Reading · Grades 5–6 and 7–8
The Pet's first draft
Your child edits a short paragraph so it makes its point clearly, in order, and for the right reader.
Your child edits a paragraph the Pet wrote, one fix at a time: a sentence that wanders off, the big idea moved first, a better joining word, a real ending, or at Grade 7–8 evidence a reader can check and an answer to the other side. The last round shows the paragraph before and after.
- Grades 5–6 and 7–8
- 15 min
- Nothing to prepare
- On the screen
Free to sign up.
Is it a good fit?
- Ready if Your child reads a short paragraph on their own.
- Too much today? Start with Prove it: a passage read for the sentence that proves a claim, before a paragraph rewritten.
- Too easy? The Grade 7–8 level: a persuasive paragraph to a head teacher, with evidence a reader can check, the other side answered, and the right voice.
What your child practises
- Staying on the point
- Putting the big idea first
- Joining words
- Backing a claim with evidence
- Writing for the reader (Grade 7–8)
“That sentence doesn't help the point, so it goes.”
If your child says something like this, in their own words, the idea has landed. Finishing the rounds means they took part; this is the learning.
Your part
- Nothing for the game itself
- Each question has a Read it to me button
Take it off the screen (optional)
Write four sentences together to someone at home asking for something, then read them back and ask of each one: does it help the point?
More like this
The full design
What it is
Good writing is rewriting. The Pet has written a paragraph and is proud of it; your child is its editor, one fix at a time, and watches the paragraph get better on the page.
How it goes
The Pet's claim about its draft sits under the paragraph. Your child taps a sentence or chooses from three. A sentence that is not the one is marked "helps the point", and the Pet says what it does for the paragraph; a choice that does not fit gets its own reason. The last round shows the paragraph before and after, side by side, and your child sends it.
The Pet
It is the proud first-time writer, never your child: "I saved my big idea for last, like a surprise!" It asks your child to read each sentence for what it does, and when an edit is made it says what the paragraph gained. Its dare is the next step up: at 5–6, find a reason with nothing behind it and back it up; at the top, four sentences of your child's own to someone at home, asking for something with one number as evidence.
By band
One paragraph a play, four edits, easiest first. 5–6: an opinion paragraph to the Pet's class about planting a class garden; tap the sentence that wanders off (a cousin's red bike), tap the sentence that should come first (the big idea, which the Pet saved for last), choose the joining word (so, not but), and choose an ending that asks the class to act. 7–8: a persuasive paragraph to the head teacher about a longer lunch; tap the reason with nothing behind it ("everyone hates the short lunch") and back it up with a number from a class survey, choose timed evidence over a friend's word, answer the worry about shorter lessons instead of calling it silly, and choose a polite ending over "pls think about it lol".
What it grows
The writing standards ask a Grade 5 child to state an opinion, give reasons, link them with words such as so and because, and end with a conclusion (Common Core W.5.1); a Grade 6 to 8 child to support a claim with relevant evidence, acknowledge and answer the other side (W.7.1, W.8.1), and keep a formal style (W.6.1 to 8.1); and every child from Grade 5 to strengthen writing by revising and editing (W.5.5 to 8.5). The game asks for the edit, never a mark out of ten.
Done, and what counts as evidence
Done means the four edits made and the paragraph sent. "Asked what a sentence does for the point" is an observation you may keep. The best record is off the screen: four sentences your child writes to someone at home, with one number as evidence.
What's personal
Nothing: both paragraphs and their numbers are written for the game, about no real person. No family facts are used.