Read Naturally Live App Review

Jaymi Thiessen on May 20, 2024

Phonics.org takes a close look at literacy programs so that you can make informed educational support choices for the new reader in your life. 

Continue reading to discover more about the Read Naturally Live literacy app.

What is Read Naturally?

Since 1991, Read Naturally (Read Live) has provided a range of interventions for literacy development. While Read Naturally has 12 different intervention options, this review focuses on three key components: 

  • Read Naturally Live
  • Word Warm-ups Live
  • One Minute Reader Live

Emphasizing research and assessment, the program offers technical and tailored support for students’ reading fluency and comprehension skills. Let’s take a look!

Usability of Read Naturally Live

When it comes to usability and interface, there are a few factors to point out in Read Naturally Live. 

Sign-Up and Log In

Signing up for Read Naturally Live takes considerable time and effort. The process involves requesting a username and password, followed by a day-long wait for approval. The number of steps required—including inputting account numbers, user IDs, and passwords—exacerbates this difficulty, particularly for young children trying to navigate the system. 

Navigation

Read Naturally Live has in-depth programming and navigation. While enrolling a student may be a relatively straightforward (although time-consuming) process, upon further exploration, the platform requires significant effort. 

Users would benefit from watching instructional videos or participating in webinars, given the unintuitive nature of the interface. Educators must be prepared to invest substantial effort into learning the program.

Placement Test

The placement test in Read Naturally requires active involvement from teachers, as they must log in and be present to administer the assessment. 

An Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) passage is used to place students. An ORF is a quick and highly accurate literacy assessment method that can be completed quickly. However, proficiency in administering this placement assessment requires specialized training for educators, adding complexity. 

Following the assessment, the meticulous process of verifying the results involves using the program’s dedicated calculator, charts, and methodology. While this is a thorough method, the detailed nature of the post-test procedures can be time-consuming and tedious.

Data Management and Student Growth

Read Naturally tracks student progress. Detailed charts provide comprehensive insights into individual student performance. Through these tools, educators can gain a nuanced understanding of each student’s development, enabling targeted interventions and adjustments to support their learning journey.

Engagement in Read Naturally

These factors contribute to the overall engagement of children learning with Read Naturally. 

Neutral Appearance

The program’s neutral aesthetic makes it suitable for older learners requiring intervention. However, this lack of visual stimulation may contribute to a sense of monotony. It’s devoid of engaging characters, vibrant colors, or interactive elements typically found in engaging educational apps for young children. 

Instead, Read Naturally leans towards a “skill and drill” practice, prioritizing content over flashy presentation. This makes it more appealing to some older students. 

Read Naturally Live has a neutral appearance and direct practice approach that would be respectful of older learners including adults.

Activity Length

Some activities within Read Naturally can become lengthy and monotonous, lacking clear indications of when they will end. This ambiguity can lead to uncertainty and a sense of disengagement for students. 

Rewards

While the program offers incentives like earning stars, points, or awards for completion, these rewards lack tangible significance. The advantage of this approach is that the focus stays on learning skills and intrinsic motivation (improving based on personal skill). Users would be encouraged to improve their reading skills tangibly with detailed and immediate feedback on progress. 

Feedback is provided for students and teachers after each lesson sequence

Literacy Instruction in Read Naturally: Live

How is the Read Naturally Live program for literacy? When it comes to phonics and literacy skills, we’ve made some observations.

Scope and Sequence

Read Naturally has a carefully designed scope and sequence for foundational literacy skills. The program begins with practice reading one-syllable words, focusing on practice for each vowel sound, which is a tricky skill for new readers to learn. 

The curriculum assumes students enter with some confidence in this skill, using the app as a platform for practice and reinforcement rather than initial instruction. This approach ensures a targeted and efficient progression, maximizing student engagement and skill acquisition.

Type of Phonics

Read Naturally Live uses synthetic phonics as its primary approach to phonics instruction. Synthetic phonics connects individual sounds and letters to teach children how to read and spell words. It’s known as the most effective, efficient method of phonics instruction. 

Read Naturally Live uses a direct and explicit teaching approach to teach phonics concepts, which is ideal. While the instructional videos aren’t exciting, they’re clear and short which is a good approach for new readers. 

Phonemic Awareness

Read Live Naturally incorporates phonemic awareness practice into its lessons. The practice of manipulating phonemes is done with and without letters. Students observe how to blend individual letter sounds together to read a word. This is done through ‘final blending’ (saying each sound and putting them together at the end). 

The program can improve here by showing other types of blending such as continuous blending—where each sound is held and blended into the next sound without pauses in between. 

Overall, the Read Naturally Live program presents many opportunities for reading practice and modeling, reinforcing effective phonics and phonemic awareness concepts.

Letter Sounds

Read Naturally Live has relative accuracy in representing letter sounds in American English. The audio examples of phonics sounds serve as a valuable reference list, although certain phonemes like /r/ may require refinement. 

It’s important to note that these audio cues serve primarily as reference points or reminders rather than comprehensive teaching tools. For optimal effectiveness, the program should coincide with direct classroom instruction of these key concepts. 

Spelling

Read Naturally Live mirrors the reading instruction in its spelling lessons. The program models how to segment a word into its sound parts, and then reinforces vocabulary by using whole words in sentences. Students are expected to type the spelling responses on a standard keyboard which may present challenges for younger learners. 

Alternative methods like using an alphabet arc or having a few letter choices could enhance the platform’s accessibility. Additionally, the program requires students to check their answers and correct their own mistakes. This method fosters independent learning and skill development.

Spelling exercises in Read Naturally Live

Is Read Naturally Live a Good Reading Program?

Read Naturally Live offers a technical, skills-based approach to literacy development. It emphasizes interventions and tailored support for students’ reading, fluency, and vocabulary building. 

While its neutral appearance and direct approach are appealing to older learners, it may lack engagement for younger audiences. 

The program’s sign-up and navigation are challenging because they require substantial effort from users. However, its detailed data tracking and progress monitoring tools empower educators to make informed decisions. Despite some activities being lengthy, Read Naturally Live provides detailed feedback and opportunities for skill improvement. 

With a carefully-designed scope and sequence, synthetic phonics instruction, and integration of phonemic awareness practice, the program effectively supports foundational literacy skills. Read Naturally Live can be a valuable resource when paired with direct classroom instruction and an involved teacher who is committed to using the program. 

Want to find the best phonics programs available today? Read more of our reviews at phonics.org, rated by literacy experts and reading specialists.

Read Naturally Live: Overall Rating

Quality of Literacy Instruction:   3.5 / 5

Usability:  3 / 5

Engagement:   2 / 5

Foundations A-Z Review for Literacy Instruction

Jaymi Thiessen on May 13, 2024

Phonics.org takes a closer look at literacy programs so that you can make more informed choices about what apps to use for the new reader in your life. 

Continue reading to discover more about Foundations A-Z.

What is Foundations A to Z?

Foundations A-Z is a newly-redesigned digital learning program by Learning A-Z, formerly known as Headsprout. 

This program was created to align with the science of reading to teach students from Kindergarten to grade 5. Launched in 2024, this web-based platform is designed for parents and teachers to support students in developing foundational literacy skills:

  • Letter names
  • Letter sounds
  • Letter formation (printing)
  • Phonemic awareness (rhyming, syllabication, phoneme blending, etc.)
  • Decoding (word-reading)
  • High-frequency words instruction

Foundations A-Z has several notable pros and cons that educators should be aware of so that they can support students.

Usability of Foundations A-Z

Usability relates to how easy the platform is for kids to navigate, use, and understand. Here are some of its features. 

Sign-Up and Log In

The sign-up and log-in process is simple for teachers, parents, and kids to figure out. Students can log in with their name and a picture password. This makes accessing the games fairly easy. Ready-made parent initials for logging in and providing lesson information are also easily accessible. 

Student Management

Foundations A-Z has a very detailed “Student Management” area for creating classes of students with passwords, changing learning settings, and evaluating progress. The student reports are incredibly detailed and would offer educators valuable feedback on how children are doing in the program. 

Instructions and Gameplay

The instructions in Foundation A-Z are clearly stated and repeatable. Unfortunately, many of the game instructions appear unnecessarily complex and lengthy. This is not ideal for most children and would be especially difficult for children who have language disorders, attention difficulties, or executive functioning struggles. 

Additionally, the long instructions need to be repeated even if the child just wants to hear the keyword or single sound to answer the question. This can become boring and frustrating for players.

 

Game instructions are often unnecessarily complicated and long. 

Microphone Feature

A microphone feature encourages children to say sounds or read words out loud. This is a great feature for encouraging active engagement. However, the microphone needs to be calibrated every time it is used, even from one game to the next in the same sitting. This involves touching a ‘record’ button, counting to 5 out loud, stopping the record button, and then submitting the answer with another button and waiting to see if it worked. This is a lot of extra steps for kids to go through to read a word out loud. 

