By combining the kid-friendly Nintendo DS with a proven reading curriculum developed and tested at the University of Colorado,My Virtual Tutor: Readingmakes learning reading skills fun, affordable and portable!  Through interactive books, school age and grade relevant phonics instruction and  fun quiz modes, your child will learn the comprehension, phonics, fluency and vocabulary necessary to become an expert reader, all  while having fun with their Nintendo DS.GameplayMy Virtual Tutor: Readinggreets your child first with a fun story in Read to Me mode, where the story is read by the tutor, accompanied by fun sounds and animations.  Once the story is read, your child  then accesses the story in Explore mode, which features comprehension questions which assess your child’s understanding of what they read.  After Explore mode, I Can Read mode is unlocked, where your child can read the story, play fun word-based minigames and even record and listen to him/herself reading aloud!  These minigames offer more practice to expand reading comprehension and vocabulary.  After playing I Can Read, your child can unleash their inner artist in paint mode while the story is read to them by the tutor.  Once your child completes all four modes in the first book, an additional book is unlocked in their library to read and explore.  These books were specially created at the University of Colorado to both engage readers and supply practice to gain fluent reading and comprehension.At any point your child can also play phonics minigames building the skills necessary to become an independent reader.  The phonics games focus building words that start, contain, and end with certain letters and sounds.  These games progress along with your child by evaluating performance on the current concept then moving on once that concept has been mastered.  In addition to phonics practice, our challenge mode will test your child’s skills with survival-style gameplay.After your child has explored a story and tested their phonics skills, he or she is ready for quiz mode!  Quiz mode tests the skills and concepts your child has learned up until that point in the game.  By answering story comprehension questions, word matching, and coloring (just for fun!) your child can unlock 20 great prizes! [Prize Pictures]Parents can access Parent Mode at any time to track your child’s progress and identify areas of mastery and areas needing more focus for deeper learning.Key FeaturesEnhanced Learning – Reading as a fun activityMy Virtual Tutor: Reading has fun as a top priority.  By experiencing early reading through wonderful, hand-drawn animations and characters, along with fun mini-games, your child will not only learn to read; they’ll learn that reading is fun!SuccessfulThe game is based on the National Education Association standards for teaching literacy, and  derived from a system developed by researchers at the University of Colorado.  Delivered on the Nintendo DS, learning to read is made fun and portable.Easy to PlayNintendo DS uses the touchscreen exclusively; no need for long, wordy menus to begin and play! Your child can interact with the words and pictures in the game, and they can even paint a picture of the story while the virtual tutor reads.  With the portability of a Nintendo DS, your child can learn to read anywhere, anytime!Adaptive learningMy Virtual Tutor: Reading teaches your child new skills as they master previous ones.  The activities are paced to correlate with their learning.  As your child performs better and faster, the game will dish out extra challenges to keep them excited and engaged.Self-Correcting PracticesTo help develop fluency, your child can read the books out-load using the Nintendo DS microphone.  After your child reads, the tutor will play back the recording and compare it to what she reads for self-correcting practice.A Fun Reward SystemAnimated and interactive quizzes are introduced to test your child's retention of the skills and concepts they learned while playing the game.   As your child learns to read by mastering skills and concepts, fun prizes are awarded.  Your child will be eager to accumulate as many prizes as possible.  Parent ModeBy tracking your child’s progress, the tutor shows you where your child excels, and where more practice is needed.Up to 3 Users per GameWith up to three possible user profiles, every child in your family can have their very own Virtual Tutor!