What Can Video Games Teach Us About Teaching Reading?

James Gee has suggested that video games can teach us important lessons about learning and that we can learn about teaching from these games. Reading research and the words of the author's daughter are the basis of an exploration of the learning principles Gee identifies. He explains that video games are successful in engaging children and teaching them the strategies they need to be successful and that high‐quality reading instruction should do the same. In this article, eight of the learning principles identified by Gee are applied to the teaching of reading. The first two explore insights about learners and the conditions that foster learning. The next three principles address general understandings about how learning occurs. The final three principles have direct implications for teaching. The article raises important questions about learning, engagement, and identity, as well as promoting problem solving and strategic activity in reading.