Not only is this feature complicated to use, but the program often gives inaccurate feedback to the learner. In this way, a player could read a word incorrectly and the game would congratulate them for reading it correctly. Inaccuracies likely increase if a child has concerns with speech articulation or an accent. 

The microphone sound calibration process is repeated every time a child needs to use the microphone, wasting precious instructional time and boring young players. The feedback from this feature is inconsistent. 

Visual Organization

Foundations A-Z contains odd visual settings for gameplay. Often, the answers are too large to fit on one screen. Kids must know how to scroll around the screen to see all the answers to most questions. They need to click another button to “check answer” and then another button to know if their answer was correct. 

Children need to scroll to look for all potential answers to this question. 

Engagement in Foundations A-Z

These factors contribute to the overall engagement of children playing Foundations A-Z. 

Games and Activities

The energetic and cute characters in the game add interest and positive reinforcement for players. However, complex instructions and gameplay could interfere with a child’s ability and willingness to play the games. 

Star Zone Rewards

In the Rewards feature, children can earn ‘stars’ by engaging with lessons or completing games. These stars can be exchanged for one of three interesting options: 

  1. Custom Background: Changing the background of the game 
  2. Avatar Builder: Customizing robots’ features, clothes, and accessories 
  3. Raz Rocket: Designing the inside of a spaceship by purchasing items

To maintain focus, the reward options are customizable. This allows teachers or parents to turn off all or some rewards if they become too distracting.

Reward options within Foundations A-Z

Literacy Concepts in Foundations A-Z

Here are some factors that contribute to the overall quality of literacy instruction in Foundations A-Z. 

Lesson Organization

Foundations A-Z has a detailed, planned scope and sequence indicating the order of literacy content. Systematic literacy instruction is highly recommended by experts in the field. In this way, children learn information in a step-by-step manner. It’s a logical and research-based method of teaching reading. 

Direct Instruction 

The Foundations A-Z literacy program incorporates engaging characters and narrative elements. Videos with these characters provide direct teaching instruction in the game. Direct and explicit teaching in phonics skills is highly recommended by reading experts, generally making these videos a benefit to the program. 

These videos have a piece where they ask children to tap or interact with something on the screen. Unfortunately, this is a video. The tapping just pauses the video. The instructional pieces should not ask for interaction from children when it isn’t possible or disrupts learning. 

Cognitive Overload

The instructional videos are packed full of information. For example, one of the first direct instruction videos includes information on: 

  • Review of all letter names
  • Letter sounds
  • The difference between consonants and vowels
  • The /n/ sound
  • Uppercase and lowercase letter information
  • Formation of printing the letter <N>, 
  • How to make the sound /n/
  • Counting words in a sentence

This information is important and valuable. However, providing all this information at once is rather overwhelming. 

Additionally, some of the information in these lessons is too technical to share with very early readers. For example, one of the early instructional videos includes information about short vowel sounds in closed syllables. 

Chunking information into smaller, sequential lessons better supports many learners. Simplifying important information for young learners must also be a priority. 

Letter Sounds

The letter sound instruction within the Foundations A-Z literacy program is generally clear and accurate. 

There are a few inconsistencies in the consonant sound for /y/. Letter sound learning is accompanied by videos of a mouth that shows how the sound is made. There is also a short description of what a child’s mouth, tongue, and lips are doing when making this sound. This has been shown to support children in learning and remembering letter sounds accurately and is a good addition to the program. 

Explaining how to make a sound is a helpful aspect of literacy learning

Letter Formation

Foundations A-Z includes explicit instruction and modeling of letter formation. This is an excellent aspect to include in a reading program. The letter formation in Foundations A-Z is accurate. The program also includes a verbal path for letter formation. A verbal path is a consistent set of oral directions that can be associated when making the letter to encourage appropriate formation. 

Unfortunately, the verbal path in Foundations A-Z is quite verbose. A more succinct verbal path does a better job of helping children remember how to form letters. 

The verbal path for letter formation is accurate but complicated. 

Type of Texts

Foundations A-Z uses decodable texts to encourage children to practice reading continuous texts. Decodable texts contain words that children have been taught to read. This encourages decoding and discourages guessing. 

Children can choose to listen to the digital book or read it themselves. When a word is selected, children can have it highlighted, read to them, or added to a word journal. These are great features that allow children to learn more independently. 

Decodable text sample from Foundations A-Z

How Effective is the Foundations A-Z Platform?

Overall, Foundations A-Z seems to be aligned with reading research. 

  • There is a clear scope and sequence. 
  • It uses synthetic phonics with explicit and direct instruction for letter names, sounds, and formation. 
  • Children learn how to sound out a word using individual letters and sounds, which is a rare and important feature of an online reading program. 

The follow-through and implementation of some of these features could use some improvements for children. Many of the game instructions, video lessons, and letter formations are overly verbose and occasionally too technical for the youngest learners. 

Games need to be scanned and scrolled to see all potential answers and methods of playing games and answering questions are not always clear. A child who has issues with memory or attention may struggle to learn with this program. 

This program is also relatively new and still has some glitches that make it difficult to play. For example, playing Foundations A-Z games on an iPad does not function well. Some games are unanswerable and the microphone system should not be relied upon to give accurate feedback to children. 

Hopefully, with system updates, some time, and finessing, Foundations A-Z will become more functional for new readers. 

Want to explore more phonics and reading programs for kids? Check out Phonics.org reviews from literacy instructors!

Foundations A-Z: Overall Rating

Quality of Literacy Instruction:  3.5 / 5

Usability:  2 / 5

Engagement:  3 / 5

Lalilo App Review

Jaymi Thiessen on May 9, 2024

Lalilo App Review

At Phonics.org, our goal is to provide educational reviews that empower you to make informed decisions for your child or student’s literacy learning.

Discover the benefits and drawbacks of the Lalilo app in this review!

What is Lalilo?

Lalilo is a literacy software program intended for K-2 students and teachers. The program offers interactive lessons and exercises aligned with various literacy goals. 

It includes practice with:

  • Phonological awareness
  • Sight and high-frequency words
  • Letter and word recognition
  • Fluency
  • Vocabulary
  • Grammar and conventions
  • Comprehension

Lalilo’s student platform offers individualized, and adaptive, and self-paced exercises with AI technology ensuring appropriate content levels and feedback. The teacher dashboard facilitates data analysis, progress tracking, and lesson planning based on student needs and input. 

Positive Aspects of the Lalilo App for Reading

Here are several positive features of Lalilo worth noting. 

Sequential and Systematic Lessons

In the Lalilo app, lessons are structured systematically. This aligns with recommended educational practices. The program presents a clear and comprehensive scope and sequence and implementation guide, complete with hyperlinks to sample lessons for easy reference. Each lesson is designed in a step-by-step format, simplifying the game navigation for children. 

Dashboard and Student Data

The dashboard and student data area for teachers in Lalilo are impressively organized and user-friendly. Whether viewing individual student progress or analyzing class-wide data, the interface is intuitive and easy to navigate. 

Teachers can delve into specific literacy goals such as phonics, sight words, comprehension, grammar, and vocabulary, allowing for a detailed breakdown of each student’s performance in specific areas. Overall, the teacher dashboard area is exceptionally well-executed, providing educators with valuable insights to inform their teaching.

Letters and Sounds

Lalilo teaches letters and their sounds clearly and directly. Each letter, both uppercase and lowercase, is presented with its name and corresponding sound repetitively. The app emphasizes repetition to reinforce learning. 

Additionally, the pronunciation of sounds aligns accurately with American English standards, contributing to effective phonics instruction.

Engagement

Lalilo uses several features that foster engagement for kids. 

  • It has a visually beautiful design and user-friendly interface. 
  • Directions for each exercise can be repeated, which is a practical and useful feature for kids. 
  • Students are further motivated by proximity rewards such as books or badges, which are seamlessly integrated into the learning process without detracting from the educational objectives of the games.

Stories 

The stories in Lalilo feature a rich vocabulary, vivid descriptions, beautiful illustrations, and engaging narratives that captivate children’s interest. They provide an enjoyable listening experience that builds oral language skills. Overall, the stories add to the platform. 

Read aloud stories for children in Lalilo

Vocabulary

Lalilo offers a full “Foundational Vocabulary Unit” for emergent English language learners. There is a toggle on/off switch that can be added to individual students’ programs when needed. Direct vocabulary instruction is practical and helpful for kids in school who are just learning the English language. 

Shortcomings of the Lalilo App

There are also several challenges with using and learning with Lalilo.  

Introductory Activity and Training Exercise

Students begin Lalilo with an ‘introductory activity’ and then a training exercise. The introductory activity gauges the specific skills of each learner and places that learner in an appropriate place in their scope and sequence. This is a helpful and practical feature. 

However, these initial activities can be quite long and arduous for newer or younger readers. 

