I like this app. I will use it at school. I would like to see at least a couple of changes. It would be more helpful to hear the letter sounds when spelling than the letter names. The letter printing demos need to be slowed down a great deal. It would be even better to see a colored line showing the letter as it it formed.
Overall I am pretty pleased with this game. However, it has no form of traditional gamification that will give the player a sense of progression. The only "reward" is an audio "Great job." It is most useful if you pick a particular thing you want someone to work on and then hand them the iPad. It would really only progress to a great app if you were able to instruct a child they have 30 minutes to play on the game and it would progressively get harder. The Number one complaint from my kid was that the games never end. All of that being said the games included are clever and fun. If you plan on sitting next to a child while they use this it should work great, but self guided play is unlikely.
I love this app because it focuses on the development of easy words. I also love that it doesn’t use any characters that are “popular”. It is engaging without being overly distracting. Thank you!
Love this app! But on the sling shot game, the letter keeps getting stuck in the top right corner and then we can't exit the screen within the app. Please fix!!!
This is a great app to use with a small group, lower students, or to use as a center and even a reinforcement for students finished with their assignments. I would love to see a long vowel study come out!!! Thanks.
This app is excellent! The only reason I give it four stars is because there's a sound button but no sound. Work on fixing that and I'll give five stars. Otherwise, the app works excellently.
Teaching kids to spell includes much more than a list of spelling words students should memorize and write on a spelling test each week. Effective spelling methods do not rely on rote memorization, but are developmentally appropriate and hands-on. Word Study is a widely research-based spelling approach whose purpose is to “examine words in order to reveal the logic and consistencies within [the] written language system and to help student achieve mastery in recognizing, spelling, and defining specific words” (Words Their Way, Bear, et. al, 2012). Word Study is developmentally appropriate because it takes into consideration what the student understands or does not yet understand about spellings and word meanings to discover where spelling instruction should start. This is accomplished by looking at the student’s misspellings of certain word patterns (from simple words like man to more complex words such as multitude). It is hands-on in that it requires students to analyze, manipulate, and create meaningful and logical generalizations of how word spellings work. Short Vowels Word Study app is based on the Word Study approach described above and is for students in the late Letter Name-Alphabetic Spellers to early Within Word Pattern Spellers, according to the spelling development levels of Words Their Way. Short Vowels Word Study helps kids learn the spelling patterns related to word families and longer short vowel words through developmentally appropriate and hands-on spelling activities. Short Vowels Word Study teaches kids who are ready for: > word families, > short vowel words (CVC), and > longer short vowel words with blends and diagraphs (CCVC and CVCC) The Spelling Activities Included: SORT IT - Sorting words based on their spelling pattern. FIND IT - Analyzing words based on their patterns and finding the one that does not fit based on its phonics sound or visual pattern. SPELL IT - Manipulating letter tiles to spell short vowel words. WRITE IT - Spelling short vowel words by tracing and writing the word. Short Vowels Word Study Bonus Sections - a parent section that explains the theory behind the spelling activities included in the app - a “Word Fun” section, where kids can play hands-on spelling games after earning stars from their spelling activities Kids Safe, No Adds or In-App purchases! please see our Privacy Policy PRIVACY POLICY We take privacy very seriously: Does not contain ads Does not contain integration with social networks Does not use analytics / data collection tools Does not contain in-app purchases Does contain web links for parents To read more about teaching kids to spell through a developmental approach to spelling, visit This Reading Mama or purchase her book, Teaching Kids to Spell. http://thisreadingmama.com/ http://thisreadingmama.com/teaching-kids-to-spell/
