Gamer Dad—Part 6: Literacy and Gaming
There has been a general fear and anxiety that as children play more video games their literacy is decreasing. These children should be doing something more productive than of playing video games. However, recent studies have shown that children from elementary grades through high school are reading more than ever before. Since they are also playing more video games, this recreational activity does not seem to be contributing to the illiteracy of youth. As an author, literacy is important to me. If people don’t read, they won’t buy the books I write.
As a father of six children, four of whom are old enough to read, I know that each child is different and not all of them take to reading equally. While one daughter reads all that she can, another has a hard time getting into a book and enjoying it. I know that I am not alone. In addition to being a Gamer Dad and writing strategy guides for video games, I also teach high school history and work with special education students—most of whom have a disability that affects their ability to read and/or comprehend what they read. Through experience and research, I have discovered that the key to becoming a better reader is to read, read, and then read some more. Just like playing a sport, practice improves performance.
However, if children do not like to read, possibly because it may be difficult for them, how do you get them to practice. The secret is to find something that interests them. One of my students hated reading and scored very low on reading proficiency tests. However, I introduced him to the Alex Rider series about a teenage spy and now he has read them all and is starting the series of seven books again. Girls that have trouble reading and understanding a paragraph in a low level textbook are reading their way through the Twilight series.
So what does this have to do with video games you may be asking yourself. The answer is that since many children are interested in video games, use that interest to promote reading. When our family got Viva Piñata, I also got the Primagames strategy guide for it. My oldest son, who was 7 at the time, could not put the guide down. There were several nights I found him asleep in bed with it. He marked it with Post-It page markers so he could quickly find the information on the piñata he wanted to attract or create.
At school, my students often ask me how to beat a level in a game or for some other information. Rather than telling them the answer, I hand them a copy of a strategy guide, showing them the page or even paragraph where they can find the answer and let them read it themselves. I then ask them to explain it to me when they are done. This helps teach them that reading is a powerful tool for finding answers.
In addition to strategy guides, children can read gaming magazines or even novels based on video games. I have one student who reads previews and reviews in magazines and then tells me about them. Another is reading the novels based on Halo. As they read these, their abilities improve and they actually learn to like reading. Then they are more willing to try other books and continue to progress.
Finally, video games can also serve as a reward for reading. Friends of ours give their children tickets for every 30 minutes they read at home. These tickets can then be traded in for video game time or other rewards. To really get the kids reading, they buy a new video game that they really want to play. It is amazing how much reading takes place in that home as children read to earn time to play the new game.
I would love to hear from readers how they use video games to encourage reading or if they have suggestions for good books which engage children in reading. I am always looking for new titles both for my children at home as well as my students at school. Thanks for reading!
Play the video game.