Should I ask the school not to send home non-fiction books?

[Hooliesmoolies]

My Y1 DD is currently getting 2 books a week from school, one fiction and one non-fiction. She doesn't like non-fiction books, and whilst she can read the fiction ones with almost no errors, she does make errors on the non-fiction ones. We read a lot of non-school books at home (don't get me started on the two a week thing!), but my question is should I make her read the non-fiction books, or is it better just to let her read the things that she enjoys? I kind of think that she will get to non-fiction at some point, and at the moment she may as well read the things that interest her.

Mixed in with the question about whether she should read the non-fiction books is the question about reading level. She really is word perfect on the fiction ones at the level she is at school. They tested her on the fiction book and said it was too easy, but then they gave her a non-fiction, which she evidently didn't do so well on, so they kept her at that level. But I think part of the issue is motivation. She enjoys stories. She doesn't enjoy non-fiction (unless it is about art or ballet). But books about the tour de France and the such like - and making roads (yes, there really is a book about making roads), no thanks.

So, do I ask for no non-fiction and at the same time make a comment about her finding the level easy (we can't write in our reading journals so it will have to be some moment at the school gate), or is she in the right place until she can read the non-fiction as well as the fiction?

Retired TA here -

As long as she is reading the 'reading' books, I would suggest not to worry at all about the non-fiction. In all schools I have had experience of, children could choose their non-fiction books, so it is unfortunate if your school assigns them; maybe in due course you will discover their philosophy on that. Sounds like 'flat-Earth' thinking to me!

Look at the pictures, browse the text, or ignore completely - let her have complete choice regarding the non-fiction. The subject matter may be more interesting in future books, I would hope.

She does read a huge range of reading scheme fiction books because we supplement our two a week from Reading Chest. But her favourites are the biff and chip ones and the project x ones (even though she is a ballet loving girl). I haven't told the school she gets reading chest books though because I don't want to seem pushy

Ds was the other way: Would love the non fiction but didn't generally want the fiction.
However the teacher explained to him how it was important that he read lots of different types of reading. And showed him how he could pick the facts out in a fiction book, and he became much more enthusiastic. Maybe your teacher could do similar and show how you can take the facts and use them imaginatively.

It's a shame she can't choose her own non-fiction. I do think non-fiction is an essential part of learning to read though. You are utterly, totally wrong to think Tour de France or road building boring ;)!

I think you need to have a word with the school about not being able to comment in her reading record! How do the teachers know how she gets on at home with no feedback?
Non fiction books teach other things as well - how to use an index, glossary or contents page; how to specifically look up certain things. I agree that some of them are a bit weird and/or outdated, but the same can be said about some fiction books!
My DS is the other way around, he prefers non-fiction, so I think it's good for him to read the fiction books he gets from school and broaden his horizon that way as it were.

Than for that link, RueDeWakening. Have just ordered that plus
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I think you should make her read the non fiction books. School books are about extending literacy skills rather than enjoyment. Reading is not always about enjoyment. Being able to use a non fiction book is vital if a child is going to suceed later on at school.

When children sit SAT exams or GCSE exams they will not be allowed to choose the content of a comprehension test. Later on children are expected to write in a wide range of genres. School expose children to wide range of material for this reason.

Wait until you get a topic lasting a half term that your child isn't interested in!
The love of reading will come through being able to read whatever your daughter wants at other times ie; before bed or weekends ect.

Doing something to the best of your ability which you don't really like or have a passion for is a good lesson for school and life for that matter. The earlier children get to grips with this the better.

One reason the teacher chooses the childrens books is that children tend to choose a very narrow range based on what they are interested in but actually it's very important to read a wide and eclectic range of subjects.

One reason the teacher chooses the childrens books is that children tend to choose a very narrow range based on what they are interested in but actually it's very important to read a wide and eclectic range of subjects.

When DD started white band and this means chapter books in our school she suddenly only came home with Rainbow Magic. When queried she said there wasn't a lot of choice.

As I personally think RM is computer generated rubbish and was quite surprised the school wouldn't offer more choice we checked with the teacher.

When I picked her up she took me aside and said she checked the reading box and while it could be that on the odd day the choice is limited there is a fast range of books available. DD was standing next to me and was getting very very quite...

We made a deal - RM is for library visits and she could ask for a box she saw at a charity shop for her birthday if she brought home other books. She may not have liked each one and sometimes it was a struggle to get through it but for us it was important that she gets as many different type of books as possible.

Just read the non-fiction books to her, that will be the easiest thing.

Rather OT, but this thread has reminded me of the first non-fiction book my DD chose in reception (for parent to read) : 'The life cycle of a snail'. I really hadn't been expecting to cover hermaphrodite sex with her quite so soon!

I just wanted to say, I took the plunge and talked to the teacher. I didn't ask them not to send home non-fiction. But I did say that DD was finding it hard because she wasn't interested in the books. I was really impressed with the teachers response. She basically said what many of you have said, which is that non-fiction IS important, and it is really helpful for the children to learn how to navigate round a book. But she also was very sympathetic and said that it is unbelievably tedious having to read non-fiction books if you have no interest in the topic. Her comment was that she personally would HATE to read a book on ballet . She suggested that we don't worry about reading all of the book, and just get used to navigating around them. To support this, I changed our book chest subscription to include non-fiction. My thought was that I would immediately send back the ones I know my DD would hate, and positively encourage the ones she might like. Our first RC non-fiction book was called 'Body Invaders' (Project X), all about germs. This was a book she was interested in! Less so than her fiction, but we have now read it twice, had extensive conversations about germs, bugs, antibodies and the such like, and we are embarked on our 'non-fiction-can-be-interesting-to-read' journey. So thanks to everyone for the points of view and suggestions. It has all been really helpful!

My Ds1 is year 1 too and gets some non-fiction books in amongst his fiction books, but he does get to choose his own. He doesn't have any extra difficulties reading the non-fiction books, it's all words, isn't it?

While I agree that you don't want to put your DD off reading, I do think you are pandering a little to her refusal to try harder at the non-fiction, and I think the school are right to keep her level down until she works harder at non-fiction. School is going to be very difficult for her in future if she keeps refusing to engage with non-fiction! So you might as well encourage her to get through this barrier now.

Bah, sorry xposted! I think that what you have done is fine, and glad the teacher was sympathetic. :)

Thumbwitch I thought that might have been the case.