Write to Read – WriteReader

There are more than 750 000 apps in the iTunes AppStore, with many doing similar things, so it is very exciting to find an app that does something really different.  WriteReader is one of those apps.  The app is based on research that strongly links success in learning to read with learning to write.   The app is aimed at children aged from 3 to 10 years, although I believe it would be suitable for older children who have special needs.  I’d like to thank Sarah Muzzammil, a member of the WriteReader marketing team, for giving me the opportunity to look at this app.

Main Features

Apart from the title page for each book you create, each page consists of a picture that you add from your camera roll, and two text entry points: one for children and one for adults.  You can add an audio recording to each page, and you can easily add speech frames, thought bubbles and text boxes to the pictures.  Children select a picture, then write a caption, concentrating on the sounds in the words they wish to use.This might be just a couple of letters for one-word caption, or it might be several words.  Adults then type the correct “adult writing”  in the second box.  This is the way my children do their first writing at school.  I’m sure many readers are familiar with being presented with lovely artwork captioned with (what appears to be) a mishmash of letters, and a teachers’ writing underneath translating it for us.  What is actually happening is that children are trying out their letters and sounds, exploring the process of writing at its very first stages.  By seeing their writing alongside the adult’s writing, children can see their successes.

WriteReader is more than just a writing app, as it has been designed to be used as part of a whole language approach to help children learn to write while they are also learning to read.  There is a good deal of research behind it from its Danish development team and the Danish School of Education. The publishers write:

The app is based on scientific research showing the increased meaningfulness and efficiency that can be achieved when children start to write concurrently with the process of learning to read. With this app and a little help from an adult, children, from the age of 4, will be able to create books and thereby improve their skills in both writing and reading at the same time. WriteReader is tested and developed in cooperation with scientific researchers from The Danish School of Education. 

You can read more about the research and theory behind the app, and about its creator, Janus Madsen, on the WriteReader website.

While reviewing this app, I came across a free publication that further supports the strong link between writing and learning to read:  Writing to Read – Evidence for How Writing Can Improve Reading – A report from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, Authored by Steve Graham and Michael Herbert (http://carnegie.org/fileadmin/Media/Publications/WritingToRead_01.pdf)

Other Features

• Clear instructions are available in video form from the main menu.  There is also a quick video overview of the App in the startup screen.
• Simple controls -  The controls are very simple to find and use, so children can concentrate on the task at hand and not be overwhelmed with options.
• Books can be shared via email in PDF format, or by Facebook
• Supportive keyboard – as children type, they hear the name of the letter spoken aloud.  (This feature can be turned off) Vowels are highlighted on the keyboard.
• Advice for Parents – Some great tips and activities for helping your child to learn are included in the app, and you can find more on the WriteReader website.

The Tutorial film is available as a YouTube video.  It only goes for about 2 minutes, but it gives you a very clear overview of the app.

Road testing

I tried this app with my five y.o. son who is in Prep.  He is at both the pre-writing and pre-reading stage, and still doesn’t know many of his initial letter sounds, let alone any words.  When we made our first page, Mr Five was so worried about misspelling words that he made me write the sentence first and then copied.  This is certainly one way that you can use the app, but I was keen for him to try writing by himself.

We then watched the introductory video where Little Owl is encouraged by Father Owl  to use his “children’s writing,” and he realised that he didn’t have to perfect.  (Funny that he wouldn’t accept this from his mother, but a cartoon owl was believable!)  Perhaps I should have been a bit wiser and shown him this first, but silly me thought I could explain it well enough.  The next attempt was much happier for us both.  Later, when he had earned 15 minutes free play on the iPad (my children have to earn their iPad time), he chose to add some pages to his book rather than play his favourite (educational) game.  At this stage he is not writing a story, but creating a photo journal where he is placing his favourite photos and writing captions for them.  His biggest problem is that he doesn’t know many sounds yet, but as he learns more sounds, he will find it easier.   His major hurdle is getting over his fear of making mistakes and just having a go, but I’m confident this will come with time, particularly as I am praising his successes and focusing in on the sounds he is getting correct.  He does prefer to delete his own typing and copy my version, but I’m happy with this as he is still learning, and that he has had a try.

The introductory video is also available as a YouTube vide0.

My 7 y.o. son knows his sounds and can spell quite well already, but I think this app will still be very useful as he learns new vocabulary, sentence structure, and punctuation.  He can  write simple sentences and punctuate them correctly, but it is a useful tool for helping him get to that next level in his writing, and he is not as anxious as his younger brother when it comes to making mistakes.  It will be particularly useful as he begins to learn about direct speech, and I intend to play with those speech bubbles quite a bit.

The talking keyboard was very useful.  At one point, Mr 5 correctly identified the sound he needed as the letter “a” but tapped the “u” instead.  The audio feedback alerted him to his mistake, and helped him to find the correct letter.

Both children are excited at the thought of being able to print and share their own stories.  I’m a keen scrapbooker and my children have seen me writing stories in their photo albums.  They see this as an electronic form of that kind of storytelling.  Using photos allows them to write about experiences they have had, using their prior knowledge to help them come up with the words.  We could also use pictures created with creativity apps such as Felt Board, Play School Art Maker, and Doodle Buddy  to create fantasy stories.  While my boys have been using WriteReader on our original iPad that has no camera (we sync photos via iPhoto on my iMac), I’ll make my iPad 3 available to them when on holidays so that we can create holiday photo journals as we go.

