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

Phonics Ninja Review

Jaymi Thiessen on March 15, 2024

At phonics.org, we review kids’ phonics programs so you can make informed choices on which apps your child should use. 

Here’s our latest review of Phonics Ninja!

What is Phonics Ninja?

The Phonics Ninja app offers an inventive take on phonics education, mirroring the gameplay mechanics of the well-known Fruit Ninja app but focusing on letters and sounds. 

Tailored for children aged four and up, the app is priced at $0.99 USD. The educational goal of this app appears to be to reinforce the connection between letters and sounds in American English. 

How to Play Phonics Ninja

Phonics Ninja offers parents and adults the ability to dictate which letters and sounds the game emphasizes, attempting to provide a tailored learning experience for their child. 

The game starts by announcing a target sound, requiring players to swiftly match it to the corresponding letter by ‘slicing’ through the corresponding letters as they appear on the screen. While correct responses earn stars, incorrect ones darken the identified letter, offering subtle immediate feedback. 

Each session is timed. The difficulty level, target sounds, and amount of time can be adjusted in the “Parental Gate” area. 

Type of Phonics Instruction

While the Phonics Ninja game is a fun concept, there are some concerns about its type of phonics instruction. 

Lack of Direct Instruction

The Phonics Ninja app has a sole focus on connecting letters to sounds. There is no instruction for alphabetical letter names in the app as they’re never mentioned. The absence of these key instructional elements leaves users without guidance during gameplay. 

Letter Sounds

Phonics Ninja effectively represents most consonant sounds accurately. However, the sound of /y/ has an extra schwa sound added to it. 

There is a section to practice digraphs which are two letters that represent one sound. For example, the /sh/ sound in sheep is a digraph. The sounds of the /wh/, /ng/, and /wr/ digraphs in the Phonics Ninja app are inaccurate. The consonant blends like ‘sl-’ ‘tr-’ and ‘sw-’ are also inaccurate, with an additional schwa sound added to the end. 

Inaccuracies in sounds are not helpful in an app when its sole purpose is to practice letter-sound associations. This inaccurate practice can be detrimental to children learning to read and spell as they start associating incorrect sounds with letters. 

Phonics Ninja Gameplay Concerns

Unfortunately, there are many problems and errors in the Phonics Ninja game, which can make playing frustrating and unhelpful for learners. 

Same Sound, Different Letter

The letters <c> and <k> can represent the same sound. When the sound /k/ is made in the Phonics Ninja app, a child could correctly select a <c> or <k> to ‘slice’. However, the app is looking for a specific answer to the letter <c> or <k> and will only count one as incorrect. There is no way for the user to know which letter they are referring to. This can cause frustration and confusion when practicing letter sounds. 

Rotating Letters

Another notable drawback of Phonics Ninja is the challenge posed by the swirling movements of letters in the air during gameplay. 

While the app aims to reinforce letter recognition, the animated rotation of letters—particularly <n> and <u> or <m> and <w>, <p> and <d>, <b> and <q>—can be confusing. This makes it difficult for young learners to distinguish between similar letters. 

Addressing this issue by keeping the letters upright could significantly enhance the app’s educational value and user experience.

Is this the letter <b> or <q>?

Player Responses

Phonics Ninja’s feedback system is challenging as the distinction between correct and incorrect answers is indirect and sometimes inaccurate. 

This subtlety may lead players to casually ‘slice’ through all letters without a focused effort to differentiate between different sounds and accurately identify the right letter. 

For example, an impulsive child could easily slash everything without attending to letters or sounds. The blurred line between playfulness and effective learning raises concerns about the game’s ability to encourage precise phonics skill development.

Long-Term Engagement

The Phonics Ninja app offers a singular and limited gameplay experience. The appeal of the game may wane over time, as it lacks the diversity necessary to sustain long-term engagement. The repetitive nature of the activities and limited scope for varied challenges may hinder the app’s ability to keep children consistently interested and appropriately challenged.

Confusing Controls

Phonics Ninja offers adaptive learning options. An adult can select specific letters and sounds for their child to practice. However, the controls can be confusing, leading to unintended settings. 

For instance, an unintentional adjustment can result in the game playing white noise for various sounds, rendering it impractical for anyone to play. 

Confusing controls lead to app limitations.

Is the Phonics Ninja App Worth Trying?

