"If they give a damn about what they’re reading, they’ll persist in the face of challenges."
- Constance Steinkhueler at Big Ideas Fest. Steinkuehler is an educational researcher studying how online games can build literacy skills. In her most recent experiment she learned that "we had to shift from using games as a means for accomplishing educational goals back to education serving as a means for accomplishing the kids’ goals."
In other words, start with the kids' own interest.