The training exercise is designed to teach players how to play the different games. Some of the games in Lalilo don’t appear intuitive for kids. For example, keywords are not dragged and dropped to a location. Instead, each response needs to be clicked and entered in the ‘answer’ box with another click, and then the answer needs to be submitted by clicking on the checkmark at the bottom of the screen. The existence of the training exercise itself seems to imply that these games are not intuitive for young children. 

Children sort graphemes into “Ss” and “not Ss” categories 

Oral Reading

Lalilo has a microphone feature that can listen to students as they read words. The app then provides feedback on their accuracy. This is a great feature that encourages active engagement in the game. However, this feature isn’t helpful for children with articulation or pronunciation struggles. Unfortunately, it also isn’t always accurate with this feedback. It sometimes corrects answers that a child already got right. 

Game Instructions

In Lalilo, there are occasional glitches where the game instructions are interrupted by specific letter or word prompts. This can be remedied by repeating the directions. However, this could be confusing for young users. 

Phonemic Awareness Practice

Phonemic awareness—the ability to manipulate individual sounds in speech and words—is crucial for reading development, particularly in blending sounds to form words. Lalilo offers phonemic awareness practice, although much of it focuses on isolating sounds in words. 

This activity asks children to put sounds in order to create a word.

The ‘repeat arrows’ are sounds and the + signs are where the sounds should go.

Lalilo does have some activities where children need to blend individual sounds to form a word. Unfortunately, these activities don’t have letters. Incorporating more activities with blending individual letter sounds would enhance the literacy instruction in Lalilo. 

Phonics Instruction

Lalilo uses analogy phonics with a reliance on word families. There are over 300 word families in the English language. It can be taxing for children to memorize all of these different families. 

This type of phonics instruction is not as efficient as synthetic phonics. Synthetic phonics uses individual letters and sounds to teach children to read and spell and is supported by research. 

The activities and exercises in Lalilo also don’t closely follow the scope and sequence of letter sounds and word types. Kids are frequently asked to read words that contain letter sounds that haven’t been taught yet. 

Decodable Texts

Lalilo includes decodable text very early in the literacy program when children have only learned three sounds and the word “the.” Decodable books are intended to contain mostly letter sounds and words that have been practiced and taught previous to reading the book. This is intended to encourage children to sound out the words in books.

However, in the initial Lalilo “decodable reader,” many of the sounds have not yet been introduced. Children would need to rely on guessing from the pictures unless they happen to know the letter sounds already. This reliance on pictures may detract from the book’s decodability, as the goal is to avoid children guessing based on images.

Only one of these words in this ‘decodable book’ can be sounded out based on the letter sounds that have been taught so far.

Font and Readability 

The font size in Lalilo is relatively small which may pose readability challenges. Children’s responses can be particularly small and more difficult to see. Additionally, the word “I” lacks distinct horizontal lines at the top and bottom, making it easily confused with the letter <L>. Implementing clearer differentiation for “I” could enhance readability for young learners and reduce potential confusion.

The sight word “I” can be confused with the letter <l>  

Children are asked to find the words that contain the letter <t>

Lalilo Review: Is the App Worth It? 

Lalilo offers a comprehensive literacy program for K-2 students and teachers. It includes various important aspects of literacy instruction. Its systematic lessons with direct instruction are great practices for teaching basic literacy skills. The beautiful stories and visually engaging interface are enjoyable to see and play. The systematic vocabulary program for English language learners is a valuable addition to the program. Finally, the data tracking of student skills is helpful and easy to access for educators. 

However, there are notable drawbacks to consider, including challenges with game instructions cutting out or being unnecessarily complicated. Lalilo should include practice in sounding out a word, letter by letter, from left to right. Using this type of synthetic phonics practice is more efficient when learning to read.  Additionally, the very early introduction of decodable texts and font readability issues may impact the effectiveness of the program. 

Despite these shortcomings, Lalilo remains a useful tool for supporting literacy development, particularly for emergent English language learners and students with early language skills.

Lalilo App: Overall Rating

Quality of Literacy Instruction: 3 / 5

Usability: 2 / 5

Engagement: 3 / 5

Project Read AI: Review

Jaymi Thiessen on April 30, 2024

Project Read AI is an artificial intelligence reading tutor. Launched in August 2023, this innovative tool was created by educators and AI experts from Stanford University. Leveraging the power of artificial intelligence, Project Read not only coaches teachers in the science of reading but also provides free personalized literacy tutoring for children. With its commitment to free and personalized reading tutoring, Project Read is a step towards closing the literacy gap, making literacy education more available for all.

How does this program implement literacy instruction? Here’s our Project Read AI review, provided by reading educators at phonics.org.

How to Use Project Read AI

Each aspect of the Project Read AI platform plays a strategic role in literacy tutoring. To understand how to use Project Read, let’s look at every component offered on its website. 

Student and Educator Log-In

Signing up for Project Read is a relatively straightforward process for educators. Using a class code, students can log in, select their name, and get started with the AI tutor. 

After the initial sign-up, logging in to the site requires an email link for every sign-in. Navigating to different parts of the site such as going to the AI tutor and then back to the dashboard requires an additional email link. The log-in process could be more streamlined to better accommodate busy educators. 

Project Read Dashboard

The dashboard area is where educators can set up their digital classrooms, add students, assign specific work to practice, and review data on student practice in the app.

Educators can choose from four different scope and sequences to follow on the site. The scope and sequence options include: 

The teacher can also select exactly which place in the scope and sequence the child should begin practice. This can be done as a whole class or changes can be made to accommodate specific students and their ideal starting point. 

Individual student data includes:

  • The number of minutes a student spends studying 
  • The number of stories a student reads
  • The number of objectives a student completes 

Additionally, an email will be sent to the educator on which concepts and irregular words the student needs more practice with. This is incredibly valuable information to receive from a tutor.

This area of the site is easy to use and is a quick way to get specific feedback about each child. 

AI Reading Tutor

Once a student logs in, they require a microphone/speaker to communicate with the AI Tutor. 

The tutor sessions start with brief, direct instruction on the concept of focus. It introduces words and sentences, which the student is then asked to read out loud to the tutor. The AI tutor listens to the answers and either gives positive reinforcement or corrects mistakes.

If a child makes a mistake on a specific word, the AI tutor isolates the word and has the student practice their error correctly. The tutor notes errors the student makes and reintroduces them to encourage the practice of specific areas of difficulty. This kind of specificity and adaptability is an interesting and helpful feature of the tutor. 

Who is Project Read AI For?

The approach in Project Read.AI is great for upper elementary, adolescent, and adult learners. 

Often, upper elementary or adolescent students who struggle with learning to read can feel self-conscious and would not want their peers to see them play games that look like they are for small children. The interface and direction in the AI Tutor are neutral and universal. Students can easily get right into the nitty gritty of practicing word and sentence reading. 

Limitations of Project Read

Students with speech articulation errors may have difficulty getting accurate input and feedback from the AI tutor. 

This app also doesn’t focus on the comprehension aspect of learning to read. The AI Tutor focuses entirely on word reading (decoding) abilities and does not implement spelling or other necessary skills of literacy instruction. 

Using Project Read in conjunction with direct teaching of literacy concepts with an educator is ideal. In this circumstance, having the technology to support individual student progress with specific feedback is a valuable concept. 

Decodable Text Generator

The decodable stories generator is an interesting and fun aspect of the Project Read site. Teachers may choose from four teaching objectives (scope and sequences). You can also include custom words to create a text that has personal meaning to a student or classroom. 

As a result, generated decodable texts use words that have been specifically taught from the chosen scope and sequence. It even includes an AI-generated picture to go along with the text. 

The decodable texts can then be edited, saved on the site or as a PDF, or put right into the AI tutor to practice reading with a student. If there’s part of the story you don’t like, you can click the “Regenerate” button and the AI writes a new story that includes your requested changes.

It’s important to note that artificial intelligence has limits. Educators need to evaluate stories to ensure they make sense. You likely want to revise the stories to make sure they’re accurate, relevant to your class, and age-appropriate. Perhaps editing these stories with students could be an interesting teaching opportunity. 

Ask Lola (Beta)

Another innovative section of the Project Read website is called ‘Lola’. 

Lola is an AI-powered “instructional coach for the science of reading.” According to the website, Lola can answer questions about “lesson planning, assessment, and implementation of structured literacy in your classroom” and is prepared to generate responses to general inquiries about the science of reading. 

As with all generative AI tools, you need to use discernment. The disclaimer on Project Read.AI is, “Always review AI-generated content for accuracy and appropriateness.” Therefore, be wary of the information provided. Answers should be backed up by further fact-checking when possible. 

Pros and Cons of Project Read AI

Project Read AI is a promising tool for students learning to read. It offers a blend of innovative technology and educational features to address the need for accessible reading instruction. This platform not only equips teachers with tools to use in the classroom but also provides personalized, free tutoring for students. 