The short answer: No. 

Phonics Ninja falls short of being a fun and accurate way to practice foundational phonics skills. While the app serves a singular purpose—practicing associations between letters and sounds—it fails in accuracy, with some sounds being misrepresented, and scoring responses proving unreliable. 

Also, the visual clarity of identified letters is compromised at times. The confusing parental controls, coupled with the potential to render the game purposeless with inadvertent adjustments, add to the app’s drawbacks. While it may engage users briefly, Phonics Ninja is ultimately a one-trick pony that doesn’t deliver sufficient value for its price or time. 

Want to find a useful phonics app for kids? Read our recommended phonics programs from phonics.org!

Overall Rating for Phonics Ninja

  • Quality of Literacy Instruction: 1 / 5
  • Usability: 1 / 5
  • Engagement: 1 / 5

Starfall ABC App Review

Jaymi Thiessen on March 11, 2024

Starfall ABC is a well-known phonics app for K-5 students. But how does it stack up as a literacy education app? This Starfall ABC app review from the literacy educators at phonics.org will help you decide!

What is Starfall?

The Starfall ABC app is part of the Starfall education platform, the brainchild of Dr. Stephen Schutz. Driven by his struggles with dyslexia, Dr. Schutz created an accessible and engaging kids’ learning platform for literacy instruction. This app was launched in 2002 as a free public service and the platform has grown ever since. 

Today, there are nine educational apps in the Starfall platform, each designed with various educational goals and costs in mind. The Starfall ABC app, which focuses on literacy and phonics, has an instructional focus on letter names and sounds. 

App Usability

Starfall ABC’s sign-up process is straightforward, ensuring easy access so users can quickly get started. The flexibility to play any game at any time is a positive, as is the untimed nature of the games. 

Any game can be exited at any time and any game can be repeated as many times as desired by the user. Games could appear more user-friendly by having the option to repeat directions if necessary. The gameplay is never interrupted by distracting ads, which is a great feature for a free learning app. 

Organization and User Interface

The organizational structure of the Starfall ABC app is straightforward and user-friendly, comprising three main areas of play:

  • Alphabet blocks
  • Language games
  • Other app games 

At the center of the interface is the Alphabet Block Area, featuring all letters of the alphabet. This core section allows users to interact with individual letters, providing information on uppercase and lowercase forms, accurate letter sounds, keywords, and animations. 

On the right side, a vertical column offers additional content, including math exercises and seasonal activities. This expands the app’s scope beyond literacy, providing a well-rounded educational experience.

Example of the Starfall ABC alphabet block area.

The bottom row serves as another key area, offering a variety of alphabet songs, American Sign Language (ASL), and language games. This section also provides additional information focused on short vowel sounds in words, recognizing the significance of these elements in early reading development.

Overall, the clear organization of these three main areas facilitates easy navigation and ensures that users can access a diverse range of educational content within the app.

Literacy Content

The educational literacy instruction in Starfall ABC is ideal for early learners but it also provides additional content.

Letters and Sounds

Starfall ABC effectively reinforces foundational letter-sound instruction through consistent repetition of letter names, sounds, and associated keywords. 

The inclusion of a dedicated section for practicing short vowels is particularly beneficial for young learners. The app ensures accuracy in letter sounds, contributing to clear and effective phonics instruction, specifically tailored for American English.

Letter Matching

After a letter has been introduced by name, sound, and keyword, there is a short interactive activity to support practice with this letter and sound. 

Some of these games involve indicating whether the letter is uppercase or lowercase. Others are letter “puzzles” where children are asked to drag the puzzle pieces into the puzzle to make a word. 

Unfortunately, letters within the puzzles are displayed in various individual shapes, which children are supposed to insert in the correct puzzle space below. This takes away from the letter focus, as children can easily match the shapes themselves instead of focusing on letter recognition. A child could theoretically do this puzzle without looking at the letters at all.

The alphabet puzzle game should not include matching shapes. Children can easily ignore the letters, defeating the purpose of the learning exercise.

Sounding Out Words

After children match the puzzle letters successfully the game disappears and the word is shown on its own. Each letter sound is named and then the sounds are blended together to read a word. This is a great model of the important skill of sound blending. Only a few of the letters have this option and it would be great to see this modeled more frequently. 

Short Vowels

There is a separate section in the Starfall app that’s devoted to short vowel sounds. This is a smart instructional decision as short vowels can be a difficult but essential area of learning for many new readers. 

Each short vowel instruction begins with a person singing a short song about the vowel and its short sound and then the person or character asks the user to sing the song along with them. These songs focus on short vowel sounds in the middle of words, which is a more challenging phonemic awareness activity than recognizing initial sounds. 

American Sign Language

The inclusion of an American Sign Language (ASL) section in the Starfall ABC app is a valuable and thoughtful feature. When a child selects a letter, the app not only articulates the letter name and sound but also demonstrates the corresponding ASL sign using hand movements. 

This serves as an excellent accessibility option and proves useful for a broader audience. Associating finger actions or tactile cues with letter sounds has been shown to enhance retention and recall. The ASL teaching component in the app is a beneficial addition, providing an inclusive and effective method for reinforcing letter-sound associations.

The American Sign Language feature in Starfall ABC.

Other Subject Areas

The Starfall ABC app extends its educational offerings beyond letter-sound instruction to include a variety of additional subjects. The inclusion of games focused on numbers, colors, math songs, measuring, basic geometry, motion songs, and seasonal activities is a unique feature. 

These games effectively contribute to building background knowledge and vocabulary, supporting the overall development of language and reading comprehension.

The “3D Space” game is particularly noteworthy, as it prompts children to practice spatial relationships, such as placing objects ‘beside,’ ‘behind,’ or ‘next to’ others. This interactive activity aids in developing basic concepts which are foundational vocabulary and language concepts crucial for effective communication and comprehension in English.

While the full games may not be accessible in the free version, the option for paid updates allows for extended access, making these additional subject areas a valuable resource for a more comprehensive and enriching learning experience.

App Engagement

Educational apps need to be engaging for kids so they can effectively benefit from the content. Here’s how Starfall ABC engages learners. 

Visuals and Animations

The Starfall ABC app engages users through a combination of animated and real visuals. While the visuals and animations effectively represent content, it’s worth noting that they appear somewhat outdated. 

The animations, although clear in their representation, may be perceived as disjointed or jumpy, lacking smooth transitions. Enhancing the fluidity of animations could potentially contribute to a more seamless and visually appealing user experience, aligning with modern design standards. 

Passive Participation

The engagement in the Starfall ABC app tends to be primarily passive, with children often participating by clicking on elements to trigger visuals or animations that coincide with the learning content. 

While this approach enhances accessibility for very young users, it may limit the active application of concepts, as children are not frequently prompted to use their thinking to apply what they are learning. 

Encouraging more interactive and thought-provoking activities within the app could promote greater engagement and stimulate independent thinking among users, fostering a more dynamic and participatory learning experience

Should You Try the Starfall ABC App?

The Starfall ABC app focuses on free instruction in letter names and sounds. It has an easy-to-navigate interface with no distracting ads. The games reinforce letter names and sounds through repetition, visuals, and American Sign Language. 

The app also succeeds in building vocabulary and practicing basic concepts which is the foundation for reading comprehension. The modeling of phoneme blending is commendable, although there is room for improvement in terms of frequency. 

Starfall ABC could improve by updating the quality and flow of the animations. Certain games, like the puzzle game, could be improved by asking children to look at letter shapes rather than arbitrary puzzle shapes around the letter. Additionally, the prevalence of passive participation in many games suggests a potential area for improvement to encourage more active engagement and application of learning among users.

For more reviews of popular phonics and literacy programs for kids, head to phonics.org.

Overall Rating for Starfall ABC

  • Quality of Literacy Instruction: 3 stars
  • Usability: 4 stars
  • Engagement: 3 stars

Hooked on Phonics App Review

Jaymi Thiessen on March 4, 2024

Hooked on Phonics, established in 1987, emerged as a renowned educational program designed to enhance early reading skills in children. Initially introduced as a set of books and cassette tapes, the program gained widespread popularity for its systematic approach to teaching phonics. This popularity came during the peak of ‘balanced literacy’ instruction which was taking a very different pedagogical stance. 

Over the years, Hooked on Phonics evolved with advancements in technology, transitioning into interactive software and digital platforms. Currently, their ‘blended approach’ incorporates physical materials such as books that coincide with the programming in the app. 

Hooked on Phonics continues to be a resource for parents and educators seeking effective tools to support literacy development in children. This review focuses on the literacy approach in the Hooked on Phonics app. Learn all about it below!

Organization and Navigation of the App

The Hooked on Phonics app is thoughtfully organized into four distinct categories, catering to various learning needs:

  1. Pre-Reader: This section lays the foundation with alphabet and letter-sound instruction, ensuring a solid start for beginners. 
  2. Learn to Read: This category progresses students to learn blending letters and sounds to read words. 
  3. Hooked on Spelling: This section is dedicated to spelling and writing words.
  4. Hooked on Math: The math section helps kids explore a robust math curriculum alongside their phonics instruction. 

The user experience of the Hooked on Phonics sections is enhanced by easy sign-up and navigation processes, allowing parents and children to navigate the app effortlessly. 

A notable feature is the app’s commitment to maintaining a systematic learning path. This is a beneficial approach as it allows children to gradually build upon necessary skills in a step-by-step manner. 

Users can revisit and reinforce concepts by repeating games, rewatching fun alphabet letter videos, and rereading books within the app. Games and concepts can also be skipped if your child already has mastery of a concept, ensuring that children are having just the right amount of challenge in their reading practice. 

Instructions & Gameplay

The Hooked on Phonics app excels in providing clear and repeatable instructions, catering to children with language or memory concerns. A notable feature is the ability for children to easily turn off background music, enhancing customization to individual preferences and reducing distractions in the game. The games within the app are designed for simplicity, ensuring ease of play for young learners. 

Risk of Passive Participation

Many of the games in the app are somewhat passive. Children primarily click on items to check receptive skills without much emphasis on expressive skills. 

For example, children are asked to click on the word ‘pig’ next to other words like ‘wig’ and ‘rig,’ but aren’t asked to read the word frequently. In this instance, a child can look at the first letter and choose the right answer without looking at the entire word or reading anything. 

Because of the app’s enablement of passive participation, It’s recommended that parents or adults actively monitor the child’s engagement, encouraging them to make sounds or read words aloud to foster more active participation and reinforce expressive skills during the learning process.

Letter-Sound Practice

The Hooked on Phonics app places a strong emphasis on letter-sound instruction, recognizing the pivotal role of letter-sounds in early literacy development. Limited to American English pronunciation, the app introduces letter sounds in a structured and systematic manner, prioritizing the most common sounds to establish a solid foundation for young learners. 

One notable strength is the avoidance of adding schwa or extra sounds to the letter sounds. However, some users have reported challenges in deciphering certain letter sounds, such as the sound of the letters <f> and <v>, which could benefit from clearer articulation. 

Despite these occasional challenges, the app incorporates engaging and adorable letter videos that contribute to a fun and interactive learning experience. People of a certain age may still remember the old commercials for Hooked on Phonics because they know how to create a jingle that sticks! 

These videos not only aid in learning letter sounds but also foster phonemic awareness, contributing to a well-rounded approach to letter-sound instruction.

Reading Words

After letter-sound correspondences are established, Hooked on Phonics uses “word families” to teach word reading. Word families use common rhymes to teach reading. For example, ‘rat’, ‘cat’, and ‘sat’ are all part of the ‘-at’ family. This type of analogy phonics has been shown to help children learn to read words. 

However, more current research has compared the effectiveness of analogy and synthetic phonics and has found synthetic phonics to have a greater impact on reading and spelling ability. 

Synthetic phonics blends individual letters and sounds together to read words. While any phonics instruction is beneficial, incorporating more emphasis on modeling and practicing individual phoneme blending could enhance the program’s efficacy.

Reading Books

Some lesson sequences in Hooked on Phonics end with the reading of a book. The Hooked on Phonics app uses decodable books, which means that the words a child reads align with the words they have been taught how to read. 

Many of the books in this app are highly decodable which supports early readers in solidifying phonics knowledge in continuous texts. Any irregular words in the text are introduced and practiced before the child reads the book, which is another positive scaffold to help new readers. Additionally, these books can be revisited in the in-app library for repeated practice at any time. 

The books within the Hooked on Phonics app could benefit from the addition of comprehension questions to ensure the child has understood the sentences and stories they have decoded. This is something parents could do with their children after reading a book together. 

Spelling

Spelling instruction begins with a short video with direct and explicit instruction and explanations of the skill the child will then practice. This is a strength of the Hooked on Phonics app as both children and adults can quickly learn key spelling concepts in a short amount of time. 

In the app, early spelling instruction largely focuses on a ‘word family’ approach. Initially, children are asked to sort words they hear into word families. For example, does the word ‘rap’ fit in with the ‘-an’ family or the ‘-ap’ family? The full sample word is already spelled in the game, which leaves room for children to play this spelling game without paying attention to sounds in the words. That is not ideal.

The next spelling activity has children sort word families and letters into separate boxes to ‘unscramble’ a word. This activity resembles the common practice of Elkonin boxes, however, these boxes should represent individual sounds, not word families. 

Similarly, consonant blends like ‘sl-’ or ‘dr-’ are placed in the same box instead of two separate boxes, one for each sound. The spelling activities could be improved by using individual letter sounds more often to spell (synthetic phonics). 

Evidence & Research

Some versions of Hooked on Phonics have been around for 37 years. Surprisingly, there are no studies evaluating its effectiveness. 

What Works Clearinghouse evaluates high-quality scientific evidence supporting different educational methods and approaches. Regarding this phonics app, WWC states they are “unable to draw any research-based conclusions about the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of Hooked on Phonics.”

As the educational landscape evolves, it would be beneficial for Hooked on Phonics to incorporate contemporary research findings into its materials and reference more recent studies to back up its effectiveness.

Unsubstantiated Advertising Claims

That said, the history of Hooked on Phonics involves notable scrutiny from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 1994, which demanded that the program’s manufacturer either discontinue its advertising campaign or conduct more extensive research into the program’s effectiveness, while also disclosing any evidence of failure. However, 30 years later, it appears that this demand has not been fully addressed. 

Despite this history, Hooked on Phonics continues to assert its bold claim with the current motto: “Your Child Will Read, Guaranteed.” It’s important for consumers to critically evaluate such claims and be aware of the ongoing need for transparency and up-to-date research to support the efficacy of educational programs. No app can claim to teach every child to read. 

Is the Hooked on Phonics App Worth It?

The Hooked on Phonics app offers a user-friendly and enjoyable experience that is likely to aid children in learning to read. The app’s ease of use, engaging content, and cute features contribute positively to the learning process for both children and adults. The decodable books in this app are simple and clear, supporting new readers in their practice. 

However, the literacy instruction in the app could benefit from updates. The type of phonics instruction, expressive engagement from learners, and a reassessment of the program’s claims could use more attention. 

While the Hooked on Phonics app remains a popular choice for parents and educators, an ongoing commitment to evidence-based practices and transparency in advertising claims could further enhance its effectiveness and reputation in literacy education.
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Hooked on Phonics Ratings

Overall rating: 3.5 stars

Quality of Literacy Instruction: 3.5 out of 5

Usability: 4 out of 5

Engagement: 3 out of 5

Building Early Literacy Skills: Teach Your Monster to Read Review 

Jaymi Thiessen on February 24, 2024

Teach Your Monster to Read is an engaging and visually appealing literacy app intended for children from 3-6 years old. It was developed by the Edoki Academy and is a part of the Usborne Foundation. 

Teach Your Monster to Read uses in-app storytelling to engage children in helping their “monster” learn to read and fix their spaceship while exploring various islands on a far-away planet. In this review, we’ll explore the key features, educational value, and overall user experience of this popular literacy app. 

Benefits of Teach Your Monster to Read

The Teach Your Monster to Read app has many benefits that help children learn how to read. These aspects encourage motivation to continue playing and learning. Most importantly, many features of this app are in line with what reading research has found to be effective ways of learning to read and spell. 

Engaging and Motivating

One of the immediate strengths of the app is its vibrant and user-friendly interface. The colorful, whimsical design instantly captures the attention of young learners, creating an inviting environment for them to explore and engage. 

The app provides positive reinforcement through rewards and prizes, encouraging children to continue playing and practicing their literacy skills. Kids can collect stars and use them to select items to customize their adorable monsters. This feature is a fun add-on and doesn’t appear to be too distracting. The use of gamification elements adds a sense of fun to the learning process, making it more likely that children will stay engaged and motivated to continue learning.

Research-Based Reading Instruction Methods 

Teach Your Monster to Read uses a systematic and synthetic phonics approach. The systematic approach refers to teaching phonics in an explicit, step-by-step method. 