Wish list

• Option to turn off External links – I’m not a big fan of sharing children’s work on Facebook.  This social media site is not appropriate for children, and having a live link in a very accessible place is not ideal.  Parental supervision is always recommended, and the nature of this app requires parent and child to work together, but I would still advise switching off Internet access while children are using the app to avoid accidental trips to Facebook.
• Simple drawing tools – I love using our own pictures, but the ability to add simple drawings, arrows etc would be handy.
• Option for alphabetical keyboard layout -  I’m happy with the standard QWERTY keyboard, but for some children, locating letters might be easier on an alphabetical keyboard.

Verdict

As mentioned above, it is such a wonderful surprise to find an app that offers something original and useful.  The app has features that are very supportive of emerging readers and writers, and these will also be supportive of students with special needs.  Possibly the feature I appreciate most is the one that is not actually programmed into the app:  the interaction between adult and child.   In this new world of  super-accessible technology, we sometimes forget that while apps can help children learn, it is the adult and peer interactions that will help a child make the link between the content on their electronic devices and its application in the real world.  Adults or older siblings can reinforce learning and direct their praise much better than any automated response, and they can help children make meaningful links between these activities and the real world.

Publisher:  Janus Madsen, WriteReader
Price: $7.49
iPad only

Related articles

• Write to Read – Cool Learning App (teacherlingo.com)

The Adventures of Onesock – My Pal Roger

Published by JustKidsApps, The Adventures of Onesock – My Pal Roger is delightful story about Onesock and his misadventures with the newest family member, Roger the dog, who bounces into his world and develops a liking for Onesock’s favourite toy.  Although it isn’t mentioned in the story, Onesock has Autism and displays behaviours associated with this.  Like many children with autism, Onesock has sensory issues with his clothing, in this case with his sock.  He has difficulty with social situations and changes to his environment, such as the introduction of the new pet or visiting his Grandparents.   Onesock has a particular attachment to his toy alligator, which he uses for comfort and to transition through difficult situations.  When faced with a trip away from home, and a new dog that keeps trying to play with his toy alligator, Onesock becomes distressed and anxious. Things are resolved when Roger saves the day. It is no surprise to learn that the author, Roy Ruiz, is the father of the real life Onesock.  Onesock is portrayed with love, respect and acceptance.

Features

This is a story with a lot text, so having two reading modes is a handy thing.  I prefer to read the stories to my children and tend to turn narration off, but my children have listened to the narration and enjoyed this too.

The illustrations are  attractive and colourful.  We loved finding the missing sock in each page, although we still haven’t found it on one page!

There are subtle interactive elements on each page indicated by sparkles. Touching some of these might activate an environmental sound, such as a dog bark, a giggle etc, but other interactive spots play more dialogue in the voice of the character, so you can learn more about how the character is feeling. As with many other JustKidsApps books, this kind of feature can help with comprehension.

Other features

• Lovely illustrations by Natalie Silva
• Clear, soothing  English narration by Priya Rana Kapoor.  (I don’t speak German, but the child  narrator sounds clear and expressive, as do the voices of the characters)
• Text is highlighted as narrated
• Bilingual in English or German

This YouTube video gives away the plot by showing you the last page of the story, but you’ll also get to hear the soothing narration.  

Wish List

• An option for clicking individual words to hear them spoken when in “Read Myself” mode.  This would help those children who are mostly independent readers, but who struggle with the odd word.
• More Onesock adventures – I’ll buy these as soon as they are published.

Verdict

It is a joy to see a story with an autistic child as the main character in a story.  Given the prevalence of ASD in our communities,  children with ASD have been under-represented in all forms of media and particularly in children’s literature.  Any child will enjoy reading about the adventures of Onesock, but the story will resonate with families affected by autism.  I was happy to part with a measly 99c for a story of this quality, and I’d happily pay more.  This is the second of Ruiz’s  Onesock books, but the first available as an app.  JustKidsApps timed the release perfectly to coincide with World Autism Month in April, 2013.

Publisher:  JustKidsApps
Cost: 99c
iPad only

Related articles

• April is Autism Awareness Month: 4 Great Reads from Parents in the Know (youreducationdoctor.wordpress.com)
• Adventures of One Sock – My Pal Rodger 1.0 – story about an autistic boy (themactrack.com)
• 10 Best Autism Apps for the iPad (laptopmag.com)
• The 12 Myths Of Autism (beyondautismawareness.wordpress.com)
• Autistic children being ‘locked in cupboards’ (radionz.co.nz)
• Autism is . . . Sensational Adventure and Discovery in Motion! (jenniferajanes.com)

Alphabet Animals – a slide-and-peek adventure

I was excited to be able to review this app from Auryn Apps with my children.  I own quite a few story apps published by Auryn, and the quality of illustrations and stories is always high, so I was hoping Alphabet Animals would be of the same quality.  I’m delighted to say that it is.

