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Junior high school teacher Kristie Jolley believes students become more willing and motivated to practice reading strategies when they are "comfortable within their realm of literacy." Background knowledge of video games helps students succeed in understanding and enjoying game-based texts, which she incorporates into her classroom library as encouragement for a habit of reading and as a bridge to increasingly difficult texts. Jolley also offers an overview of popular game-based texts.
Vince trudged into my remedial reading class looking more depressed than usual for a Monday. He sighed audibly, looked up to see if I was paying attention, and then dropped his binder on his desk, snapping three other students out of their earlymorning slumber. If students were having a hard time staying awake at 9:00 in the morning, how was I possibly going to help them improve two to six grade levels in reading?
"What's going on, Vince?" I suspected I knew. His ninth-grade English teacher was introducing a science fiction unit to her classes. Sci-fi usually means two things to a struggling reader: thick books and big words.
"I have to read a stupid sci-fi book for my stupid English class. My stupid teacher knows I can't read stupid books so why is she making me do this stupid assignment?" Whoa, a lesson on synonyms starting with the word stupid might help him out as well as some motivation for reading.
"OK, Vince. Let's start with what you know. Tell me what sci-fi makes you think of." I already had a few things in mind that we had talked about earlier in the semester.
"Uh, Star Wars? I hate Star Wars though. Only nerds like Star Wars." He glanced quickly around my Star Wars-laden room. "No offense, Mrs. Jolley."
"None taken. So, Star Wars is the only thing you've got in your brain that's connected to sci-fi? Nothing else?"
"Nope."
Pause for dramatic effect.
"What about Halo?"
"Halo has nothing to do with sci-fi. Halo's cool!" Ah, so Vince does have some background knowledge about science fiction; he just doesn't see the connection between his gaming habits and his schoolwork. Because he considers the popular video game Halo cool, it automatically means it can't be science fiction or literature. Sad.
James Paul...