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Practice your writing skills through fun online games!

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Young writers: Hone your skills with ABCya's writing games for ages 4-12. Aspiring authors will have a blast writing everything from stories to friendly letters.

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Online games used to boost your kid's reading skills. Used in the classroom as well!

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Try our ground-breaking game that makes learning to read fun!

From matching letters and sounds to enjoying little books, Teach Your Monster to Read is designed in collaboration with leading academics from Roehampton University and will support your child through every step of their reading journey.
Designed to complement phonics programmes used in schools, our fun, friendly and easy to use games are curriculum-aligned and completely FREE to play on laptops and computers. With personalised learning and a targeted Practice Mode, you can monitor children's progress as they enjoy teaching their own monster to read.

Learn more

What does each stage cover?

First Steps

Stage 1: This is the first stage in learning to read and is for children just starting to develop reading skills.
In this stage, children learn their first letters and sounds. Our experts suggest children begin here. This stage covers the first 31 letter-sound combinations, blending and segmenting practice with CVC words and the first 6 non-decodable ('tricky") sight words. This corresponds with the first phases of phonics and works with whatever phonics scheme is being used in school.

Fun with Words

Stage 2: for children who are confident with early letter-sound combinations and are starting to read sentences.
In this stage, children learn the next 18 letter-sound combinations, with lots of blending and segmenting practice with CVC, CVCC, CCV and CCVC words, learn the next 30 tricky words and experience the reading and comprehension of sentences; from short ones such as "Get the cat." to longer ones such as "Can you get me an owl that is not green or red?"

Champion Reader

Stage 3: for children who are confidently reading short sentences and know all of the basic letter-sound combinations.
In this stage, children are introduced to alternative spellings of sounds (e.g. /ai/ as used in eight and they) and alternative pronunciations (e.g. i as pronounced in fin and find). They learn more tricky words and experience reading for meaning and comprehension - from sentences to magical little books.

Safe, trusted, recommended

See Teach Your Monster to Read in action

Teach Your Monster to Read is 100% FREE on computers!

All our games are completely FREE to play on computers for everybody via our website!

As a non-profit, this is madepossible through the support of the Usborne Foundation and the proceeds we receive from app purchases. Everything we receive goes back into developing and improving our games, supporting parents and teachers, and helping more children learn through play.

How to get started

1. Choose your account type.

2. Confirm your email.

3. That's it! You can now play all our fabulous educational games!

We recommend creating a 'test' player so you can try the games for yourself first. For more help, check out our online tutorials and player guides.

Create my free account

Why use Teach Your Monster to Read?

What do teachers say?

Reviews

Created with literacy experts

All of our products are built out of a deep collaboration between our game designers and leading academics. Teach Your Monster to Read is no exception. We worked closely with Angela Colvert and Alison Kelly, Senior Lecturers in English Education at the University of Roehampton, to ensure that our games were underpinned by research and sound principles, allowing us to put the best possible educational frameworks in place.

Watch Angela and our Executive Director Antonio Gould discuss our games, the key reading skills they promote and the collaboration process in this short video.

Watch now

Track player's progress

With our statistics tracker you can easily monitor your child's reading progress to quickly identify any areas they may need extra support in. Assess their strongest and weakest graphemes and individually set each child's game level to suit their abilities. Learn how to use our stats to consolidate your child's learning today.

Learn about stats

Targeted activities

Some words, letters and sounds can prove tricky to master. That's where our targeted Practice Mode comes in.

Explore our customisable flashcards, blending and segmenting mini games and set tailored sessions to consolidate learning based on each child's abilities.

Learn more

Increase the impact with fun reading activities

We have a whole host of amazing phonics resources, how-to guides and plenty of support to help teachers with lessons in the classroom.

From literacy activities and colourful certificates that support learning, to display resources and phonics songs to inspire kids and consolidate their learning.

See phonics resources

US teachers, need DPA advice?

If you're a teacher based in the US, your school may need a Data Processing Agreement in place in order to use our games. We've got you covered! Check out our advice on setting up your DPA.