Alphabet Animals is exactly what it sounds like:  an alphabet book with illustrations of animals. Each page has an animal in the shape of the initial letter of its name. D is a dragon, L is a lion, O is an orang-utan and so on.  I love the gorgeous illustrations by Suse MacDonald.  As you slide the tab across to see the letter, the animal moves a little.  The crocodile opens its mouth, the vulture’s wings flap, and so on.  If a few seconds pass without the screen being touched, prompts appear highlighting the interactive parts of the page.

You could go through the book page by page, in alphabetical order, or you can tap on specific letters to go straight to that letter.  My children were impatient to see “their letters” (i.e. the letters in their names) so this is how we first explored the book.  It was also fun to guess which animal would illustrate each letter.  Zebra for Z was a no-brainer, but we shouldn’t have been so surprised to see the dragon for D (it is the app’s icon!)

It was nice to see an Australian animal used to illustrate the letter K, but we have a quibble.  Koalas are marsupials, not bears, and it is incorrect to refer to them as koala bears.  Koala on its own is the correct name.  Unfortunately it is a mistake we’ve seen in a lot of apps and books. My little Aussies are very picky and would like the developers to fix this in the next update.

 Game Time

The book on its own is wonderful, but there is a game in the app that adds to the fun.  Children select the letters of their name, then drag the “animal letters” over the top to spell their name with animals.  They can then select a frame and save the image or send it to an email address.  My children love this activity.  The images of their names are works of art, and I’m going to print them as photos to go in my children’s scrapbooks.  The names would also look great on the front of greeting cards.  I know the activity asks you to enter a name, but we took it further and entered spelling list words.

Music

One other feature is a musical theme that plays in the background.  While the tune is cute and happy, you can turn it off.  I chose to have it off after a bit, but not before my children had fun making the animals ” dance” by sliding the tab back and forth in time with the music.

 Verdict

I’ve seen a lot of ABC apps, and while there are some I quite like, I can honestly say there are not too many illustrated as beautifully as this one.   Alphabet Animals will hold your child’s attention and is a great one to share snuggled up on someone’s lap.  Highly recommended.

Publisher: Auryn Apps
Price:  $1.99
iPad only.

Related articles

• See Animals from an Alligator to a Zebra take shapes of Alphabets in “Alphabet Animals” app (auryn.com)

Felt Board by Software Smoothie

My children love playing with their felt boards and shapes, so I was delighted to try Felt Board by Software Smoothie, which brings this activity to the iPad.  My children and I had a great deal of fun trying this out, and we have shown it to lots of friends, young and old,  who are equally enchanted with it.

Features

• Backgrounds - We have several felt boards in our home collection, but this app has 27, including outdoor scenes, space, interiors, a ship, plain backgrounds and more.
• People – 6 bodies are available in a choice of pale pink, brown, black, blue, purple and red.  There are many faces available, including a variety of eye colours, and choices of happy or sad.  Likewise, there are lots of different hair styles, each with several colour choices, and some beards and moustaches.
• Clothing – You’ll find lots of choices for dresses, skirts, tops, swimwear and pants.  Several complete outfits are also included for various professions, including firefighter, doctor, knight and more.
• Accessories – In this section you will find hats, scarves, footwear and other accessories.  In addition to “everyday” items, you’ll find times for fairies, knights, royalty and more.  Also included in this section is a wheelchair.
• Animals - All sorts of animals can be found here, including pets, farm animals, and fairy tale characters. The unicorn has been very popular in our house.
• Alphabet in upper and lower case
• Numbers and shapes

The YouTube video below shows how to use the app.

Activity Ideas

Like painting and drawing apps, apps that allow you to create pictures are great for illustrating stories.  Pictures made with Felt Board could be used with writing and book-making apps such as Pages, Keynote, Book Creator or Picturebook, to name but a few.

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Some of the boards consist of several backgrounds, making them ideal for sorting and classifying activities.  I used one with rectangles to create a colour sorting activity, where I placed a number of felt items in the centre white rectangle for children to drag into the rectangle with the corresponding colour.  In another activity, I created a counting activity.  One board in the set lends itself well to looking at seasonal changes, as it has an array of four backgrounds, each a different season

Things we love about this app

• You can’t lose the pieces ( they will not be sucked up the vacuum cleaner if you leave them on the floor!)
• You can use as many of the same piece as you want.
• There are so many backgrounds you can create nearly any scene you want.
• My daughters discovered that, when you resize a person, any facial features, hair, clothing, or accessories you place on that person automatically resize to fit.  They also resize with the person after you have applied them.  This feature is really clever.
• Boys love this app just as much as the girls.  It might initially look “girly” but believe me that there are lots of pirates, knights and other “boy” themes to keep everyone happy.  I’ve shown this to my boys and their friends, aged from 5 to 10 years old, and they all happily spend ages making adventure scenes.

