Engaging Emerging Readers with Informational Text Through Digital Games

In the new PBS KIDS series, Molly of Denali, adventurous 10-year-old Molly Mabray lives in Alaska where she uses informational texts to explore the world around her, solve problems and help others in her community. Informational text includes field guides, diagrams and captions that help children deepen their understanding of the world around them. In this presentation, we explore how informational text can be made accessible and engaging to early readers through digital games. This Spotlight will walk attendees through our game development process for Molly of Denali: user testing around core informational text skills, extensive prototyping, technical considerations, and how these findings informed a robust collection of finished products.