Engaging Students in Literacy Practices Through Video Game Book Groups

Teachers can harness the power of video games to foster interest and engage students in literacy activities. Within this study, seven 6th graders participated in a video game book group during language arts instructional time. The study focused on tweens’ figured worlds of literacy and video games and the intersections and divergences of these worlds. The research involved a comparative case study of two books (a video game text and a video game–related text), with all book group meetings audio-recorded, transcribed, and coded. The data provide support that tweens hold different figured worlds of in-school literacy versus gaming; this finding has implications for educators regarding tweens’ literacy practices within and beyond the classroom.