Wish List

• Vehicles – More vehicles would be wonderful.  There is a ship and a couple of rockets, but my children were looking for some farm vehicles and trains.  It would be great to have a variety of air, sea and land vehicles.  We did manage to make some vehicles from the shapes with a little success, but it was hard to make diggers, trucks and trains the way we wanted them to look.
• More Animals – My children would also like to see some jungle and bush animals added to the animals section. A few lions and tigers and bears (oh my!) would be fun for jungle or zoo scenes, and some kangaroos, koalas, wombats, emus and snakes would be a start for some of our Australian bush scenes.  Perhaps we are a bit greedy, as there are already lots of animals to choose from.
• Fairy wings have been suggested by one young lady as a much-needed addition to the accessories section.  We did have a success shrinking a person down to their smallest size and placing them over an enlarged butterfly, but you can’t “stick” the wings on.
• Individual Facial Features - While there are lots of faces to choose from you can’t select individual facial features and combine them. One of my children has suggested having separate eyes, noses and mouths so that she can have more control over how the faces look.  While I believe this would make adding faces a lot harder for some, I can see her point.  (I prefer the face options that are already in the app.)
• Saving Files – I’d like to be able to save activities such as those I created above.  You can save photographs of the scenes you create, but you can’t save them in a way that you can manipulate the items on the board, such as with the sorting activity. While it doesn’t take long to make them, it would be handy for teachers to be able to prepare activities in advance and then load them as necessary, as time is at a premium in classrooms.

Verdict

This app is simply so much fun, it is hard to believe it is educational.  My children still love playing with their “real” felts, but this app is now a favourite and has been particularly handy when travelling.  We are not alone, as everyone we have shown this app to has fallen in love with it.  Even if you don’t have children, this is a very appealing app.   I have  been revisiting my childhood, having so much fun creating scenes with the felt shapes.  This app is suitable for all ages and is an app that will “grow” with your children.    I challenge anyone not to fall in love with it.

Publisher:  Software Smoothie
Price:  $2.99
iPad only

Sassy Cassie – PicPocket Books

Sassy Cassie, written and illustrated by Nancy PLA Schneider, is two stories for the price of one.  Cassie is an imaginative and creative little girl who loves to colour her world.  Despite having all the toys a child could wish, Cassie favourite toy is her mother’s makeup.  Cassie loves to use her and her friends’ faces as a canvas.  (I’m sure I’m not the only mother who can relate to this scenario!) Her increasingly exasperated mother manages to extract a series of promises from Cassie about not using her makeup, although it seems Cassie is an expert in finding loopholes in promises and rules, not unlike a child dear to my own heart. Katie eventually manages to find another interesting way to express herself creatively.

At the end of the story, Sassy Cassie receives her very own art equipment in Color Mixing with Cassie.  She experiments with blending primary colours to make secondary colours, and plays with black and white to make shades and tints in her search for the perfect pink.  While I’ve seen apps that explore primary and secondary colours, I’ve never seen one that looks at shades and tints.  It would be useful to read this part of the story before art activities, and then have children see which colours they can make.
But wait:  there’s more!  In addition to a great story and an art lesson, the Color Fun Quiz section rounds off the app with a series of comprehension questions.  The question is written and narrated.  Tapping the Answer button will reveal the answer.

Features

• Easy navigation – swipe pages to move through the story.  You can also swipe backwards to hear a page’s narration again.
• Audio can be turned off
• Text is highlighted as spoken.  This feature is supportive of emergent readers who are reading along with the narration.  This feature is only available in the main part of the story, but not available in the Color Mixing or Quiz sections.
• Beautiful illustrations by PLA Schneider
• Clear and expressive narration by Sylvie Ashford
• Art lesson about mixing colours.  Cassie narrates as she experiments with colours, mixing primary colours, white and black to make secondary colours, tints and shades.
• Quiz section

Wish list

It would be useful for children to hear words spoken aloud as they are tapped.  I’d also love to see the highlighting of words as they are spoken extended to the second part of the story. Children with a hearing impairment, or those reading the story in noisy environments, may have difficulty hearing the answers in the Fun Color Quiz, so it would be great to see the answers also available in text and/or illustration.

Verdict

Sassy Cassie is a delightful app that gives you a funny story as well as a lesson in art.  Children will be amused by Cassie’s antics and inspired by her creativity.  Parents will be amazed by how Cassie’s mother manages to keep her composure when facing “trying” times with her precocious daughter.   An enjoyable and educational reading experience for all.

This review was originally published on The Appy Ladies blog.  The Appy Ladies are running  a giveaway of the iPad version of this app until April 04, 2013.  You can enter tbe Appy Ladies Rafflecopter Giveaway here.

iPad version, requires iOS 4.3 or later.
Price:  $2.99

iPhone version.  Requires iOS 4.3 or later.
Price $1.99

Related articles

• Katie Loves Everyone Together (onsarahsipad.wordpress.com)

 

Baby Learns Simple Shapes

The latest offering from Bebebe Co.  is a fun app for learning shapes, and I’d like to thank Tanya Kolosova from Baby Learns for allowing me to be part of the Beta Testing process. Like the other apps in the series (Baby Learns Colors and Baby Learns Simple Objects and ) there are three different activities, both with two modes: Play and Learn. Each activity also has a child character, or avatar, that guides the child through the activity. A reward system for correct answers is motivating and fun.

