Each month we will be highlighting a #MashoftheMonth, this will focus on a tool or application within Purple Mash and how it can be used within the classroom to support learning across the curriculum. During the month, if you share how you have used #MashoftheMonth, you will then be entered into a draw to win a 2Simple Goody Bag!

July’s #MashoftheMonth is Serial Mash

Serial Mash is your online library for reading and comprehension, with a new chapter every week of term, writing activities and guided reading resources, all the hard work is done for you. Serial Mash is designed to inspire children to develop a love of reading, become better readers, and provide resources to support busy teachers in the classroom. Through the publication of bespoke weekly fiction, Serial Mash leaves every chapter on a cliffhanger, encouraging children to keep returning to find out what happens next.

Home access is a key part of Serial Mash providing all children, regardless of background, with a growing library they can read for pleasure away from school. Everyone at Serial Mash is committed to helping children have a love of reading and develop the key life skill of reading. The resources accompanying each chapter help ensure the children develop the skills to become higher-level readers and save the teacher’s time in preparing them for themselves.

Serial Mash has recently been updated and has the following features:

• All new design with the ability to edit backgrounds to reflect book content and to help students who find it easier to read on different coloured backgrounds.
• Ability to move on to the next chapter or previous chapter within the E-Reader, this saves the user having to exit the E-Reader to find the next chapter.
• Simplified settings making it easier for the user to tailor their reading experience. The new e-reader remembers user settings and applies them to all books in the library.
• Ability to change the font style, which will also stay when printing
• New styling of definitions to help focus on the word needing explanation. There is also the ability to add pictorial representations of words.
• Inactivity prompt for users- if the users have not turned a page for 5 minutes, then they are asked whether they are still reading- if no action is taken by the user, then the book will automatically close.
• Audio playback and highlighting of the text as it is read. This will only be available for new books being added to Serial Mash. Success will then be reviewed and plan for recording a back catalogue will be made.

The video below highlights all the ways that Serial mash can support reading, writing and comprehension. Using the latest functionality and resources of Serial Mash in the classroom will help you to plan and create tasks to develop reading skills throughout the primary school years.

There are so many ways that Serial Mash can be used within school to both promote a love for reading and support reading throughout the school.

We can’t wait to see how you use our #MashoftheMonth this month – you can share examples via our Twitter or Facebook pages. All examples will be entered into our monthly draw to win a 2Simple goody bag!