Again, some logistical hurdles in the sign-in process are not ideal. There are limitations for people with speech concerns. Furthermore, reliance on artificial intelligence can only be taken so far. Educators should edit texts for accuracy and comprehension. 

Despite these limitations, Project Read AI comes with valuable resources like its decodable story generator and the AI-powered instructional coach, Lola. Classrooms can use the AI tutor to explore individual feedback and tips on improving students’ word-reading skills. 

The neutral, sleek user interface is perfect for upper elementary or adolescent students who are still developing literacy skills. 

Want to learn more about literacy instruction for your classroom? Read more reviews from the team at phonics.org and discover which ones work best.

Project Read AI Rating

Quality of Literacy Instruction: 3 / 5

Usability: 3 / 5

Engagement: 3 / 5

Duck Duck Moose: Reading App Review

Jaymi Thiessen on April 23, 2024

Phonics.org takes a closer look at the activities used in literacy apps so that you can make better choices for your child. 

Read on to learn more about the Duck Duck Moose: Reading app. 

Overview/Description

Duck Duck Moose: Reading is a cost- and ad-free reading app developed in association with Khan Academy. It is intended for children up to the age of 5. With nine games, this app aims to achieve three critical literacy milestones:

  • Recognition and naming of uppercase and lowercase letters.
  • Demonstrating knowledge of letter-sound correspondences.
  • Isolating and pronouncing sounds in CVC (Consonant-Vowel-Consonant) words.

Duck Duck Moose App Usability

There are positive and negative aspects to the ease of use and navigation in the Duck Duck Moose: Reading app. 

Sign-Up and Reporting

Several features of Duck Duck Moose make the app easy to use:

  • The app has an easy-to-follow sign-up process. 
  • Adding a new user or child player is equally straightforward. 
  • The dedicated “Parents” area provides a detailed report on each user’s progress, which is a helpful feature. 
  • Reporting includes percentages for consonant and short vowel sound recognition and a breakdown of mastered letters. 
Learning data is tracked and shared in the “Parents” area of the Duck Duck Moose: Learning app

The app also has sequential lessons that are introduced one after another. This eliminates the need for a child to navigate around the app, making sure usability is intuitive and suitable for young children who play with the app. 

Game Instructions

Duck Duck Moose: Reading presents some challenges in usability that might hinder the learning experience for certain users. 

Instructions are solely provided at the beginning of each game, with no option for repetition. This limitation may prove frustrating for children who benefit from auditory reinforcement or clarification. 

While instructions eventually cycle back, the lack of immediate repetition renders the game ineffective for users who missed initial prompts. 

Navigation

Unfortunately, once a child is playing the game there doesn’t appear to be a way to exit the game and go back to the main menu. If your child is playing and you want to check their progress or ‘report,’ you’ll have to exit the app entirely and restart from scratch to get to the parent area or main menu. 

App Activity and Engagement

The Duck Duck Moose app incorporates engaging elements that capture children’s interest, such as its animal theme and lively characters. Positive verbal reinforcement, character songs, and character dancing further enhance engagement. 

However, several factors of this app can detract from a child’s desire to engage with it. For example, all players start from the same point regardless of their existing knowledge or early literacy skills.

While the app offers nine different games, many of them follow similar concepts of feeding animals the correct sounds or letters. This repetition may bore some users. 

Game responses primarily involve receptive tapping or dragging actions. Also, the app games can be easily exploited by randomly tapping or dragging—actual literacy knowledge isn’t always involved for kids to play the games. 

Quality of Literacy Instruction

The following characteristics of Duck Duck Moose: Reading contribute to the overall quality of literacy instruction it provides. 

Letter-Sound Connections

This literacy app presents letter sounds that are accurate for American English. The sounds are clearly articulated and there are many options to practice making this connection. This repetition is helpful for children who are learning these letters and sounds. 

Vocabulary

When learners tap on pictures of images in the games, the pronunciation of the word is given. This association helps young learners expand their vocabulary knowledge which is foundational for reading comprehension. 

Direct Teaching

Duck Duck Moose does not use any direct instruction to guide its learners. Rather than guiding children through new concepts, the app often requires them to practice skills without prior explanation or instruction. Simply saying, “The letter m says /mmmmm/” or something similar would have helped provide some guidance and instruction to children. 

This lack of direct guidance may leave children feeling lost or frustrated as they attempt to navigate unfamiliar tasks. Without clear instruction, users are expected to infer connections between sounds or letters independently, which can be challenging, especially for beginners. 

Overall, the absence of direct phonics instruction in Duck Duck Moose: Reading limits its effectiveness as an educational tool for early literacy development.

Letter Sequence

Duck Duck Moose claims to introduce letter sounds in an order that “is based on the frequency of letters in everyday language and the order in which students tend to learn them.” 

Unfortunately, the app doesn’t indicate what this order is ahead of time. It would be especially helpful to see which letters are taught in which order to encourage instructional support. 

Furthermore, the app’s sequence of letters is not ideal. Teaching the letter and sound /h/ first is an odd choice. The letter /h/ is often not introduced at the beginning stages of letter instruction as it’s kind of tricky to teach, practice, and blend.

Reading and Spelling Instruction

The Duck Duck Moose: Reading app says that it aims to help children isolate and “pronounce sounds in CVC words”. The app does this by having children pick missing sounds from a CVC word or put the letters from a CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) word in order. These manipulation and spelling activities are generally helpful for children to practice spelling. 

However, Duck Duck Moose has children completing these challenging spelling and manipulation activities without first showing them how to read a word. How is a child supposed to put the letters in ‘gum’ in order without first knowing how to read a word? This app has no instructions on how to blend sounds from left to right to read a word. This is a significant oversight. 

In this game, children are expected to reorder the letters to spell ‘gum’

Sequential Learning

Letter-sound, reading, and spelling instruction should be sequential and systematic. This means skills are taught in a certain order and when they are mastered new skills are introduced; step-by-step. Duck Duck Moose does this by having children practice a few letters and sounds and when they have mastered these few, they add a few new letters. 

However, the app doesn’t consistently stick to this concept. The spelling activities in this app do not follow the letters and sounds that have been practiced first. If a child hasn’t learned or practiced a letter-sound association yet they will not know how to use those letters and sounds in reading and spelling. This is another significant oversight in the design of Duck Duck Moose: Reading. 

This activity would be easier if the players could practice the sounds of these short vowels first

Overview of Duck Duck Moose: Reading App

Overall, Duck Duck Moose: Reading presents a mixed bag of positive and not-so-positive elements conducive to early literacy instruction. 

The app offers some user-friendly features such as easy sign-up and sequential lessons. However, its instructions cannot be repeated and navigating to different areas of the app isn’t intuitive. 

Engagement is initially sparked by the app’s animal theme and the use of positive reinforcement but is diminished by repetitive gameplay and passive interaction methods. Moreover, the app’s instructional approach falls short in providing direct instruction and fails to scaffold learning effectively. 

The Duck Duck Moose: Reading app has potential, but requires significant improvements to better support early literacy instruction and engagement for young learners. Parents and educators seeking effective literacy apps may need to explore alternative options to ensure comprehensive learning experiences for children.

Check out the latest phonics program reviews on phonics.org to see what other literacy apps have to offer.

Duck Duck Moose Reading App: Rating

Quality of Literacy Instruction: 2 / 5

Usability: 2 / 5

Engagement: 2 / 5

Khan Academy Kids Review for Learning to Read 

Jaymi Thiessen on April 12, 2024

Khan Academy Kids is a resource for children ages 2 to 8. It provides a diverse range of educational content free of charge and without ads. 

Phonics.org provides literacy app reviews so you can make more informed choices for your students and kids. For an in-depth Khan Academy Kids review and exploration of the popular learning app, read on! 

While the Khan Academy app covers various subjects, this review focuses on the literacy features. 

Positive Aspects of Khan Academy Kids: Learning!

There are a lot of great things about the Khan Academy Kids app. Let’s take a look.

Learner Engagement

Activities in this app are attainable and enjoyable for children. Visually, the app is a delight, with smooth animations and vibrant graphics that capture the imagination. The “Super Simple Songs” videos add an extra layer of entertainment and fun to the learning experience. 

This app has a reward system of collecting points to unlock accessories and costumes for the characters in the game. This aspect of the app doesn’t seem necessary but is unlikely to be too distracting from the educational aspects of the game. 

Usability

Khan Academy Kids offers a user-friendly experience. Users can engage with the app via two distinct pathways: 

  1. A map with lessons to explore step-by-step
  2. A ‘Library’ with a selection of all lessons organized by subject and grade 

Navigation within the app is intuitive and allows for easy exploration and gameplay. The option to repeat instructions within the games enhances accessibility. However, the inclusion of a scope and sequence outlining letter and phonics skills would further benefit educators and parents in tracking children’s progress and aligning learning objectives.