Activities

Find the Shape

Ten shape characters are on the screen: square, circle, triangle, rectangle, moon, star, oval, rhombus, pentagon, trapezoid. As you tap each shape, the avatar says its name. Shapes animate at random: they might dance, grow flowers, clean up, play or do other surprising things. In Play Mode, the avatar says the name of each shape as the shape is tapped. In Learn mode, the avatar asks the user to find a specific shape. Correct answers receive praise, while the avatar prompts the child to try again after an incorrect answer. Sometimes my children were distracted by the animations and went to tap the animating shape rather than the correct shape. I’d like to see animations used as a prompt. My 5 y.o. Was not familiar with some of the shape names, such as trapezoid and rhombus, but he quickly picked them up. My youngest child is not yet two, but when he is a bit older I’ll be trying the activities with him and I’d love to be able to reduce the number of shapes on the screen so that we can just start with two or three and build up to the full ten.

Load the Shapes

In this second activity, children drag the shapes into the back of a truck. My children loved dragging the shapes with their legs and arms kicking (happily) and dropping them into the truck. In Learn mode, users can load the shapes at random and hear their names spoken. In Play mode, users are asked to load a specific shape. Incorrect answers are identified, and correct answers receive praise. Again, I’d like to be able to adjust the number of shapes, at least in Play mode, so that it would be suitable for a variety of needs.

Make a Picture

This is the favourite activity in my house. Shapes are matched to the shapes outlined on a picture. Once the picture is complete, the scene animates. In Learn mode, simply drag the shapes to their place and hear their name spoken. Incorrect shapes will just snap back to place. The Play mode is same, except that correct answers are counted towards rewards. The only thing I’d like to see here is more pictures, as my children just love it. They have put in requests for space ships and tractors.

Other Features

Rewards

Baby Learns Shapes uses the same reward system as the other Baby Learns apps, and it never gets tired. Bebekas are the cute characters that your child can earn for every 5 correct answers in Play mode. Bebekas are added to an interactive environment where your child can play with them. Scroll left and right to see the full environment, which fills several screens. You can move the creatures around the scene, interact with objects in the environment (you must try the trampoline) and feed them from a selection of foods. We found some extra surprises in some of the buildings, but I’m not giving any spoilers, so you’ll have to look for yourself.

Avatars and Voices

The avatars are little boys and girls with assigned voices. The app comes with Morgan (Female, US English), Jules (male, French) and Ivan (male, Russian). You can download others (several other languages are already available) or you can record your own voice. Recording is very easy to do, and I’d encourage you to try this with your children so they can hear their own voices. When you record a voice, you are also able to choose a different avatar. There are three boys and three girls to choose from, each with different racial characteristics. Baby Learns encourages people to submit their voice overs so that others can download them.

Parent Section

The Parent Section is accessed by double-tapping a subtle link at the top of the main screen. Children will be unlikely to get access to it by random tapping. It has links to a YouTube video of how to record voiceovers, more information on playing the game, information about other Baby Learns apps and competitions and links to the AppStore and social media.

Verdict

While there are a couple of features I’d love to add, I think this is a great app for helping children learn and recall the names of common shapes.  I’d recommend that children just starting to learn the shapes spend some  in the Learn modes before they tackle the Play modes. Different language options make it suitable for children of any nationality, and useful for those learning a second language.  The Bebekas are motivating and fun rewards, which guarantee children will not tire of the game.  My five y.o. loves it, and I’m looking forward to introducing this to my youngest child when he is a little older.

Giveaway

If you would like to win a copy of this great app, please leave a comment below.  The first three comments will receive a code for the app, courtesy of Bebebe Co.

Publisher:  Bebebe Co.
Universal
Price:  $2.99

Katie Loves Everyone Together

Developer: PicPocket Books

Reviewed by Sarah DeBellis and originally published by The Appy Ladies

Some stories can be a great help for preparing children for life’s ups and downs, for example new babies, visits to the hospital, even a topic as sensitive as death.   This kind of life story can help to provide vocabulary for children to express their feelings, and are a great starting point for discussion.  They can also let children know that they are not alone.  Katie Loves Everybody Together by Annie Monique Chalifoux is one of those stories.  It is the story of how a family copes with separation as seen through the eyes of Katie, their little girl.

The story starts with the family together, but as the story progresses, Katie sees her parents are unhappy.  Katie is worried and blames herself, but her parents realise and talk things through.  Finally Katie’s father moves into a new home and the story looks at how Katie adjusts to living in two homes.  The message throughout the story is one of love and respect, as both parents guide their children through this major change in their lives.  The child’s fears and concerns are dealt with, and we see her happily living her life in two homes.

Features

• Easy navigation – swipe pages to move through the story.
• Audio can be turned off for those who wish to read aloud themselves or to read silently.
• Text is highlighted as spoken.  This feature is supportive of emergent readers who are reading along with the narration.
•  Beautiful illustrations  - The story is beautifully illustrated by Jennifer Kalis.
• “Hidden Sounds” – Sounds from the environment, such as birds chirping or a child giggling,  are “hidden” in each illustration.
• The expressive narration by Allison Cohen is well-paced.
• No external links to websites, social media or advertising.  This is a safe app for children.

Verdict

Normally when I review eBooks, I look at features that are supportive of emergent readers, for example I’d love to see an option to replay narration on each page, and I’d like to be able to click on individual words to hear them spoken aloud.  While I’d still like to see these features, in this case these supportive features are not as important as the message of story.