Teach Your Monster to Read starts by teaching and practicing letter sounds in a specific order. Children are then encouraged to blend these sounds to read words. In this way, children learn new information piece by piece. 

Synthetic phonics means that individual speech sounds (or phonemes) are blended to read words. This is different from other types of phonics that use word families or chunks to word-read (decode). Reading research supports synthetic phonics as being the optimal choice for teaching children to read. 

Building Reading Skills 

Teach Your Monster to Read encourages phonemic awareness skills such as “blending” and “segmenting.” Blending involves combining or putting sounds together to read words. Segmenting is breaking a word into its individual speech sounds. The inclusion of these skills is important for learning how to read and spell. 

Individualized Learning Paths

There are three options for beginning this app: First Steps, Fun with Words, and Champion Reader. Ideally, a parent or educator can choose which path will most benefit their child or student when beginning the app. 

This app also has some adaptive learning features including re-introducing previous mistakes for continued practice. The “Practice” section of the app allows an educator or parent to choose specific letter sounds or word types for a child to practice with a variety of different easy-to-play games.

Drawbacks of the Teach Your Monster to Read App

While Teach Your Monster to Read excels in many areas, it’s important to consider certain aspects that might pose challenges for a diverse audience. There are several limitations and weaknesses in this game to be aware of. 

Sound Articulation

The way speech sounds are pronounced or articulated is incredibly important when teaching someone to read. Teach Your Monster to Read relies on British English articulation. Some speech sounds, such as the /r/ sound, may not align with the accents or pronunciation commonly encountered outside of British English. 

This articulation setting could potentially create confusion for learners who are exposed to different regional accents. These specific sounds are often difficult for children to learn to pronounce, which also makes these sounds more difficult to read and spell. Ideally, children should learn phonics through a literacy approach that matches the pronunciation of their regional dialect.

Letter Introduction and Accuracy

Furthermore, Teach Your Monster to Read occasionally introduces words that use sounds that haven’t been taught yet. Some of these words are referred to as “trickies”. These are words frequently used in children’s texts that may not follow a regular phonics pattern. 

However, other irregular words that are not “trickies” are still introduced as though they follow a regular phonics pattern. For example, the word “kind” is introduced quite early in the game. While children are taught that the letter i makes a short /i/ sound like “insect”, the letter <i> in “kind” makes a different, long vowel sound. This departure from the established learning path could lead to confusion for young readers and disrupt the systematic approach to phonics instruction.

Learning Pace and Stage

There are options in the app to customize the learning experience for a child. However, the system in this app has not been perfected. 

The first game choice (“First Steps”) includes learning letters and sounds. The next game choice (“Fun with Words) is for children who are reading sentences. There is a large gap between these skills. Children who know letter sounds but are not yet able to read sentences may find the first stage repetitive and easy and the next stage too challenging. 

Ideally, the app should have a placement quiz at the beginning of the game to help pinpoint where the child should begin. Alternatively, having an option for parents and educators to skip ahead to the correct starting place for their child or student would be helpful.

Clarity of Directions

Unfortunately, many of the directions in the Teach Your Monster to Read mini-games cannot be repeated. Repetition of sounds and target words for learning is so important for new readers. It can be frustrating to play a game where the directions or unclear or key words are missed. 

Without clear direction, children may tend to ‘guess’ at words or sounds instead of doing the important work of learning letter sounds and blending. Parents and educators can help their child or student by immediately turning down the music volume in the app, which can help focus on the directions and sounds introduced in the game. 

Passive Participation

Many of the mini-games are exploitable and can be completed without actually knowing letter sounds or word-reading skills. Kids could potentially click around to get the ‘right’ answers to move along in the game. 

Furthermore, many of the activities and tasks in the game test for receptive skills rather than expressive skills. For example, children could be asked to identify a certain word out of a variety, but often they don’t need to produce that sound or read the words themselves. The expressive skills are often more challenging and parents can play along to encourage their child’s full participation. 

Teach Your Monster to Read: Overall Rating 

Teach Your Monster to Read offers a rich and engaging platform for early literacy education. It uses a systematic synthetic phonics approach to teaching word reading in a fun way. 

Addressing concerns with customization of the learning pace and articulation settings as well as encouraging active participation in learning activities could make the app even more accessible and accommodating to a wider range of users.

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