected by the nature of the actual text, the best ways of working in your particular classroom context and the age, abilities and preferences of the individuals that make up your class. So adapt, extend and ring the changes.
Extending Reading Response
Speaking and listening
• retelling the story
• reading favourite parts out loud
• sharing predictions about how a story will develop
• talking about the issues in a class or group setting
• individuals presenting an opinion on an aspect of the text – characterisation, setting, plot or resolution to encourage further discussion
• if appropriate, talking about and interpreting illustrations
• imagining the content of letters and conversations (could be written down later)
• talking about the writer’s use of language and imagery for particular effects
• dramatic improvisation round issues
• tape recording a pretend radio book review programme
• thinking aloud in role – revealing a character’s motivations
• hot seating – one child takes up the role of a central character and answers questions from teacher and other children.
Writing
• ‘reading journals’ (see Judith Graham’s photocopiable framework in Cracking Good Books or devise your own, consulting the children)
• preparing character dossier with reports, letters and sketches
• creating timelines – chronological charts of events in the story
• scripting part of a story
• sharing own anecdotes after reading an autobiography like Roald Dahl’s Boy
• alternative fairy stories on the theme of a traditional tale; other kinds of genre exchange, for example making part of a story into a film script with posters advertising the film and a cast list
• poems on a powerful theme in the text
• the story from another character’s perspective
• letters between characters, perhaps writing in pairs
• diary entries
• newspaper reports based on an event in a story (favourites are The Three Little Pigs and Red Riding Hood )
• sequels – these are challenging but older children might enjoy writing a chapter about what has happened a few years after the book ended
• some fiction lends itself to the making of maps of the setting or a journey
• display one author’s work together with reviews, cover flap ‘blurb’ and comments by teacher and children.
Barrs, M. (1997) The Core Booklist London: The Centre for Language in Education.
Benton, Michael and Fox, Geoff (1986) Teaching Literature 9–14 Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Chambers, Aidan (1993) Tell Me: Children Reading and Talk Stroud: The Thimble Press. Teaching of English (NATE).
Gamble, Nikki (2004) ‘Teaching Fiction’, in Hunt, P. International Companion Encyclopedia of Children’s Literature. London and New York: Routledge.
Graham, Judith (1998) Cracking Good Books Sheffield: The National Association for the Language in Primary Education.
Mallett, Margaret (1997) First Person Reading and Writing in the Primary Years Sheffield: NATE.
Marriott, Stuart (1995) Read On: Using Fiction in the Primary School London: Paul Chapman.
Mills, C. and Webb, J. (2004) ‘Selecting books for younger readers’, in P Hunt International Companion Encyclopedia of Children’s Literature. London and New York: Routledge.
Stones, Rosemary (ed.) (1999) A Multicultural Guide to Children’s Books 0–16+ London: Books for Keeps and The Reading and Language Information Centre.
Townsend, John Rowe (1995, 6th edition) Written for Children London: The Bodley Head.
Wilson, Angela (2005) Language Knowledge for Primary Teachers London: David Fulton.
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