Teacher Space
We believe in the power of stories and the imagination to help young people experience other cultures and moments in time. This is why we are passionate about fiction-enriched curriculum.
What is ‘Fiction – enriched Curriculum’?
Primary Schools
In Primary Schools, it is the use of a class read aloud text to enhance understanding of a particular topic, followed by a class discussion of the story. For example, during a topic on the Rainforest, you might use a book from our South America booklist, like ‘Zonia’s Rainforest’ by Juana Martinez-Neal, or ‘Rainforest Warrior’ by Anita Ganeri. You might also choose to have a range of books on the topic being studied available in the classroom for children to access.
Secondary Schools
At Secondary School level, a set fiction text can bring a whole new dimension to learning about a period being studied, bringing alive facts and sources with a story that young people can immerse themselves in. In History, for example, a WW2 text like ‘When the World Was Ours’ by Liz Kessler can bring alive the impact of the Holocaust in a way that factual learning just can’t, and a book like ‘Boy 87’ by Ele Fountain can stir up interest and understanding of what it might be like to be a refugee during a topic in Geography on migration where pure facts and figures fall short. By encouraging students to read fiction set in the particular period or country being studied, we harness their imaginations and their emotions, and consequently their interest and investment in what they are studying. As well as enriching curriculum in the humanities, a set fiction text can also be a great asset in teaching PSHE, as pupils read about and then talk about books from our ‘Life Lessons’ booklists whose characters live out some of the choices and consequences we seek to discuss.
In addition to the benefits to learning in the subject being studied, students are improving literacy and their connection with books
it’s a win-win situation!
How can we support you?
At The Reading Rebellion we are always working on hunting out new books, and hope you can find texts that support your curriculum in our existing booklists. However, if you want to enrich your teaching with a fiction text and can’t find what you’re looking for, please use our contact form to get in touch and we’d be happy to help!
When we give children books worth reading, we reinforce their desire to read. Perhaps children are falling out of love with books because we are not putting into their hands stories that satisfy their appetite for adventures worth having, for heroes worth following, and for wonder at the world...explore the TRR booklists for good books that will fuel a love of reading for pleasure, or browse our top curriculum picks below if you are on the hunt for fiction to support a classroom topic.