Katie Loves Everybody Together is a story that is aimed at a wide range of ages, including toddlers, and it might be a great help for young children in Katie’s position.

iPad Version
Requirements:  iPad Requires iOS 6.0 or later.
Price $1.99

iPhone Version
Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Requires iOS 4.3 or later.
Price:  $0.99

Links:

Website: http://www.picpocketbooks.com
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/PicPocketBooks
Twitter:  @PicPocketBooks
You Tube:  http://www.youtube.com/user/picpocketbooks
Author’s website:  katieandmatty.com

My First App – Vol. 1 Vehicles

Puzzles are an important part of early learning.  They help children develop spacial awareness, problem-solving skills and more.  There are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of puzzle apps in the AppStore, so it can be difficult to choose one.  My First App – Vol. 1 Vehicles  is a great puzzle app from appp media, the people behind Professor Kim – What’s Missing Here.  MFA Vehicles offers some traditional puzzles but with some great twists that make it supportive and high interest for a range of ability levels.  Thanks to Kristin Heitmann of appp media for providing me with this app for the review.

Features

• Attractive collage-style graphics – 16 different illustrations are used, although there are only 8 used per activity.
• Three activities:  Puzzle, Matching Halves and Tilt Game.
• Background music (Here we go ’round the mulberry bush) can be turned off.
• Settings for children of different ability levels.

Activities

Puzzle

There are 8 different vehicle images to choose from, and you can use the settings to set the difficulty level from 2, 4, 6 or 9 puzzle pieces. For extra difficulty, you can select the rotation option that flicks some pieces around.  Use two fingers to rotate.  Children see the complete picture before it is broken into squares.  Drag and drop the pieces to the correct spot to complete the puzzle.

Match halves

This activity uses the same 8 images as the puzzle activity.  Two mis-matched vehicle halves appear on the screen.  scroll either half up or down until you find two halves that match.  Each vehicle has a different colour as a background, and this can help with the matches.

Tilt ball game

This is a favourite activity in my home at the moment.  The 8 images used in this game are different to those used in the other two activities, and each has three “holes.”  Tilt your device to guide the ball into one of three holes in the picture.  When the ball enters the hole, it triggers an animation and the hole disappears.  The activity is complete once the ball has been guided to the three holes.

The latest update added the option to drag the ball to the hole, which will be helpful for those who find the tilting activity too difficult, for example very young children, or children with fine motor difficulties.

This YouTube video by appp media gives a great overview of the app.  You can see each of the games, plus the puzzle settings in action.

Things I love about this app

• Simple operation – The layout of the app is clear, with simple controls that are easy to master.
• No language barriers – there are no written or verbal instructions, making it suitable for children of any nationality and for children with a hearing impairment.
• No external links, in-app purchases or advertising.  There is a web address for appp media that you can read via a subtle information button, but it is not a live link.
• Supportive features – the different difficulty levels, the coloured backgrounds, and the drag option in the tilt game all allow this game to be used by children with a variety of physical and intellectual abilities.  It will be well suited to special ed environments as well as being great for families with children of different ages and abilities.
• Graphics – I love the collage-style graphics. Perhaps I’m biased as I’m a keen scrapbooker, stamper and card-maker myself, but there is something entirely gorgeous about these illustrations.

Wish List

I really can’t think of anything I’d add to this app, except perhaps some more vehicles.  There are enough to keep any child happy, but you can never have too much of a good thing  The name of the app gives you a clue that there is at least one more volume in the planning.  I’d love to see the same activities done with animals. My children would have a lot of fun making up funny animal names in the matching halves games (e.g. Pig + Cow = POW).  I’d also like to see volumes with themes such as household items or rooms, healthy food, and toys.

Verdict

appp media has once again produced a great early concepts app that offers more features than most apps. My First App – vol. 1 Vehicles is bright, fun and great value.  I look forward to Volume 2.

Publisher:  Appp Media
Price:  $1.99
Universal

Seven Super Stories by Susan Syddall

I couldn’t resist using some alliteration in the heading for today’s post. Susan Syddall is an Australian author and illustrator who also has a website, Stories and Children, which is full of great educational ideas and resources and more information about her apps. Today I am reviewing the seven story apps Susan has published to date. Most have been supplied by Susan, but I acquired one of them while it was on sale recently.

A page from Hog and Frog by Susan Syddall

Features

The following features are common to the apps.

• Beautiful illustrations
• Two reading modes – Read to Me or I’ll Read.
• The narration is expressive with an Australian accent. Most of the story apps I own have either an American or British accent, so it is a delight to hear a story in my accent, particularly one so well narrated. I don’t believe the accent would present difficulties for other countries, particularly now we have such global exposure to such a variety of accents.
• How to section – explains the different features of the app.
• Text presented in different ways – in addition to the standard text, you’ll see speech and thought bubbles, environmental text (labels, signs, books etc), and words presented in different graphic formats.
• Subtle interactive elements – there are no animations, but some pages have interactive areas that will produce sounds. These pages are marked with an asterisk.
• Extension activities – these differ for each book but include activities such as mazes, word finds, comprehension activities, spot the difference, counting, vocabulary and more. There are at least 5 extra activities for each book and these can be printed and/or completed in app.
• Guide Notes – These printable activities include suggested focus questions for discussions, Language activities and extension ideas, and integrated curriculum ideas.
• An introduction to each story – this is a feature you don’t often find in story apps, and it helps cue the child into the language and concepts explored in the story. In some cases,these introductions give background knowledge the child may not already have (see Lyrebird Park for a good example.)

