“Life is more fun when you play games,” Roald Dahl once wrote.
Teachers
who play are more likely to bring joy into their classrooms, according to
a recent study. Learning at its best already has game-like elements that
are latent and waiting to be unlocked. Great teachers offer the kind of
interactive, discovery-based learning that works so well. For their students,
learning already starts to look a lot like a game.
Nonfiction
print books aren’t often thought of as being interactive, or using games, but
they are and they do. Some authors and illustrators “gamify” nonfiction, making
it a fun new way of looking at the subject. The author wraps the content
around a concept or a construct, using clever devices to engage children, keep
them interested, and impart information in creative ways: lift-the-flap/paper-engineered
books, mazes, guessing games, inside-outside concepts, search-n-find, ABCs and counting,
puzzles, matching games, hidden objects, and more.
Steve
Jenkins (often with Robin Page) makes beautifully designed books using game
elements, including What Do You Do With a
Tail Like This?, Who Am I?: An Animal Guessing Game, and Animals by the Numbers: A Book of
Infographics. Guess What Is Growing Inside
This Egg by Mia Posada is a guessing game too.
For
books on math, numbers, and counting, look at How Many Jelly Beans? by Andrea Menotti illustrated by Yancey Labat
and How Much is a Million? by David
M. Schwartz, pictures by Steven Kellogg. Laurie Ann Thompson and Ammi-Joan
Paquette’s Two Truths and a Lie: It’s
Alive urges kids to tell fakes from facts, and the classic forever-in-print
Science Experiments You Can Eat by
Vicki Cobb, recently reissued and revised, often uses play to teach.
My
first series of books used inside-outside concepts to inform kids about cities
and places (Inside-Outside New York City, Washington DC, London, Paris, Texas, and
libraries). Then I started doing maze books about real things. In Mazeways: A to Z, the alphabet letter
forms a maze … A for Airport (ever been to Heathrow or JFK? They really ARE
mazes!), H for Highway, L for Library, R for Ranch, and so on—you’re playing,
but also learning about how places work.
EcoMazes: 12 Earth
Adventures
uses mazes to explore and understand ecosystems and a finding/counting game to
learn about which animals live in the habitats. In Market Maze children see where food comes from and how it arrives
at their town greenmarkets.
My lift-the-flap books include Rodeo (the action
and rules of the sport), Circus (various acts in motion), Go! Go! Go!
(about transportation), and Doors (learn about the space station, a
doctor's office, a mechanic's garage, behind-the-scenes of a theater, a
firehouse, and more).
Many
of my books use a very visual Q&A format.
—In
Hatch! an egg or a clutch of eggs is
shown. Children try to guess what kind of bird it’s from.
—In
Busy Builders children see the giant
bug, and then turn the page to check out the unusual kind of structure it makes,
and why.
—Slithery Snakes presents close-up scaly
skin patterns—along with fascinating facts—and encourages kids to figure out
what kind of snake it’s from. —In
Rodent Rascals, the game-like device
is ever-increasing real-life size.
—Masterpiece Mix has a seek-n-find game, with 37 famous paintings hidden in the finale.
—Masterpiece Mix has a seek-n-find game, with 37 famous paintings hidden in the finale.
This
is all nonfiction content, structured to encourage play, learning, and
engagement.
Many
subjects lend themselves to game-like interactive formats. For learning about a
person, an animal, a historical period, science, or a place, you can start with
a question, and note fun facts that allow the reader to guess who or what you
are discussing, before they get to the satisfying answer. Or in a more
interactive way, readers can lift flaps, play matching games, find and count things,
or solve a maze. However, “games” have
to be logically associated and integrated with the subject, not just put in
gratuitously. They must immerse the young reader, not distract.
Engaging
in games helps children with concentration, setting goals, problem-solving, collaboration
(some allow multiple players), and perseverance. It also gives them an
opportunity to celebrate achievement.
Many
games (mazes in particular) help children with decision-making and critical
thinking skills. Young readers must think ahead and plan steps in advance.
Mazes also teach alternate ways to solve problems and judge spatial relationships.
They can even help children develop fine motor skills, which can improve their handwriting.
And
they’re fun!
Roxie Munro is the author/illustrator of more
than 40 nonfiction and concept children's books. Her books have received the New
York Times Best Illustrated Award, Cook Prize Silver Medal for STEM,
numerous Best of the Year lists (SLJ, Bank Street, Smithsonian,
NCSS-CBC, NSTA-CBC, NCTE, more). Recent books include Rodent Rascals,
Masterpiece Mix, and Market Maze. Roxie lectures in conferences,
schools, libraries, and museums. She lives and works in New York City. Visit www.roxiemunro.com.
It makes learning an even more fun experience! Thanks for sharing, Roxie!
ReplyDeleteLove these fun titles! And thanks for including our Two Truths and a Lie series! =D
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDelete