Modulo

Dreamscape

Recommended Ages

2nd–8th grades

Dreamscape is an adaptive reading comprehension game that turns literacy practice into a fantasy adventure. Developed by educators and game designers, it has players build and defend a virtual world by answering questions tied to increasingly complex passages. The platform adjusts to each child’s level, targeting vocabulary, inference, and critical thinking skills. Parents appreciate that kids often ask to “play” more reading, making it a strong fit for 2nd–6th graders who enjoy video games but resist traditional worksheets. The interface can feel busy for some learners, so sensitive kids may need shorter sessions, but as a largely free or low-cost supplement, Dreamscape delivers engaging practice for the time and money.

Best for roughly grades 3–8 who can already decode comfortably and love video games—especially kids who drag their feet on traditional reading practice but will happily log in for “one more quest.” It works well for secular homeschoolers wanting a free or low-cost, data-rich supplement between more explicit reading lessons. 

Pros

Hugely motivating for gamers and reluctant readers: kids build and defend a base while completing reading-comprehension tasks, so practice feels like play instead of “doing ELA.” Adaptive leveling keeps questions in the sweet spot of challenge, and families appreciate that the core skills—main idea, inference, vocabulary, and critical thinking—are all woven into the gameplay. 

Cons

Heavy on screen time and extrinsic rewards; some kids get more excited about collecting resources and battling than about reading carefully, and parents often wish the feedback on wrong answers and the variety of text types were deeper. Like any online game, it benefits from adult supervision, especially around chat or social features, and it doesn’t replace explicit phonics or structured writing instruction. 

Many ESA and charter programs treat digital literacy tools like Dreamscape as an eligible curriculum expense, but approval varies by state and provider, so families should confirm with their specific ESA or charter.

Free to $8.99/month or $59.99 annually

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Dreamscape
$0.00 USD

Skills

What kids will learn
View all collections
Reading
Reading
Reading Comprehension
Reading Comprehension
ELA
ELA

Dreamscape Mission

Dreamscape's mission is to raise global literacy by transforming reading practice into an immersive game kids want to play. Built on Shoelace Learning's adaptive engine, the program blends curriculum-aligned reading passages and comprehension questions with base-building, battles, and quests so that every student works at their level while feeling like a gamer, not a test-taker. By meeting children where they are with data-informed gameplay, Dreamscape aims to close reading gaps for millions of students and give teachers powerful insight into each learner's growth.

Dreamscape Story

Dreamscape grew out of Canadian entrepreneur and former Olympic kayaker Julia Rivard Dexter's frustration with how many children, including her own son, were struggling to read and disengaging from traditional practice. In 2014 she founded what is now Shoelace Learning (formerly Eyeread Inc.) to collaborate with literacy researchers, teachers, and game designers on adaptive reading games that kids would genuinely choose to play. After the early success of Squiggle Park, the team launched Dreamscape in 2020 as a deeper, strategy-driven game world built around reading comprehension. Since then it has expanded to millions of players and hundreds of thousands of teachers worldwide, earning recognition as a leading edtech solution for gamified literacy.

About Modular Learning

FAQ: Additional Details about Dreamscape

A typical day starts with your child logging in, choosing an avatar, reading short passages on a glowing screen, tapping answers, and hearing satisfying whooshes and clangs as their “dwell” grows with each correct response.

Dreamscape is an adaptive reading-comprehension video game; you create a Shoelace account, add your child, and the game weaves curriculum‑aligned questions into base‑building missions while a dashboard tracks skills and time‑on‑task.

Most kids can play independently, but younger or struggling readers benefit from you nearby to help decode tricky words, chat about passages, and review the progress dashboard weekly.

Best for roughly grades 2–8 who can read short paragraphs, answer multiple‑choice questions, and use a mouse, trackpad, or tablet with a stable internet connection.

Dreamscape gamifies reading comprehension, which can help ADHD and reluctant readers practice skills with high engagement. For dyslexic or 2e kids, families often appreciate the built‑in incentives but may want to monitor for overstimulation and supplement with structured decoding instruction.

Dreamscape is a game-based reading comprehension program with built-in text-to-speech, so neurodivergent and dyslexic students can have passages read aloud while they practise skills like main idea and inference. Adaptive leveling keeps work in a just-right zone of challenge, which can build confidence for kids who find traditional reading assignments frustrating.

A nice option for some 2e readers who like game‑based practice; the adaptive stories can motivate kids who are both advanced in thinking and behind in decoding. Progress can feel noisy or overstimulating for some ADHD kids, so watch how your child responds.

Dreamscape is a game-based reading comprehension program with built-in text-to-speech, so neurodivergent and dyslexic students can have passages read aloud while they practise skills like main idea and inference. Adaptive leveling keeps work in a just-right zone of challenge, which can build confidence for kids who find traditional reading assignments frustrating.

Shoelace memberships can be canceled anytime to stop future renewals, but their terms state there are no refunds once a membership period has been charged, so plan changes before the next billing date.

Not a great fit for emerging readers who still need systematic phonics, for kids who are easily dysregulated by fast-paced, competitive games, or for families trying to strictly limit screens. It can also frustrate learners who need lots of direct, one-on-one teaching rather than self-directed practice in a game environment.

For decoding and early reading, consider Nessy, All About Reading, or Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons; for quieter comprehension work, Epic’s guided reading collections or Vocabulary Cartoons can pair nicely; for another game-like supplement, Kahoot! and Touch-Type Read and Spell (TTRS) are popular with secular homeschoolers. 

Shoelace regularly releases new seasonal “worlds,” avatars, pets, and reading question sets, and continues to expand its Science of Reading–aligned content and teacher tools.

Cap the game at a set number of battles or minutes per day and build a simple routine: play, then spend five minutes having your child retell a passage or explain a tricky question. Checking the parent/teacher dashboard once a week and celebrating specific gains (“You moved up a level in inference questions!”) keeps it feeling fun but purposeful.

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Meet Julia

Julia Rivard Dexter is the co-founder and CEO of Shoelace Learning, the company behind Dreamscape and Squiggle Park. A former national-level kayaker who competed for Team Canada and later became a successful tech entrepreneur, she turned her focus to literacy after seeing both the statistics on reading proficiency and her own child's struggles with printed texts. Julia has led Shoelace in partnering with top researchers and school systems to study engagement and growth, and today her games support millions of students around the world. A fun fact: she has been recognized as one of Canada's Top 50 women in STEM and still brings an athlete's grit and optimism to every product sprint.