Sushi Monster
Clever addition and multiplication drills for practice, not instruction
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Sushi Monster
Pros: Problems are fun and challenging and force students to think quickly.
Cons: Each level moves so fast that students have no time to reflect on incorrect answers.
Bottom Line: Sushi Monster offers free, solid math practice and a clever concept.
Use Sushi Monster in class to improve kids' math fluency and speed in addition and multiplication or as homework assignments for daily practice. Each level (seven for addition, five for multiplication) includes 14 problems. Students can dedicate 10 minutes a day to improving math fluency and have some silly fun in the process.
You won't be able to monitor incorrect answers with the free version, though, so other forms of practice and assessment will need to supplement Sushi Monster. Scholastic offers a full, paid program, of which Sushi Monster is one of 12 practice games, and it does include student accounts and a teacher dashboard.
Sushi Monster is a fun and effective way to practice addition and multiplication. Students work in reverse to solve problems. Each round begins with a set of target numbers. The chef puts numbered plates of sushi on the counter, and kids must choose the correct combination of plates to meet the target, thereby feeding the sushi monster. If correct, the monster gobbles up the sushi. If incorrect, the hungry monster is not happy!
Students unlock the next level by hitting at least 12 of the 14 target numbers. Players get all new numbers when replaying a level. There are, of course, multiple ways to reach the target, but if you don't think ahead (all target numbers for the level appear at the top of the screen), you won't have the right numbers to make the later targets.
Colorful, cartoony monsters and great sound effects add to the playful vibe. Outbursts from the monsters are more thrilling than scary and increase the engagement factor.
When students miss a problem, the app doesn't show what they could have done differently to reach a correct answer. Sushi Monster offers a helpful strategy tip for each level to assist frustrated players, but it's easy to miss this option since kids have to pause the game to find it. Players might well get overwhelmed because the difficulty ramps up quite a bit between levels -- sometimes into five-digit numbers. Even as a free app and not part of Houghton Mifflin's full, paid program, Sushi Monster is a fun way for students to build math speed and fluency, as well as some logic and basic problem-solving skills.
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Math fact practice with deeper rigor...best in 1:1 environment
Students work on math facts, but take them to a greater level of rigor than in a traditional drill and practice math game. For example, students might practice 2 + 2, but then the deeper level of this fact would be 20 + 20 or 200 + 200. Students open different levels of the app and facts get more difficult. The problem using this on iPads that are not assigned to individual students, is that levels get opened by a higher functioning student and then students not really ready for that level might be the next use and they are NOT ready for the higher level, so they get frustrated. Being able to select individual users would be a nice addition.
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