Direct Instruction

Direct and explicit instruction is a positive feature of Khan Academy Kids. This type of instruction happens through engaging videos featuring characters within the app. These instructional segments offer concise and clear explanations of various topics. 

Some of these instructional videos explain foundational concepts that are often overlooked. For example, the app explains many concepts of print, such as the parts of a book, how to turn pages, and the difference between a letter and a word. The ability to rewatch these instructional videos at any time supports memory and recall of important ideas.

Content Area Books

The digital library within Khan Academy Kids is a standout feature. This library offers a diverse selection of content that includes fiction and nonfiction books. 

Users can choose between having the book read aloud to them or reading the book to themselves. 

Some examples of book categories in the app include:

  • Dinosaurs
  • Community Helpers
  • National Geographic: Young Explorer
  • Women Leading the Way
  • Spanish Stories

This diversity in topics is appealing to many early readers and their specific interests. 

Practice Important Vocabulary

Khan Academy Kids excels in vocabulary development. The app begins by introducing ‘basic concepts’ which are vocabulary words that are crucial for understanding directions and fundamental for overall learning. This approach ensures that children grasp essential vocabulary from the outset, setting them on a solid path toward reading comprehension.

Letter Sounds

Khan Academy Kids delivers accurate and consistent instruction with letter sounds. Through various engaging activities, the app provides multiple avenues for children to practice and reinforce their understanding of letter sounds. 

This comprehensive approach ensures that young learners develop a solid foundation in phonics, a crucial skill that forms the basis of early literacy and language acquisition.

Phonological Awareness

In Khan Academy Kids, phonological awareness receives ample attention, particularly at the kindergarten level. Children engage in abundant practice with rhyming, syllabication, and blending sounds. A focus on developing these skills can be essential for learning to read and spell words. 

Room for Improvement in Khan Academy Kids: Learning! App

There are some aspects of this educational app that need improvement. Let’s focus on the biggest ones.

Letter Formation

Khan Academy Kids offers letter formation activities as part of its curriculum, but it falls short in accuracy for certain letters. Some letter formations taught in the app do not align with standard practices used by teachers or occupational therapists. Improving the accuracy and consistency of letter formation within the app could mitigate confusion for young students as they develop their handwriting skills.

This is not the accurate letter formation of the letter <a>

Decoding (Word-Reading) Practice

One of the most important features of a learning-to-read app is direct instruction and practice in sounding out words. Khan Academy mainly relies on word families to teach children how to sound out words. This can be a helpful approach but is often less effective than simply blending individual sounds to read a word. 

Learning word families is a focus in Khan Academy Kids: Learning!

Many of the sound blending activities in Khan Academy Kids are great but would be better with the inclusion of letters in some of these activities. Opportunities to see or practice sounding out a word with its individual sounds are few and far between in this app. 

Sight Words

In Khan Academy Kids, sight word instruction—or what might more accurately be termed high-frequency word instruction—is incorporated into the learning curriculum. These often irregularly-spelled words are introduced in groups of four or so and children are encouraged to do activities that require memorization of a whole word. 

The best way to remember high-frequency words is to sound them out whenever possible. Words like ‘had’ and ‘him’ follow basic phonics rules and should be sounded out. Trying to memorize them by appearance is unlikely to help with word recall; especially when so many words are introduced at the same time. 

Avoid activities that require memorization of a word that could have been sounded out

Decodable Books

In Khan Academy Kids, there are limited decodable books available, primarily found at the kindergarten level. Decodable books have words that kids can sound out due to prior phonics knowledge. 

However, the use of these books in the app will not fully leverage their potential. During lessons, the children experience decodable books as read-alouds, bypassing opportunities for them to practice phonetic decoding. 

Additionally, the option to read the books independently is not prominently featured in the books. This represents a significant missed opportunity to engage children in active reading, where they could practice sounding out words and phrases independently, thus reinforcing their phonics skills and fostering greater reading fluency.

Is the Khan Academy Kids App Good for Phonics Instruction?

A close look at the Khan Academy Kids: Learning! App shows that it offers a wealth of educational resources for young learners. The engaging content, digital library, and instructional videos contribute positively to the learning experience. 

However, the app does have its shortcomings. While it excels in areas like vocabulary development and language comprehension, there are notable areas that require improvement. 

The letter formation activities could benefit from greater accuracy and alignment with standard practices. Also, the reliance on word families over individual phonetic decoding in word reading may limit its effectiveness. The limited availability and underutilization of decodable books represent missed opportunities for improving reading confidence and fluency. 

Despite its strengths, there is room for Khan Academy Kids to enhance its approach to certain aspects of literacy instruction to better support young learners in their reading journey. 

For more detailed reviews on literacy apps, explore phonics.org for informed decision-making regarding educational resources for children or students.

Khan Academy Kids: Ratings

  • Quality of Literacy Instruction: 2.5/5
  • Usability: 4/5
  • Engagement: 4/5

Learn to Read: Duolingo ABC Review

Jaymi Thiessen on April 10, 2024

At phonics.org, we review educational apps so you can make informed decisions on your child’s education. This is for you if you want to know an expert’s honest Duolingo ABC review for phonics instruction! 

What is Learn to Read – Duolingo ABC?

Duolingo is well-known for helping people learn a new language. The Learn to Read-Duolingo ABC app is an offshoot of this well-known language-learning app. 

The reading version of this app is tailored for children aged 3-8 to learn language and literacy skills in American English. Remarkably, it offers these educational resources entirely for free, making it one of the standout options in the market. Unlike many free apps, Duolingo ABC is also ad-free. 

The app is structured into 10 distinct themed levels, each with clear lesson goals, guiding young learners through their reading journey. Additionally, it features a ‘library’ where all discovered books within the app can be accessed and listened to at any time.

Strengths of the Learn to Read-Duolingo ABC App

Read on to discover the positive aspects of the Learn to Read-Duolingo ABC app. 

Usability

Learn to Read-Duolingo ABC is easy to use. It allows parents to choose a starting point in the app for their child. The app’s structured approach ensures children progress systematically through levels. Parents can lock access to certain levels, which prevents children from skipping ahead and maintains a logical learning sequence. 

Engagement

Duolingo ABC engages young learners with its charming graphics and easy-to-follow stories. The personalization within the app is a nice touch. Children are prompted to print their own names, adding a sense of ownership to their learning journey and encouraging the practice of a practical literacy skill. 

Tip: If your child can quickly and accurately print their first name already, enter their last name in the app and get them to practice this important skill.

Learn to Read-Duolingo ABC uses proximity rewards that are closely connected to learning to read and write. Children move through the app to find books to add to a digital library. This fosters a sense of accomplishment and progress. 

Additionally, other rewards, like verbal encouragement from the lovable owl character “Duo” or playful interactions such as a pretend food fight, are simple yet effective in keeping children motivated and eager to continue to learn.

Systematic and Sequential Instruction

Learn to Read-Duolingo ABC provides systematic instruction. The app starts with simple tasks and gradually progresses to more complex activities. This ensures a scaffolded learning experience for children. 

Additionally, the scope and sequence of instruction is easy to access and follow. This allows parents and educators to understand the learning pathway and support their child’s progress. For further clarity, lesson goals are clearly stated at the beginning of each level. 

Each ‘level’  clearly states the learning goals.

Letter Sounds

Learn to Read-Duolingo ABC prioritizes letter sound learning with targeted repetition and practice. Some sounds, such as /l/ and /b/, have an extra ‘schwa’ sound attached, which is not ideal. However, Duolingo ABC does transition between letter sounds, names, and formations that are generally accurate. This alternating or interleaved practice is a helpful technique for helping kids learn foundational literacy skills. 

Letter Formation

Duolingo ABC offers accurate and flexible letter formation exercises. The app encourages correct formation while providing feedback to guide learners effectively. Repetition is a cornerstone of Duolingo ABC’s approach and ensures children have ample opportunities to practice and refine their letter formation skills. 

Word Reading

Another positive aspect of the Learn to Read-Duolingo ABC app is its inclusion of word reading activities. Letter sounds are presented from left to right and combined into a word. These activities provide valuable practice in phonemic awareness and decoding skills, essential for early literacy development. 

However, while these activities are beneficial, they are not as frequent as they could be throughout the app. Increasing the frequency of such activities would further strengthen children’s ability to recognize and decode words, ultimately enhancing their overall reading skills.

Letter sounds are provided to make a word

Spelling

Duolingo ABC employs multiple effective methods to teach spelling. Children learn to spell words by printing words and putting a selection of letters in the correct order. Additionally, the use of Elkonin boxes provides tactile and visual aids. These varied approaches enhance children’s understanding of spelling concepts, fostering a comprehensive and engaging learning experience.

Learners can place letters in “Elkonin boxes” to spell the word ‘sell’

Language Comprehension

Duolingo ABC enhances language comprehension through various interactive features. Finding books is a driving goal of the game. Once a book is found the child can listen to it being read to them. Questions are asked during the reading of the book for frequent check-ins of understanding. This is helpful for children who are learning a new language or have challenges with memory or focus. 

