Ah 9Y, good morning boys.” My small group came pounding in, bags crashing on desks. This was one of my more challenging literacy withdrawal groups. I was working in the Learning Support Department in Edmonton County School, north London. These five boys had lively characters and reading ages between eight and 10. They were a group who had, over the years, translated the “I can’t” into “I won’t” and were very difficult to motivate, mainly because of their literacy problems and related poor behaviour. Their aversion to reading would begin with the book cover: “That’s boring”, which was to delay the moment when they would have to read and admit to their difficulties.

Through coaxing, cajoling, bribery and other methods employed by teachers everywhere I managed to persuade them to work but was constantly searching for resources that would enthuse them .

One morning, two of these boys, I will call them Tom and Joe, were in a particularly unco-operative mood, sneaking out the ever-present computer games magazines.

I curtailed my usual response of “put those magazines away” and flicked through one of them, PlayStation Magazine (Future Publishing). The level of language was quite complex and I decided that if the group could cope with it perhaps we could spend a few minutes using them as a reading resource. To Tom’s amazement each member of the group was invited to read aloud. Luckily there were a few copies of the same issue.

I was fascinated that these pupils, who struggled with reading-age-appropriate books, managed, with some help, to read the complex technical language in these magazines, because of their familiarity with the games. Surely this could help them in the development of their literacy skills if I could guide the process, I mused, as Tom read without his usual self-consciousness.

Over the next few weeks, I learned about the intricacies of games such as Tony Hawk and Rayman. The varied mix of text and illustrations made these magazines less daunting to read and the interest factor was a bonus. Despite the fact that all the boys had access to these magazines at home, I did use some censorship in our reading as some of the games have age restrictions.

I decided to link this reading with development of their writing skills. These pupils were even less keen to put pen to paper than to read. Their limited sentences were haphazard in the attention to punctuation and capitals as they struggled with spelling and the formulation of their ideas. They were reluctant to write and often employed the usual delaying tactics such as broken pens or unsharpened pencils often noted in those who have grown to expect failure in their written work.

Their challenge was to research these magazines, within a set timescale, and, using planning sheets to guide their writing, to describe the seven most popular games in language that a primary school pupil could understand and that were suitable for primary pupils (censorship in action again). Once the usual predisposition towards copying chunks of text was checked, they worked with enthusiasm.

Support was given to help them with the skills of planning, comprehension of text and translating information to a different level of language. They learned about highlighting text to aid their organisation. With guidance they worked on accuracy in punctuation and the task was closely linked to their individual education plan targets.

I am aware that some would frown on this as a valid educational exercise, but using a carefully structured approach it can be beneficial to employ resources such as games magazines. I am not advocating that the curriculum should be purely led by pupils’ own experience and immediate interests, but in using these magazines I found a way to reach 9Y and to develop their literacy skills.

Carol Fray is currently working as a part-time tutor tostatemented pupils inLeicestershire