Looking for the best way to boost your kids' reading skills?

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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.

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Play the phonics game on app, for free on web, and get free downloadable resources

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.

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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 made possible 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.

Our phonics game is free to play on the web

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?

Create a monster and take it on an adventure through a magical world.
Blending and segmenting practice with CVC (consonant sound, vowel sound, consonant sound) words.
Your monster travels to exciting places, meets fun characters, plays games and wins prizes as they learn the first steps of reading.
Three games that cover the first two years of learning to read. From matching letter sounds to enjoying little books.
Mini games that help children to develop speed and accuracy of letter and sound recognition.

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What do teachers say?

“As an elementary school teacher with thirty years experience, I wholeheartedly endorse this app! It takes children from a pre-reader stage to early reading skills.”

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USA Teacher
“We love this app so so much! The concept of “you learn better if you teach” really is true! Highly recommend!!”

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USA Teacher
“This App is AMAZING!! When my youngest was just starting to read, we found this App and within 2 weeks she was a full blown reader!! She's 8 now and can read past the 5th grade level! Well worth it!”

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USA Home School Parent

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.  

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Angela Colvert, our Teach Your Monster to Read literacy expert

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.

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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.

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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?

“Great app for teaching letter recognition and sounds as well as putting them together and beginning to read. My kids really enjoyed playing this game!”

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USA parent
“This app my kids love and I love for two different reasons. I love it because it teaches them to read, and my kids love the game and rewards!”

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USA parent
“Our daughter was struggling in school and I figured it would be good to get her some educational apps. This one takes the cake. She's obsessed and learned her letters in a weekend. No joke!”

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USA parent