The app also offers numerous opportunities to improve their vocabulary. Players have exposure to how the English language works by listening to stories, matching words to their pictures, and hearing dialogue between characters. 

Studies on Duolingo ABC

A recent study conducted on Learn to Read-Duolingo ABC examined the app’s impact on children’s literacy skills over nine weeks. The study assessed literacy abilities both before and after using the app. Children who used this app for at least an hour a week had improvements in foundational literacy skills. This study shows this app’s potential as an effective educational tool for enhancing early literacy development in young learners.

How Duolingo ABC Can Improve

While a great app, there are a few things the Duolingo ABC app can improve.

Voice Recognition

While Duolingo ABC’s voice recognition feature adds a fun interactive element, it is not without its drawbacks. While it gives feedback on reading and pronunciation, it can be a bit too lenient, often accepting incorrect responses as right. This might not give kids or parents the most accurate picture of their progress. 

Another thing to consider is the timing. Sometimes the pressure to read quickly can stress out new learners who need more practice and patience. So, while it’s a cool feature, it could use some tweaks to make it more reliable and less stressful for everyone involved.

Sound It Out!

Learn to Read – Duolingo ABC could improve by introducing more activities focused on sounding out words. Modeling and practice of continuous blending is an efficient method of teaching new readers to decode words and is an instruction that is missing from this app.

Currently, many exercises in Duolingo ABC rely on matching whole words to spoken words. This overlooks the crucial process of breaking down and blending sounds within words. By emphasizing continuous blending, the app could better support young learners in developing strong foundational literacy skills.

Matching spoken words to written ones isn’t the most efficient method of word reading

Put the Word Back Together

An activity has letters in a word scatter and the child is asked to place the letters back in the correct order. The selection of the word in this activity is often well outside of the skills that have been taught so far. For example, words like “monkey” and “ostrich” are challenging when a child only knows a few phonics skills. 

Integrating words that align more closely with the child’s current level of reading and spelling proficiency would ensure a more supportive and beneficial learning experience. 

This activity appears early in the sequence of skills in the app.

Types of Books

Reading books out loud to children for language comprehension is a great and very common activity in Learn to Read – Duolingo ABC. However, this app does not use many books that children can read entirely by themselves. Decodable books use words that children have been taught how to sound out. They are helpful for early readers to move from reading individual words to phrases or sentences and would have been a great addition to the Duolingo ABC app.

Some activities in this app rely too heavily on matching spoken words to an entire written word. For example, the app has children put a sentence back in order when there are words the child can’t sound out and hasn’t been taught. This is not a particularly useful activity for a child learning to read and may teach children to guess at written words instead of sounding them out. 

The words ‘asked’ and ‘hear’ haven’t been taught yet

Overview of Learn to Read – Duolingo ABC

The Learn to Read-Duolingo ABC app offers a comprehensive and engaging platform for children aged 3-8 to develop language and literacy skills in English. Its cost and ad-free model make it an accessible option for families seeking helpful literacy resources. 

The app’s structured levels and user-friendly interface create an easy learning journey, while personalized elements add an extra layer of engagement. 

However, there are areas for improvement including:

  • Increasing the amount of practice with decoding skills
  • Aligning word and sentence-building activities with the sequence of skills in the app
  • Introducing decodable books that children read themselves in the library of books

Despite these areas needing improvement, many positive aspects of this app are worth checking out or introducing to your child. To read more reviews on popular phonics and reading apps, check out our reviews page written by literacy experts!

Overall Duolingo ABC Rating

  • Quality of Literacy Instruction: 3/5
  • Usability: 5/5
  • Engagement: 5/5

Reading Raven App Review

Jaymi Thiessen on April 5, 2024

At phonics.org, we evaluate children’s phonics programs so that you can make informed decisions about the apps that best suit your child’s literacy learning. 

Check out our most recent review featuring the Reading Raven app!

What is Reading Raven?

Reading Raven is a user-friendly and affordable literacy app tailored for children ages 3-5. Priced at just $3.99 for 5 lessons (less than one dollar per lesson), it offers a direct way to kickstart early literacy skills. 

The app primarily concentrates on fundamental aspects of literacy instruction, such as:

  • Rhyming
  • Letter recognition and formation
  • Sounding out words
  • Word building (spelling)
  • Reading words, phrases, and simple sentences 

With its multiple features, Reading Raven takes a systematic approach to early reading instruction. The app has its own set of pros and cons, which we’ll discuss below.

Usability and Navigation of the App

When considering learning apps for kids, the user experience and navigation are important. How does Reading Raven facilitate the learning process?

User Experience

Reading Raven is reasonably easy to use for both kids and parents, with straightforward navigation throughout the app. Clear instructions are available and can be repeated by clicking on the Raven guide, allowing children to understand concepts at their own pace. 

The inclusion of a pause button enables kids to take breaks when needed. Additionally, the app provides clear feedback for correct and incorrect answers, contributing to a supportive learning environment. 

Customization Features

The Reading Raven app allows parents to customize the lessons to fit their child’s needs. Sound, age, and activities can be selected in the “options” area. Unfortunately, as of March 2024, a glitch in the app means that many options cannot be visibly seen. Hopefully, a software update will resolve this issue.

It is difficult to select activities that can’t be seen. 

Screen Rotation

Another downside to the usability of the app is the option to change the size and format of the screen. This can be a confusing option for children. It’s unclear why a smaller screen would be desired. 

Glitches In the App

The Reading Raven app suffers from additional glitches that disrupt gameplay. One such issue occurs when the game fails to send out a keyword for the child to match, necessitating the user to exit and re-enter the game mid-play. This not only interrupts the learning process but also results in the loss of progress, which can be frustrating for both the child and the parent or educator supervising the session.

What is the Quality of Literacy Instruction in the Reading Raven App?

Let’s look at how the Reading Raven app teaches reading, and how effective it is for kids. 

Letter Learning 

Reading Raven teaches letter names, sounds, and formation somewhat accurately. Some sounds have an extra /uh/ sound added on, which is not ideal. Additionally, some letter formations do not follow the same method teachers and occupational therapists generally use. 

This is not a letter formation recommended by experts

Repetition and Practice

The app uses an ‘interleaved practice’ method, meaning that it alternates between various letter-learning skills within its games. It moves from a sound-matching game to a letter formation game and back again. 

This approach not only enhances user engagement but also aids in memory retention, ensuring a comprehensive and impactful learning experience for young users.

Learning is Sequential and Systematic

Reading Raven adopts a systematic approach to learning, ensuring a structured and effective educational experience. With detailed lesson outlines provided on both the app and website, users have clear guidance for each session. 

The app introduces letters in a logical sequence, gradually building upon previously-learned concepts. Commonly used letters and sounds are introduced at the outset which is a practical choice. Moreover, each lesson goal is reinforced through opportunities for practice and rehearsal. This solidifies understanding and proficiency in letter recognition and phonics.

Unfortunately, the lesson plans offered by Reading Raven have notable gaps. The app lacks guidance and practice in words with consonant blends like ‘stop’ or ‘last’. Instead, it prioritizes the -gg word ending—which, apart from “egg,” encompasses very few words in the English language. 

Prioritizing more common types of words would be a more efficient approach for kids.

Word Matching 

The app’s user guide recommends that the “Word Matching” game starts at age three—before word reading begins. The problem with this game is that relying on visual memorization of whole words can pose challenges in learning to read. True word reading proficiency stems from the automatic and immediate recognition of words through the practice of sounding out words (decoding).

This specific game can be deactivated in the adult control settings. However, it can be difficult to do so with the words in the controls section not being visible.

Visually matching whole words does little to help a child learn to read. 

Reading Words

Some activities in the Reading Raven app use synthetic phonics. This type of phonics uses individual letters and corresponding sounds to read and spell words. This is the most efficient type of phonics to use when teaching children foundational literacy skills. 

In the app, once children practice their letter sounds a few times, they’re asked to sound out a word. A slider bar is provided under the word. As the child slides the bar and makes the sounds, their voice is recorded. Then, the recording is played back to the child followed by the correct word pronunciation from the app. In this way, children compare their sound blending to the correct word to check for accuracy. 

This is almost a great activity. However, the Reading Raven app made a large error in setting up this activity because a picture of the word is provided at the top of the screen. Before the child reads anything, they already know the word based on the image cue. The app ‘gives up’ the opportunity to build strong blending skills by giving the picture before the child reads, thus negating any real thinking or word reading the child would need to do. 

It would be more beneficial to reveal the picture after the child has read the word to avoid guessing based on “cues”

Word Building

In the world-building game, children put letters in the correct order to build a word. The word is named and a picture is provided to add meaning to the task. 