More support materials can be found on the Stories and Children website. A free membership is required to access the materials.

Those are features common to each story app. Below are my notes on each book in the series. I’ve included some first impressions on some of the learning opportunities for each book, but if you dive into the supportive materials included with each app, you will find many more ideas.

The Stories

All of the stories are Universal, are published by Susan Syddall, and are priced at $2.99 each.

Hog and Frog - Hog tries to turn into a frog by changing his appearance and behaviour, until he hits the final hurdle. I’m not going to give away the plot, but this story had my 5 and 7 y.o. sons in stitches. There is much use of the “og” sound (and the short “o” sound), opportunities for children to guess how the hog will solve each problem, and of course you can explore the characteristics of frogs.

There’s Something in the Bush, Mathilda – Mathilda explores the Australian bush and finds different animals hiding in their different homes. There is a great rhythm to the story, and the pattern lends itself to word prediction activities. Each animal has its own action, providing a great opportunity to look at verbs and perhaps act them out. Other concepts in the story include counting to ten and different animal habitats.

Grover Bill and the Geckos – Poor Grover Bill has a very bland, gray life until some cheeky geckos go to town in his house with coloured paint. The big concern in this house was how Grover Bill would react when he woke up and saw what the geckos had done (memories of Changing Rooms). Again, there is a great rhyme and rhythm to the story, making it great to read aloud and very helpful for beginner readers. I love the way verbs are highlighted on each page. Master 5 decided to act out some of the verbs, but unfortunately I didn’t get it on video!

Scaredy Cat - This is a funny tale of a mouse waging psychological warfare on a cat, who is very hungry. There. You have to get it now! There is rhyme, repetition, and lots of highlighted adjectives enriching the text. My 8 y.o. is being encouraged to write “juicy” sentences for his homework, and I’ve used these highlighted words to show him how he can do that with adjectives and adverbs. Incidentally, there are clocks featured in illustrations throughout the story to emphasise the time the cat is going without food. The clocks are not specifically mentioned in the story, but there are opportunities to look at the time in hours, and count the hours that pass. As you tap on the clocks, you can count the chimes then hear the time spoken aloud.

Lyrebird Park – Most Australians will be familiar with the lyrebird that graces our 10 cent coin, but others may not know about this fabulous mimic. The introduction to this book is slightly more detailed than the others so that children receive some background knowledge about this amazing Australian bird. (Non-believers should try searching the Internet for some recordings of the lyrebird, which are amazing and hilarious at the same time.) The story is quite funny, with the lyrebird playing tricks on a family to make them leave his park. Again, there are some fabulous adjectives and adverbs highlighted in the text. In addition to the story told in the text, a second story takes place in the illustrations, with the baby wise to the tricks that the adults are falling for. You might want to try retelling the story from the baby’s point of view, and you can also explore birds that can talk (the sulphur-crested cockatoo is introduced at the end of the book) and animal sounds.

Farmer Blake and Sneaky Snake – The chickens team up to help stop sneaky snake from stealing Farmer Blake’s eggs in this amusing story. I love how the direct speech is highlighted in the text, and there is some great use of alliteration ( e.g. Snake slid silently in). My children came up with a couple of other ideas the Farmer could have tried.

It’s a bad day to be a Fly! - There is a subtle reference to that great Aussie character, Louie the Fly, in the latest book in the series. (For my non-Aussie readers, Louie is a character who has starred in fly spray advertisements since the 1950s. I can still sing the jingle created by the late, legendary Bryce Courtney when he worked in advertising in the 60s.) Louie is a trainee fly and is learning how to harass Mr Sty. There are concepts of rhyme and direct speech, and the text is presented in lots of visually interesting ways to support the story, for example on one page it swirls around as Louie buzzes around the house. My children didn’t understand the picture of Louie wearing a gas mask, but were able to understand after a small discussion. (They also now understand why I don’t like to use chemical sprays.)

Wish List

There is a lot right with these apps already, but there are always a couple of things I’d like to see in story apps that are not yet present in these apps.

• Highlighting words – it would be great if words could be highlighted as they are narrated to give that extra support for children attempting to read along.
• Repeat text – an option to repeat text would be useful for children who miss part of the narration for reasons such as interruptions, environmental noise, or comprehension.
• Individually spoken words – being able to hear words spoken as they are tapped, in either reading mode, would be supportive of students who are starting to read independently but who struggle with the odd word. It also allows you to “play” with the text on the page, for example highlighting words from your sight list, or those with a particular phonic element.

Verdict

Some stories are meant for reading pleasure, and others are meant for learning to read. Susan Syddall’s stories fall into both categories for me. They are entertaining and engaging, but also have lots of supportive elements that will make them a welcome addition to both home and school libraries, being particularly suited to emergent readers in Prep – Year 2. They are also age-appropriate for older children with special needs, and I can see these stories being popular with home schoolers too. Finally, it is nice to see some Australian content in story apps. I hope more are in the pipeline, as I’m keen to buy some more for the early readers in this house.

