Who doesn’t love a good monster story? Monsters are often used to represent our deepest fears. Ask your students what they are afraid of.
Amanda Noll, the beloved author of a series of children’s books, weaves a haunting tale that plays on the age-old fear of monsters lurking beneath beds. With a wicked sense of humor, she spins her stories into a chilling tapestry where these creatures don’t just hide in the shadows; they thrive in the dark corners of a child’s imagination. They coax children into staying under the covers, whispering secrets of sleep as they slink through the night, ensuring that little ones remain snug and dreaming—while the true horrors of the dark remain just beyond reach.
Amanda Noll’s monster books are available through Bookshare!
I Need My Monster
One night, when Ethan checks under his bed for his monster, Gabe, he finds a note from him instead: “Gone fishing. Back in a week.” Ethan knows that without Gabe’s familiar nightly scares he doesn’t stand a chance of getting to sleep, so Ethan interviews potential substitutes to see if they’ve got the right equipment for the job—pointy teeth, sharp claws, and a long tail—but none of them proves scary enough for Ethan.
I Need My Monster Youtube video by Storyline Online
- I Need My Monster (Bookshare)
- I Need My Monster (Amazon)
- I Need My Monster Teacher’s Guide (by StoryLine Online)
Note taking Activity
Note-taking is an essential skill, lurking like a shadow in the corners of the classroom. Before we dive back into the spine-chilling tale, listen for the names of the lurking monsters that haunt the pages. As the story unfolds, urge the students to listen intently, their hearts racing, and scribble down notes about each creature that creeps out from under the bed. First, inscribe the name of the monster, then conjure a list of its eerie characteristics.
Be warned: The characteristics can only be taken from the words in the book and not from the illustrations.
Students should use their preferred device to take notes using a list format. Students who have learned how to navigate by headings, should make each monster’s name a heading.
Watch the read aloud YouTube video of the book, I Need My Monster.
Below is each monster’s name and characteristics:
Gabe
- Green ooze
- Likes snacking on toes
- Puddle of drool
- Spiked tail
- Sharpened claws on bedpost
- Snorts and growls
Herbert
- Overbite
- Mouth breather
- No claws
Ralph
- Sleekly brushed fur
- Smooth shiny claws
- Nail polish on claws
- Well-groomed
Cynthia
- Razor sharp, jagged, claws
- Slimy tail with a bow
- Girl monster
Mac
- Slobbering
- Scruffy boy monster
- Claws
- Stumpy tail
- Long tongue for licking
Want to work on a tech skill too? YouTube videos have speed settings. Increase the speed setting from “Normal” to 1.25, 1.5, 1.75 or 2. How fast can YOU listen and take notes?
Modification for emerging writers
Students who are not writing independently can dictate/record their “notes”.
Another option is for students to have a guided discussion about each monster’s characteristics; student can provide the characteristics and the teacher can model note taking by writing each monster’s characteristics.
Students can also create a monster with at least one listed characteristic by using play dough, tactile materials or use tactile drawing tools.
Discussion
Which was your favorite monster and why?
The author used words that made students create vivid mental images and that deepened their understanding of the characters and the story’s mood. What things in the story made it spooky? (Example: Scary words, spooky music and the haunting voices that the speaker used for each monster).
Ask students to come up with a list of scary monster characteristics. These words can describe the monster’s physical characteristics and how the monster moves.
Monster characteristics
Think of words that describe your monster’s claws, tail, eye(s), tentacles, teeth, etc. Here are a few examples:
- Slimy
- Spiky
- Slithery
- Clammy
- Razor-sharp
- Bloodshot
- Flytrap mouth
- Stinky
- Nauseating
- Burning
Monster movement
Think of spooky words that describe how your monster moves. What animal does your monster resemble? Think of words that describe that animal’s movement. Here are some examples:
- Floating
- Slithering
- Stomping
- Scratching
- Slug-like
- Skittering
- Flapping
Writing activity
What kind of monster would scare you? Write a description of your scary monster using your spooky, descriptive words. Be sure to give your monster a scary name!
Drawing
Draw your monster or create a tactile monster using various materials and textures. (Visually impaired students can draw a tactile monster using the Sensational Blackboard, Draftsman or other tactile drawing tool.)
Resources
- Hey, That’s My Monster! Book 2: Note taking and writing
- How I Met My Monster book 3: Note taking and writing
- Make your own monster: Play dough activity and story telling
- Build a Monster online game: Low vision
- Monster: Note taking skills
- Monster: Note taking skills part 2
- Early elementary: Tactile pictures and drawing, engaging student in literacy activities, part 2
By Diane Brauner
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