As the child touches each letter, the ‘Raven’ makes the sound of that letter. Once letters are put in their correct order, the app restates all the letter sounds again and models how to blend them to read the word. This is a helpful activity for children learning to spell. 

Reading Phrases and Texts

One standout feature of the app is its structured progression from individual sounds to word reading, then gradually advancing to reading phrases, and then sentences. 

This sequential approach is highly effective in scaffolding children’s reading abilities, guiding them through each step deliberately and methodically. By starting with sounds and gradually building up to more complex passages, the app encourages children to develop their reading skills at a manageable pace. 

Additionally, the inclusion of ‘decodable’ words—which can be sounded out by children— reinforces phonics skills and enhances overall reading fluency. This thoughtful progression not only fosters confidence but also lays a solid foundation for more advanced reading comprehension in the future.

Does the Reading Raven App Engage Young Learners?

The Reading Raven app effectively engages its young users through several means. While the sticker rewards may not be essential, they add an interesting element without being overly distracting. 

The app’s simplicity and clarity make it easy for children to grasp concepts and enjoy activities, ensuring that it remains developmentally age-appropriate. 

With the app’s approachable design, children are likely to feel successful while playing, which can boost their confidence and motivation. Additionally, the cute animations, albeit slightly clunky, contribute positively to the overall experience without impeding gameplay or engagement.

Is Reading Raven a Good Phonics App for Kids?

The Reading Raven app provides a cost-effective solution for practice in early literacy development. It offers a user-friendly interface and engaging elements such as sticker rewards and cute animations. 

However, it does have its drawbacks. Occasional glitches disrupt gameplay and the limited scope of phonics instruction (particularly the lack of consonant blends) hinders optimal literacy development. 

Despite these challenges, the app’s structured progression and the inclusion of different types of decodable texts offer valuable opportunities for young learners to build foundational reading skills. Improving accuracy in letter sounds and letter formation would further enhance the educational value of this app. 

To see more phonics app reviews from literacy experts, explore the reviews page at phonics.org.

Reading Raven: Overall Ratings

  • Quality of Literacy Instruction: 3/5
  • Usability: 3/5
  • Engagement: 4/5

LetterSchool App Review for Phonics Instruction

Jaymi Thiessen on March 22, 2024

At phonics.org, we assess phonics programs for children, enabling you to make well-informed decisions about which apps are suitable for your child.

Take a look at this educational review for the LetterSchool: Learn to Write app.  

Learning Goals

LetterSchool is a comprehensive educational app designed to facilitate early literacy and numeracy skills for children aged 3 to 8. Priced at $59.99 annually, the app offers a 7-day free trial to introduce users to its interactive features. 

The app focuses on foundational phonics skills, including printing upper and lowercase letters, learning letter names and sounds, spelling, and the introduction of essential vocabulary. 

Gameplay in the LetterSchool App 

Similar to other literacy education apps, LetterSchool has a few features and games.

Customization

The LetterSchool app provides a straightforward user experience with its main page offering nine distinct areas of play. These areas cover various activities including:

  • Making shapes
  • Proper letter formation
  • Printing of numbers
  • Spelling exercises

The app also includes a “Grown-Ups Only” section for customization, allowing users to select the level (1, 2, 3), preferred typeface, and options to select the preferred menu language and learning language. Notably, the app supports 13 languages, accommodating a diverse user base and ensuring a personalized educational experience.

Grown-Ups Only Section

Letter, Number, and Shape Formation

The LetterSchool app uses the Gradual Release of Responsibility Model (GRRM) to guide users through the process of forming letters, numbers, and shapes. The model consists of three distinct stages:

  1. First, modeling the correct formation, providing a visual reference for the child. 
  2. Next, the child is guided through the process of tracing lines to reinforce the correct movements. 
  3. Finally, the child is encouraged to practice the formation independently. If the user struggles with this step, traced lines are reintroduced to scaffold the child to complete the task. 
Step 1 in letter formation

Each step in this process is accompanied by clever and colorful animations that highlight the correct formation for each letter enhancing engagement and interest in the learning. 

This structured approach follows the “I do, we do, you do” framework, progressively transitioning the responsibility for letter formation from the app to the child, fostering a gradual systematic and scaffolded learning experience. This is a helpful routine for learning how to print letters. 

Spelling

The spelling section of the LetterSchool app is organized by ‘word family.’ However, the actual game practice does use synthetic phonics (individual letters and sounds), which is ideal. 

The spelling section also repeats the three-step learning process that is also in the letter formation section:

  1. First, users are asked to drag individual letters into a box. The app models how these letters make a word and shows a picture to model the meaning of the word. 
  2. Next, users can digitally ‘flip’ letter cards in a flip book to make the word the app suggests. 
  3. Finally, the user is shown a picture and needs to spell the corresponding word by selecting from individual letters and placing them in order. 
Final practice game in the spelling section

Best Features of the LetterSchool App

Every app has its pros and cons. Here’s what LetterSchool is doing well!

Letter Names 

The LetterSchool App states the letter name before a child attempts to form the letter. This supports the association with letters and their names which is an important foundational skill for new readers. 

Accurate Letter Formation 

The LetterSchool App has options for the formation of letters in printing and cursive which are both important skills for children to master. The app does model accurate letter formation so that kids can learn to form letters correctly. The ability to quickly and accurately form letters is a foundational skill for spelling and writing development. 

Language Options

The multiple languages options are helpful and interesting adaptations in the LetterSchool app. The ability to keep the app language in your primary language while changing the instructional language is a clever way to learn a written system while still being able to navigate the app easily. 

What LetterSchool Needs to Improve

Here are the features and setbacks LetterSchool can improve to deliver a quality literacy app for kids.

Inaccurate Letter Sounds 

Unfortunately, the letter sounds in the app often have an additional sound (a schwa) attached. For example, the letter <b> makes the sounds /b/ and /uh/. Learning an inaccurate sound association with a letter prevents kids from being able to spell accurately. 

For example, if a child is trying to spell the word ‘bat’ and they think the first sound is ‘buh’ they could spell the first sound in bat as ‘bu’. The final attempt at spelling this simple word would be ‘buat’. Teaching accurate letter sounds can easily prevent this. 

Lacks Verbal Instructions

LetterSchool does not use verbal instructions to explain or teach concepts or games. It claims it doesn’t need instructions as the app can guide children through “visual and auditory feedback”. 

A common practice for teaching letter formation is to use a consistent “verbal path.” This means that while modeling letter formation, consistent language is used to describe the actions of forming the letter. This consistency in practice helps kids learn how to print letters and would be a beneficial addition to the LetterSchool app. 

Omissions in Spelling Practice

While there are some helpful practices in the spelling aspect of LetterSchool there are a few ways this section can be improved. The spelling practice in the app does not have words with beginning consonant blends such as ‘stop’ or ‘dream’. This can be a tricky place where some children get stuck on spelling, so it would be advantageous to include this practice in the app. 

Letter Formation Without a Writing Utensil

How a child holds a writing utensil is incredibly important for learning to print. Pencil grasp isn’t mentioned or modeled in this app, but parents should carefully monitor how children hold writing utensils. 

Effectiveness Study

LetterSchool has an effectiveness study on its website. The study found that students who used LetterSchool had improved manual dexterity and printing ability. It’s important to note that the children in this study used a stylus for writing practice when using the app. 

Additionally, 80% of the printing time was a pencil and paper method, while only 20% of the printing time was spent with LetterSchool. While LetterSchool does seem to be a valuable tool for learning letter formation, pencil-to-paper tasks are still a valuable part of this learning process. 

LetterSchool: Review and Recommendations

LetterSchool proves to be an engaging app for early letter and number formation in children. With a user-friendly interface and customizable features, it effectively teaches foundational skills such as letter formation, letter naming, and spelling through a three-step learning process. The app excels in supporting letter names and accurate formation of letters while offering diverse language options. 

However, having inaccurate letter sounds is a big mistake for an educational app. Using accurate letter sounds, incorporating verbal instructions, and enhancing spelling practices to include beginning consonant blends would improve this app’s usefulness.

Despite these considerations, the app showcases positive outcomes in an effectiveness study, emphasizing improved manual dexterity and printing ability among users. While valuable, it’s best suited as a supplementary tool alongside traditional pencil and paper tasks for a well-rounded learning experience.

Looking for a helpful phonics app for children? Explore our recommended phonics programs at phonics.org!

LetterSchool App Rating

  • Quality of Literacy Instruction: 2 / 5
  • Usability: 4 / 5
  • Engagement: 4 / 5

Reading.com App Review

Jaymi Thiessen on March 18, 2024

A Unique, Research-Based Approach to Teaching Children to Read

At phonics.org, we evaluate phonics programs designed for children—empowering you to make informed decisions about the most suitable apps for your child’s learning journey. 

In this article, we provide an educational review of the Reading.com app for early literacy instruction.

What is Reading.com?