Homework Apps – Spelling

spelling test (Photo credit: elginwx)

My children started their school year a month or so ago and the homework is coming home. Our teachers are flexible, so along with the traditional paper and pencil activities, they also allow students the option of online activities or computer or tablet Apps. In this post I’m going to highlight a couple of my favourite spelling and sight words apps, and how you can be sneaky and get your children to do more than they think they are doing.

Dedicated Spelling Apps

I have a lot of spelling apps, but the ones that I use for homework are ones that allow me to use the same spelling lists my children bring home. Most of these work the same way:

1. Enter a name for your list - I usually use the child’s name, term and week, e.g. Penelope T3Wk2)
2. Type in the word – try not to add spaces. (If you add a space at the end of a word, the apps recognise the space as a character.  If the space is not typed, the child will be marked as incorrect, even if they were correct.  Confused?  Just don’t add spaces and you’ll be fine.)
3. Record the word – I like to record the word followed by a short phrase or sentence that shows the meaning of the word, e.g. Bed – I sleep in my bed.
4. Save the list, then use it to complete the spelling activities.

There are a couple of ways you can get  your children to do a little extra work. The apps are really easy to use, so most children will have no problems entering their own lists, which gives them a little more spelling practice. If you get children to record the word and the sentence/phrase, it also gives them an exercise in comprehension and grammar. I find that getting the child to record the list, making up their own sentences orally, helps when it comes to writing sentences in their homework books. Tip: do the recording in a quiet room. Actually, these apps are best used in a quiet space for all the activities as children need to be able to hear the words.  You could also use headphones.

Spelling apps that I use include:

• Spelling Star : (Universal, PUblisher:  Top class Apps, LLC, Price: 99 cents) – Simple controls, easy to create your own lists, and easy to share spelling lists, making it great for classrooms. Children are awarded a star for each word they spell correctly, and become a “Spelling Master” when each word in the list has three stars.
• My Spell Test - (iPhone, Publisher Ipoxi LLC, Price: $2.99) - This is the first spelling app I ever used with my children. It doesn’t have a lot of bells and whistles, but is very easy to use. Children complete the test and then are shown the words they misspelled (with both their spelling and the correct spelling) and then are retested on their errors. It is simple, but very effective. Read my review here.
• Sight Words & Spelling with Pixopop HD - (iPad only, Publisher:  Marcel Widarto/Sogabee, Price: $2.99) – This is now the universal favourite in our house. As you enter words in the list, it automatically checks to see if it already has a recording or that word, which can save a lot of time. There are three activities you can do with the spelling list, and there is a reward token system that my children find very motivating. Read my review here.

Draco helps with spelling. I think I got this one right. You can use an ABC keyboard too.

Painting and Drawing

Painting and drawing apps are great for giving children the opportunity to write using different tools, colours and effects.   I reviewed several last year in this post. There are download links for each of these apps in the post.   Essentially, any app with some basic drawing tools will work, although  tend to use Doodle Buddy, and Art Set as these have some great painting tools and effects.  Write the words using the different tools, effects and colours, and then save screen shots of each word to the photo library on your device. Try painting a word and then tracing over it with a different colour/tool each time as a great pre-test activity.

Handwriting

School Writing (iPad) or School Fonts (iPhone) are great apps for getting some sneaky extra work out of your child, get them to help you create an activity using their spelling lists, and then get them to practice their spelling at the same time they practice their handwriting. If you get them to create the activity, then typing the words into the list provides yet another practice opportunity.  Read my review of School Writing here, and my review of School Fonts here.  School Fonts now has a free version to let you evaluate the app.  I recommend downloading it if you are interested in either app. Among their many supportive features, these apps contain both beginner and cursive writing styles for all Australian States and Territories, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Word Processing

Another activity our teachers suggest is typing the words on a computer and then printing them. I prefer to do this on our desktop computer where we have some novelty fonts and it is faster to print. You can do the same activity iPad and take a screen shot or send the file to the computer to print. There are not a lot of novelty fonts available for the iPad word processing apps, but Marker Felt, Party LET, Zapfino and Chalkduster are a change from the usual more formal fonts. You can also have fun with colours. After you print the list, chop it up and have the child sort the words in alphabetical order.

I have two word processing apps on my iPad:

• Pages –  (Universal, Publisher:  Apple Pty Ltd, Price $10.49) - This was my first app purchase. It has most of the formatting tools you need to create documents on the go, and I sync documents with my iMac via iCloud. It is also easy to send documents via email, DropBox or connecting through iTunes.
• Textilus: (iPad only, Publisher:  Kairoos Solutions S.L., Price $5.49) I found this app last year and I’m starting to use it more and more. Unlike Pages, most of the formatting tools are available from its keyboard.

If you don’t have either of these, any app that lets you input text can be used, including the NotePad app.

Any tips?

There will be other ways you can use your iOS devices to help your child with spelling, and I’d love to hear them.  If you have any tips and tricks, please leave a comment below.  You can also join in the conversation in my Facebook Group.

Related articles

• 10 Spelling Bee Apps for Ipad That Help Your Children (whatyoutinkdaddy.com)
• Personalized Learning: Spelling (iteachwithipads.net)