Midnight Rescue! develops reading comprehension, deductive reasoning, and thinking skills. The program uses over 200 reading selections, including posters, newspaper articles, reports, letters, diaries, and children’s classics. Students practice reading comprehension skills such as reading for main ideas, recalling key details to support the main idea, drawing inferences, and building their vocabulary through context clues. Students use critical thinking to gather, organize, and analyze essential information to deduce the identity of the Master of Mischief. A noteworthy feature of this program is that the user can click on the Hard Words button and certain words will be highlighted. Onscreen pronunciations and definitions are given to help the user understand the meanings of words through their use in context. Another feature is that the program has the capability to read aloud to the user.

There are no content inaccuracies. The program supports the curriculum at the fourth-grade level. Midnight Rescue! is designed for a diverse student population. The reading level is appropriate for the intermediate elementary school grades. The reading selections are divided into two levels. The levels differ in overall complexity of language, targeted curriculum skills, and the type of thinking strategies required to answer the challenge at the end of the selection. The program has built-in leveling capabilities that allow the user to be challenged gradually. This provides students with the opportunity for success as they develop their reading skills. The program is free of ethnic and gender bias. The Super Solver wears a hat/cap on its head; therefore, it is impossible to tell its ethnicity or gender. The robots in the game are also ethnic and gender free.

The program is very easy to use. After an initial overview, most students should be able to use this program independently. A minimal amount of experience is needed to install the software. Students can easily start the program on their own. The navigation system is easy to understand and operate. The Super Solver needs to Sign-in before the game begins. The user’s rank will determine the difficulty level. I found the program aesthetically pleasing. As an educator I liked the goal of the program. The Master of Mischief wants to make Shady Glen School disappear forever. The Super Solver must race against the clock to find the Master of Mischief and save the school! Master of Mischief turned five paintbrushes into robots that ‘patrol’ the school hallways. He disguises himself as one of the robots. Super Solvers are given cameras to collect clues while searching two floors of rooms in Shady Glen School. The program has the option to turn on voice. This is an excellent aid for the student who is struggling in reading. This student will also feel success using this program.

Midnight Rescue! makes excellent use of technology. It encourages reading comprehension in a different mode than a traditional reading program. I would use this software as a way to accommodate for the diverse needs of my students. The teacher cannot modify the program's content. However, there is an option to turn off new player hints, game clock, or sound. Turning off the game clock allows the student time to read passages, answer questions, or review his/her notes. The game difficulty automatically increases as players advance in the reading levels. There are eight different ranks for the Super Solver to achieve.

Students are empowered by this program. Reading is the foundation of all learning. This program promotes reading comprehension and thinking skills. Midnight Rescue! can be used individually, in pairs, or in small groups. It helps students to value reading as well as their own critical thinking skills.

The teacher doesn’t have the option to customize the program. I would suggest showing the program to the whole class with an LCD before children use the program independently. If an LCD is not available, a few students can assist other children.

Midnight Rescue! is an excellent program that aligns with my fourth grade curriculum. In fourth grade we spend a lot of time discussing main idea in all subject areas. It’s developmentally appropriate for the students in my classroom. The different reading levels of the program encourage the struggling readers as well as the more fluent readers in my class.

I found Midnight Rescue! to be an excellent program to encourage and motivate students to read. I feel children will improve their reading comprehension skills, increase their reading vocabulary, and improve their deductive thinking skills. This piece of software will be an extremely effective instructional tool in the intermediate elementary school grades.