Project 3: Teach Your Monster to Read

This week I was overwhelmed with the amount of web-tools we learned. Overwhelmed in a very, VERY good way. There were so many tools I had never heard of, and some that I had used before. I have always found myself to be pretty tech-savvy, and many colleagues turn to me for technology assistance. I was surprised at the amount of things that I had never heard of before, and excited to try them all out. I have so many math sites and apps that I use on a daily basis in my classroom, but I always struggle to find grade appropriate sites for reading. Second graders tend to have a wide-range of reading levels, like many other grades. This why I was most excited to try Teach Your Monster to Read.

Typically majority of students who are early readers (between a first and second grade level), and I have some students who are much more independent readers (between second grade and fourth grade levels). Also, I usually have a good handful of students who are struggling to become early readers (kindergarten or below levels). This is always a struggle for me because it is hard to teach students who need to work on letter sounds or patterns, while still teaching the students who can read chapter books! I was really hoping that Teach Your Monster to Read would help me with this struggle.

Here is what I learned:

The Teach Your Monster to Read site was inviting, entertaining, and easy to maneuver. I created an account which I plan on using for next school year.

 On the home site there are links for adding players (students). Downloads which include parent letters, password cards, and posters! There is also capability to group students, which will come in handy when I use centers next year.

Once students are logged in they can create their own monster which will navigate them through the games. They can change, size, shape, color etc. I also discovered that the monsters can be changed when you start new levels, so students can change them over time.

While logged in as a student I discovered there are 3 different levels (first steps, fun with words, and champion reader). Students can work their way through each level or the teacher can assign students to a level at the beginning of the year. I have embedded a short clip from each of the three levels below.

Level 1 First Steps

Level 2 Fun With Words 

Level 3 Champion Reader 

I think Teach Your Monster to Read will be a great asset to my classroom next year. I plan on using it during my reading centers or during free time. I know that some students will breeze through the first two levels, but I am hopeful that my struggling readers will benefit from that additional support. My confident readers will have lots of fun in level 3, and I am hoping they will also enjoy the game. It appears that level 3 was added recently, and I am hopeful that Teach Your Monster to Read will add additional levels for readers soon!