Fostering “reading to learn” from early years of schooling with the StoryFlights learning game
As studies show that early math skills are one of the best predictors of later success in both math and literacy, it has become a cornerstone of the growing movement among educators to boost math instruction in preschool through 2nd grade.
But what would you do if you had a student who has trouble with counting and prefers to not sit down and do math exercises but complains or stews in frustration? How can you get young learners (K-2) to focus on building math skills while at the same time having fun?
Research shows that reading comprehension is a complex cognitive process. It requires students to develop the abilities:
- To read texts accurately, at an appropriate pace and with appropriate expression oral language.
- To process visual information that involves word recognition as well as understanding and interpreting what is read [Castles, et al. 2018].
According to the U.S. National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), 34% of students are below basic reading level in the fourth grade.
How can educators address the challenge of teaching reading comprehension to students in kindergarten through 3rd grade?
One way teachers can improve reading comprehension is to provide learning activities that motivate students to improve their efforts to comprehend text. From the earliest school years, Students need to pay attention to the parts in a text that provide information about who, what, where, when and why, in order to build deep comprehension. Practicing this while listening and attending to texts that are read to them will increase the skills of clarifying which question is posed and then how to search/find the answers. These early years set the foundation for making the transition from “learning to read” to “reading to learn” that is the hallmark for success in academics after third grade.
We have designed a set of reading comprehension learning activities found in our newest game: StoryFlights.
StoryFlights offers a lively, full-body interactive game that helps children build the reading skills that form an essential part of their language learning process. During play children are challenged to manipulate a small dragon that flies over the mountains and collects items. Along its path, there are stops where children are asked to read (or listen) to grade level texts in order to answer questions about the text and win points. They must use clues provided by the text and remember relevant facts to respond appropriately to the prompts. By side walking and raising their hands, they can choose the correct answers to respond to who, what, when, where, and how questions.
Watch what kids can experience with our interactive Reading game:
The ELA activities in StoryFlights game in K and grade 1 are aligned to these academic goals:
- Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
- Read texts with purpose and understanding.
This engaging game can enrich your reading program by helping children develop effective reading habits, enlarge their vocabulary, and improve reading comprehension skills which all lead to increased overall reading engagement and motivation. Use this game to provide interactive practice and preparation for future state and national tests that use a similar format to determine reaching comprehension. At the same time, by interacting and manipulating the cute dragon, children strengthen their visual motor coordination and bilateral coordination, thus providing important additional benefits to the learning experience.
Are you ready to fly like a dragon and find the correct answers to questions that will drive you to the end of the valley?
Castles, A., Rastle, K. & Nation, K. (2018). Ending the reading wars: reading acquisition from novice to expert. Psychological science in the public interest, 19:1, 5-51.