Learn more

Hear how other teachers are using Teach Your Monster to Read in the classroom

Thinking of using our playful phonics games to help your class with learning to read? Discover how these teachers use Teach Your Monster to Read with their students.

Explore case studies

What do parents say?

Reviews

Teach a monster today!

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Teach Your Monster to Read: Award-winning phonics and reading games

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Teach Your Monster to Read - The ground-breaking game that makes learning to read fun!

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Fun At-Home activities to practice writing

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30 Fun Writing Activities for Kindergarten and Preschoolers - Education Corner

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This roundup is packed with engaging and fun projects that encourage children to play with words and shapes.

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Writing activities for Your Kindergartener

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Writing Activities for Your Kindergartener

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Writing allows children to express their thoughts, creativity, and uniqueness. It is a fundamental way in which children learn to think critically, organize and communicate ideas, and make thinking visible and permanent. And learning to write well helps children to be better readers!

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Read aloud books for kindergarten

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Kindergarteners — they’re growing up, and so is their taste in books. They’re developing relationships with other children, acquiring empathy. Reading aloud to children lets them see how different characters in different situations behave toward others. It also helps children understand the way language works. They hear how sentences are put together, grasping the meaning of words either in context or when talking with the adult. Often these verbal exchanges extend beyond the book as children begin to relate what happens in books connects to their world. Children at this age can often listen to longer stories or hear chapters from longer books. See also: Great Read Alouds for Kids: Babies to Grade 3.

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Alphabet Letter sounds

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See It, Say It, Sign It | Letter Sounds | ASL Alphabet | Jack Hartmann

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Count from 1-100

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The Singing Walrus - English Songs For Kids

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Big Numbers Song | Count to 100 Song | The Singing Walrus

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Activities for your kindergartener

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Once children have a solid grounding in the sounds of speech (phonemic awareness) they are ready to learn how these speech sounds are connected with the letters of the alphabet. And they begin to learn that there are predicable patterns in sound-letter relationships. They will take their first steps into "decoding" - sounding out simple words.

In kindergarten, your child will start with basic CVC words (consonant-vowel-consonant words) such as c-a-p, say each sound individually, and then begin blending the sounds into a word. Decoding takes a lot of practice! You can help your child build phonics skills with some of the activities described here - and by offering lots of encouragement as your child gains confidence with this big step into becoming a reader.

Here are some basic tips on how to help your child build phonics skills:

Help your child learn the names of the letters and the sounds the letters make. Turn it into a game! "I'm thinking of a letter and it makes the sound mmmmmm."

That means to follow the words with your finger from left to right as you read them. Your beginning reader will do the same thing for awhile.

Beginning readers may read slowly. Give your child time to decode the words, and avoid jumping in too quickly.

If your child is stuck on a word, prompt them to look at the first letter of the word and make the letter's sound. Of course, only do this for words that can be sounded out! If the word can't be sounded out, just supply the word for them.

Try these phonics activities at home

Alphabet scavenger hunt

Be sure your kindergartner knows all of her uppercase and lowercase letters. One fun and easy way to practice is to pick up a favorite read aloud book and have your child find each letter in the print, in alphabetical order. Ask your child if some letters are harder to spot in every book, and guess why that might be.

Grocery store literacy

Choose a letter as you're walking into the store. Make a game of finding things in the store that start with that letter. For example, for the letter "p" you could find peanuts, popcorn, pineapple, paper and pizza. Emphasize the letter "p" and the sound it makes with each of your "p" words.

Trace and say

Have your child use a finger to trace a letter while saying the letter's sound. Your child can trace on paper, in sand, or on a plate of sugar. Next, see if your child can trace a simple two- or three-letter word (it, at, sat) and sound it out.

The "H Brothers"

Explain to your child that sometimes two letters will stand together to create one new sound. The "H Brothers" join with other letters to make the sounds: sh, ch, th, wh and ph. Write down some example words and use multisensory props and gestures to help your child remember the new letter combination. Here's a fun idea for telling the story of the H Brothers to reinforce the concept.