Discover a research-based approach to literacy with the Reading.com app. This is a dynamic program that’s designed for joint engagement between literate adults and children. Unlike typical edutainment apps, Reading.com focuses on the essential foundations of learning to read. 

This user-friendly app follows a systematic and sequential learning method, accompanied by four additional games and printable activities to use during practice. Grounded in the science of reading, Reading.com meticulously incorporates all crucial components for a comprehensive and effective learning-to-read experience. 

If you’re not certain how to teach your child to read, don’t panic! The Reading.com app can walk you through the process step-by-step. 

What Does Reading.com Do Well? 

Overall, the Reading.com app offers an approachable and proven method of early literacy instruction that keeps children engaged and motivated. 

Engagement

Engagement lies at the heart of the Reading.com experience, as lessons are thoughtfully crafted to encourage active participation. The app facilitates a dynamic learning process where the child takes an active role in sounding out words and reading sentences or books, all under the supportive guidance of a parent or adult. 

The games, lessons, and songs are catchy, easy to follow, and visually appealing enough to catch the eye of any young learner. 

Lesson Plans

There are a total of 99 lessons that are placed sequentially in an interactive “map.” Each lesson takes about 15-20 minutes to complete with a child. Each specific lesson plan has components that are related to core reading skills.

When using the app, kids and their parents (or another adult) work together to learn and move through each lesson on the map. The lessons are clear and easy to follow, containing helpful tips for adults to support and guide their children through the learning experience. 

Following the lesson sequence is easy on the interactive main page.

Type of Phonics Instruction 

The Reading.com app uses synthetic phonics which combines individual letters and sounds to read and spell words. There is evidence that this type of phonics has the greatest impact on learning to read and spell, making it an ideal choice for a reading app. 

Unique Letter Sound Instruction and Review

Learning accurate sounds for each alphabetical letter is foundational in learning to read and spell. Reading.com lessons always begin with the Alphabet Song to accurately review letter sounds. This catchy song is enacted by cute, animated letters and reveals the sounds that each letter represents. Letter sounds can also be reviewed and practiced in the “Party Time” and “Hungry Cloud” games. 

In the Reading.com lessons, children explicitly learn the names, sounds, and formation of letters. A distinct aspect of the Reading.com app is the focused practice of letter sounds, where children are prompted to articulate the sounds slowly and then quickly. 

This practice teaches children the difference between continuous sounds and stop sounds. This is an important detail for children and adults to notice as a child’s reading skills develop.

Saying the sound slowly and then fast supports sound blending later on.

The blue underline represents a continuous sound, while the red dot indicates a stop or fast sound. 

Another positive feature of the app includes its refrain from generating letter sounds for the child. This approach allows for the respect of family pronunciations, enabling adults and children to practice sounds with articulation that aligns with their preferences, dialect, and understanding.

Letter Formation

Letter formation is explicitly taught in the lessons and reinforced in the game “Space Trace.” Reading.com ensures accurate modeling and teaching of letter shapes, with a specific emphasis on lowercase letters. This is particularly beneficial given that 95% of printed text is made of lowercase characters. 

The “Space Trace” game can be played independently or with a grownup.

The app’s approach to letter shapes strikes a balance, offering flexibility for children with varying fine motor skills while maintaining enough structure to ensure proper letter formation. 

Reading Words

Once acquainted with some letter sounds and shapes, children receive explicit guidance on blending them to read words. This practice is so important when learning to read! 

The app emphasizes continuous blending or connected phonation at the early stages, which is the easiest method for children to learn. If you’re not sure what this means, don’t worry. An instructional video within the app illustrates this skill clearly. 

To make sound blending more tangible, the app incorporates a sliding bar beneath the words, encouraging children to move it with their finger as they say the sounds. This interactive approach helps solidify the skill of blending. Children can start with a slow slide and gradually increase speed until the word is successfully read. The child controls the pace and repetition they need to read the word accurately.  

A sliding bar under the words supports word-reading. 

Grown-ups can look for small tips to help support their child/student. 

Important Irregularly Spelled Words

The Reading.com app addresses the challenge of irregularly-spelled words in English, introducing them gradually as needed. 

For instance, for the word ‘is,’ the app highlights the exception by presenting the slider bar in a distinct color (orange). Adults are prompted to verbalize the exception and state the new word, while the child retains the ability to sound out the word using the slider. This is a helpful way of slowly integrating common yet irregular words when reading. 

Digital Books

The Reading.com app offers two distinct types of books (60 texts in total) to allow children to practice their word reading skills:

  1. The first, a co-read, involves the adult reading most of the story while the child reads previously practiced words or short phrases. This is an excellent approach that adults can apply to any book. 
  2. The second type, a decodable book, is primarily composed of words that have already been explicitly taught and practiced, encouraging the child to sound out (decode) as they read—instead of simply guessing each word. 
In a co-read book, the grown-up reads the small text and the child 

reads the enlarged word/phrase. The picture can be revealed after an accurate reading!

Pictures in the reading.com books are displayed after the child reads correctly. This prevents children from guessing the words based on pictures and encourages word reading. After reading, the child can then ‘scratch’ the picture to reveal its connection to the text. 

Parents can then ask comprehension questions provided at the end of each book to further reinforce the child’s connection between word reading and understanding. 

These digital books can be reread as many times as the child would like in the “Books” section. Rereading books supports faster word recognition and reading fluency. 

Fun Rewards

The Reading.com app employs a thoughtful rewards system, integrating adult encouragement that strengthens the bond between the adult and child. Proximity rewards are tied directly to the child’s learning efforts, offering access to additional books and reading games, both in digital and printable formats. 

The interactive map adds charming characters and items as additional rewards. This enhances engagement without diverting attention from the learning process. These rewards seamlessly contribute to the educational experience, fostering a positive and motivating environment. 

Are There Limitations of the Reading.com App?

Let’s consider some of the potential limitations and setbacks of the Reading.com app for literacy instruction. 

You Get What You Pay For

While the Reading.com app may come with a higher price tag compared to some alternatives, the investment is likely justified by the app’s exceptional quality and comprehensive approach to literacy. 

In the realm of educational apps, one often gets what they pay for. The Reading.com app stands out for its effectiveness in teaching fundamental reading skills. While cost may be a limitation for some, the overall value and superior learning experience make it a worthwhile investment for those seeking top-notch reading and phonics resources. Plus, there’s a 7-day free trial if you want to try it before buying—for both annual and monthly subscription options. 

Lesson Pace 

One potential limitation of the Reading.com app is that the pace of the lessons may feel too rushed for some children. However, it’s important to note that there’s flexibility built into the program. 

Parents and educators can adjust the pace of lessons based on the child’s readiness, with the option to revisit and redo former lessons. The practice area and printable materials offer additional avenues for reinforcement, ensuring that children can solidify their understanding at a pace that suits their individual learning needs.

Advanced Phonics Skills

While the Reading.com app effectively covers foundational phonics skills, some enhancements could be made if more advanced phonics instruction was an option. Specifically, there could be more direct guidance on decoding polysyllabic words and a slightly deeper dive into r-controlled vowels. Strengthening these areas could further enrich the app’s comprehensive approach to literacy development.

Literate Adult Supervision Required

A notable strength of the Reading.com app is its intentional design for use with a literate grown-up, typically a parent or guardian. This approach fosters a strong relationship between the adult and the child, promoting collaborative learning. The grown-up’s involvement also allows for a deeper understanding of the child’s progress and capabilities. However, this reliance on a competent adult can be limiting for some children, especially if they want to use a learning app but lack the right engagement with a literate guardian.

Distinctive Features of the Reading.com App

One common concern with educational apps is that they teach foundational skills incorrectly, potentially impeding the literacy growth of children. This isn’t a concern with the Reading.com app, as it teaches foundational skills accurately. 

The Reading.com app stands out as a research-based and comprehensive tool for teaching children to read. Its systematic approach, engaging lessons, and well-designed games contribute to a dynamic learning experience. The incorporation of synthetic phonics, explicit letter-sound instruction, and practice of accurate letter formation follows the evidence of effective reading instruction recommended by the science of reading. 

There are several unique features in this app including a slider bar to make sound blending more concrete and delayed pictures in books to discourage guessing of words. The decodable books, rewards system, and emphasis on foundational skills further enhance its educational value. 

Educators should keep an eye out for the soon-to-be-released Teacher Edition of Reading.com. This edition will allow additional child profiles and flexible lesson placements. 

Overall, the Reading.com app excels in providing a valuable and effective platform for early literacy development. To learn more about reading and phonics instruction for kids, browse the phonics.org library.

Reading.com App Rating 

  • Quality of Literacy Instruction: 4.5/5
  • Usability: 5/5
  • Engagement: 5/5

Subscribe to Phonics.org

Join thousands of educators & parents on the quest to make phonics available to all. 
Enter your email to receive the latest articles and program reviews each month!

Facebook Youtube

© 2024 Phonics.org. All rights reserved.