Worried that your children are watching too many videos and DVDs? 

If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em!  You can take this worrisome habit and turn it into a positive educational experience.  Incidentally, it’s also a wonderful reading comprehension exercise, a great mental muscle builder, and a way to motivate memory and thinking skills. 

You’ll need to preview the video or DVD that you wish to use for this activity, perhaps more than once.  While you’re watching, make a list of details that you want your children to notice.  Next, make up a Scavenger Hunt sheet just like you would to play the game in your back yard.  The items on this sheet, however, are all tidbits from the film.  Kids will find them by watching and paying close attention.  Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• The color of an item in the setting, like a house or car color.
• The name of an obscure supporting character that only appears for a limited time in the film.
• A small, seemingly inconsequential detail, like the number of pets in a family or the name of the school.
• An unfamiliar word (bonus points if the child can define it!).
• A synonym or antonym for words of your choosing from the dialog.
• The name of a store or a business in the film.

I’m sure you can think of many more now that we’ve gotten started. 

Video Scavenger Hunts are a great way to encourage children to pay close attention to their television fare, and even to help them learn to be more discerning in what they choose to watch.  The activity will help their minds stay active instead of vegetating as they indulge in a bit of TV, too.  When you add this educational twist, you can allow them to watch a bit more, guilt-free, so it’s also a nice way to occupy children who are stranded indoors due to bad weather or convalescence. 

For a more challenging twist to the game, try making up a Scavenger Hunt list without a specific film or show in mind.  Put the same sorts of items on your list as you might put for a real-world hunt, like a coin, a fire hydrant, or a cake pan.  Keep the list handy while watching television, since you can never know when you’ll find an item!  This version of the game makes a wonderful family competition.

Sandy Fleming is an educational consultant in Michigan who allows her kids to watch TV without working at it from time to time.  For more ideas about how to get educational mileage out of videos, check out Using Movies and Videos at All Info About Reading.com.

Photo by horizontal.integration