Fridge fun

Magnetic letters can provide lots of easy phonics practice right in your kitchen. For an alphabet refresher, ask your child to arrange the letters in alphabetical order. Next, ask her to pick out a letter, think of a simple three- or four-letter word that starts with that letter, and spell it out on the refrigerator. Can your child think of more words to spell with that first letter? Finally, see if she can change one letter in the word to make a new word.

Scrambled words

Draw three boxes side by side on a piece of paper. Using magnetic letters or letters written on paper, scramble the letters of a simple three-letter word (big, bug, top, ran) under the boxes. Have your child unscramble the letters and place them into the correct box.

Extra, extra!

Ask your child to find and cut out all the words in a newspaper or magazine that she can read. Glue or tape them onto a piece of paper and practice reading them together.

Dig into decodable books

Through read alouds, kindergarteners should be exposed to a wide range of books that introduce them to rich vocabulary and story structure. But there is also a role for decodable books to help your child practice beginning phonics skills. Decodable books contain a high percentage of words with predictable letter-sound relationships. You'll find a comprehensive list of K-2 books here: Decodable Text Sources.

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Phonics and Decoding: Activities for Your Kindergartener

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The goal of phonics instruction is to help children learn the alphabetic principle - the idea that letters represent the sounds of spoken language - and that there is an organized, logical, and predictable relationship between written letters and spoken sounds.

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List of great books to read to your children!

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Fill your classroom library with books that are just right for read-alouds! Filled with sweet illustrations, captivating prose, and memorable characters your students will love, there are titles for every kind of reader on this list.

Featuring both laugh-worthy and practical picks like Frog on a Log, I Forgot: The Day I Forgot to Wash My Hands, A Ticket Around the World, and more, the titles on this list will make story time in the classroom more engaging and memorable.

Shop read-aloud favorites below! You can find all books and activities at The Teacher Store.

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Read-Aloud Favorites for Grades PreK-3 | Scholastic

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A Scholastic collection of the read-aloud favorites for grades preK-3, including Elephant and Piggie, Eric Carle, No, David!, Fancy Nancy, and Ish.

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I can count from any number (1-20)

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Counting On by 1's | I Can Count From Any Number (Numbers 1-20) | Jack Hartmann

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I can count from any number (High Numbers)

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Counting On by 1's | I Can Count From Any Number (High Numbers) | Jack Hartmann

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Practice counting on by ones from a given number zero through twenty, as you help Miranda and Jacob in this interactive tutorial.

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Counting on by Ones When Given Any Number From 0 through 20 -

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Practice counting on by ones from a given number zero through twenty, as you help Miranda and Jacob in this in. count, counting, math, k-2, student, numbers, 0-20

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Identify the missing number

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Wordwall - Create better lessons quicker

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Identify the missing number

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Wordwall - Create better lessons quicker

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Tracing Small Letters a, d & q

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Tracing Small Letters With Standing & Curvy Lines - a, d & q - ELA Games - SplashLearn

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Now that your child knows what sleeping, slanting, and curvy lines are, it’s time to start tracing the lowercase letters a, d & q. This game will help your little one build the essential skills required to write letters. It’s time for some tracing fun!- SplashLearn

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Find the Letters A, B, C & D Game

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Find the Letters A, B, C & D Game - ELA Games - SplashLearn

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The letters A, B, C & D are trapped in bubbles. Do you think your little tyke can find the letters quickly? Play this game to test your child's letter identification skills.- SplashLearn

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Tracing Big Letters A, V, W, X, Y & Z

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Tracing Big Letters With Sleeping & Slanting Lines - A, V, W, X, Y & Z - ELA Games - SplashLearn

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Now that your child knows what sleeping, slanting, and curvy lines are, it’s time to start tracing the uppercase letters A, V, W, X, Y & Z. This game will help your little one build the essential skills required to write letters. It’s time for some tracing fun!- SplashLearn