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S I T E     R E V I E W
May, 1998


Monster Exchange
http://www.monsterexchange.org/
GRADE LEVEL: K-6

CONTENT:
"Students try to communicate an original monster image into another child's mind using learned writing skills and technology."

AESTHETICS:
The site is designed more for teachers than students. The monster images are located in the monster gallery section. Most of the rest of the site uses text without graphics.

ORGANIZATION:
The main page has links to each section of the site. Other pages use a navigation menu at the top of the page.

REVIEW:
This project was originally developed by a parent and a teacher as an educational project for two schools. The project has expanded to involve hundreds of schools worldwide. The concept is that a student draws an original monster and then "communicates that drawing into words using the writing process and the writing skills taught by the teacher. The student from a cooperating school (many times in another country) receives the description and uses reading/comprehension skills to try to redraw the original monster." This provides both schools with activities for practicing reading and writing. Results from the correspondences are posted at the Web site in the Monster Gallery section. This is a great find for English and creative writing teachers. K-6 teachers can also use the lesson plans here.