This study investigates how young elementary children engage with conceptions of gender in connection to video gameplay in the language arts classroom. During a three-week unit on video game literacies in a multiage lab school, children learned about, played, discussed, and wrote about video games. Student writing, game reviews, and literature discussion transcripts illuminated critical thinking around gender in connection to video games when explored as texts in school. While teachers commonly value literacy experiences centred around books, this research demonstrates how video games can serve as texts for critical analysis by sharing the valuable critical literacy experiences of two focal students from the study. Recommendations for teachers who want to explore incorporating video games in the English Language Arts classrooms are provided.