Read Naturally Live App Review

Jaymi Thiessen on May 20, 2024

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

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

What is Read Naturally?

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

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

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

Usability of Read Naturally Live

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

Sign-Up and Log In

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

Navigation

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

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

Placement Test

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

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

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

Data Management and Student Growth

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

Engagement in Read Naturally

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

Neutral Appearance

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

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

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

Activity Length

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

Rewards

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

*Feedback is provided for students and teachers after each lesson sequence*

Literacy Instruction in Read Naturally: Live

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

Scope and Sequence

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

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

Type of Phonics

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

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

Phonemic Awareness

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

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

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

Letter Sounds

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

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

Spelling

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

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

*Spelling exercises in Read Naturally Live*

Is Read Naturally Live a Good Reading Program?

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

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

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

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

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

Read Naturally Live: Overall Rating

Quality of Literacy Instruction: 3.5 / 5

Usability: 3 / 5

Engagement: 2 / 5

Foundations A-Z Review for Literacy Instruction

Jaymi Thiessen on May 13, 2024

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

Continue reading to discover more about Foundations A-Z.

What is Foundations A to Z?

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

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

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

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

Usability of Foundations A-Z

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

Sign-Up and Log In

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

Student Management

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

Instructions and Gameplay

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

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

*Game instructions are often unnecessarily complicated and long.*

Microphone Feature

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

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

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

Visual Organization

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

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

Engagement in Foundations A-Z

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

Games and Activities

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

Star Zone Rewards

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

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

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

Literacy Concepts in Foundations A-Z

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

Lesson Organization

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

Direct Instruction

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

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

Cognitive Overload

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

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

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

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

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

Letter Sounds

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

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

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

Letter Formation

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

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

*The verbal path for letter formation is accurate but complicated.*

Type of Texts

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

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

*Decodable text sample from Foundations A-Z*

How Effective is the Foundations A-Z Platform?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Foundations A-Z: Overall Rating

Quality of Literacy Instruction: 3.5 / 5

Usability: 2 / 5

Engagement: 3 / 5

Lalilo App Review

Jaymi Thiessen on May 9, 2024

Lalilo App Review

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

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

What is Lalilo?

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

It includes practice with:

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

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

Positive Aspects of the Lalilo App for Reading

Here are several positive features of Lalilo worth noting.

Sequential and Systematic Lessons

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

Dashboard and Student Data

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

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

Letters and Sounds

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

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

Engagement

Lalilo uses several features that foster engagement for kids.

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

Stories

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

Read aloud stories for children in Lalilo

Vocabulary

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

Shortcomings of the Lalilo App

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

Introductory Activity and Training Exercise

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

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

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

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

Oral Reading

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

Game Instructions

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

Phonemic Awareness Practice

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

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

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

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

Phonics Instruction

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

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

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

Decodable Texts

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

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

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

Font and Readability

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

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

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

Lalilo Review: Is the App Worth It?

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

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

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

Lalilo App: Overall Rating

Quality of Literacy Instruction: 3 / 5

Usability: 2 / 5

Engagement: 3 / 5

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 mo*st *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

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:

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.
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

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:

Pre-Reader: This section lays the foundation with alphabet and letter-sound instruction, ensuring a solid start for beginners.
Learn to Read: This category progresses students to learn blending letters and sounds to read words.
Hooked on Spelling: This section is dedicated to spelling and writing words.
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.
To stay up to date with phonics program reviews, instruction methods, and educational insights from experts, follow phonics.org.

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.

Want more phonics program reviews and teaching tips? Explore phonics.org for resources on all things phonics!

Reading Eggs Review for Phonics Education

Jaymi Thiessen on February 17, 2024

Reading Eggs is a well-known education app. It has a comprehensive and expansive array of activities to choose from for children aged 2-13 in both British and American English. It’s widely used by both parents and educators to support children’s reading and math instruction.

The Reading Eggs program contains three distinct programs: Fast Phonics, Reading Eggs, and Reading Eggspress. Beyond these programs, Reading Eggs also boasts an impressive digital library.

In this review, literacy experts at phonics.org shed light on the quality of literacy instruction in the smaller, embedded Reading Eggs program. Keep reading to discover the pros and cons!

Reading Eggs App Navigation

Several features stand out when we look at the user navigation of Reading Eggs—some positive and some left to be desired.

Diverse Login Options

Reading Eggs offers a range of convenient login methods, encouraging accessibility for both students and parents. The inclusion of options such as QR code scanning and personalized informational login letters sent home enhances the user experience. These letters can be automatically translated into 11 different languages making accessibility easier for English language learners and their families.

Visual and Auditory Overwhelm

The app’s design may pose challenges for young or neurodiverse users as it tends to be visually and auditorily overwhelming. Children have to fluctuate volume controls, given the fluctuating sound levels throughout the app. This adds a layer of complexity that isn’t beneficial for kids.

Program Complexity

Each of the three programs—Fast Phonics, Reading Eggs, and Reading Eggspress—comes with its own set of navigation and organizational structures. Reading Eggs, in particular, introduces elements like “Peaks,” “Maps,” and “Phases,” which may appear complex even to well-trained educators.

These details could potentially hinder swift and intuitive navigation within the app or make it challenging for educators to align instruction with the systematic approach in the app. There’s also a noticeable amount of dead or broken links within the educator navigation portion of the app, which increases navigation difficulty.

Research-Based Foundation

What type of phonics instruction does the Reading Eggs app use, and is it helpful? Let’s consider the important factors.

Use of Synthetic Phonics Instruction

Many of the Reading Eggs games and activities use a synthetic phonics approach. This means individual letters and sounds are blended to read words and segmented to spell words. This is backed by research as one of the most effective forms of phonics instruction.

Reading Eggs offers a large variety of games and activities to build phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, and reading comprehension skills in a systematic, explicit way. The Reading Eggs app is transparent about the scope and sequences they use, as well as the research and evidence to back up this approach. As a company, Reading Eggs offers excellent staff training and online webinars to support educators in understanding how to use the app and why this approach is effective.

Reading Eggs Study

Reading Eggs claims to be supported by research, as indicated by a study highlighted on their website. However, a critical examination reveals that the study employed the Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System as a measure of reading ability. It’s worth noting that there is substantial criticism about the effectiveness of this particular assessment system in accurately gauging a child’s reading proficiency. This raises concerns about the validity and reliability of the research-backed claims made by Reading Eggs.

Errors and Inaccuracies

The main downsides of Reading Eggs as an education app relate to inaccuracies and the pace of lessons.

Inaccurate Short Vowel Sounds

One of the most difficult and important skills to acquire when learning to read words is the automatic recognition of short vowel sounds and letters. Associating a keyword with a short vowel sound can be an incredibly helpful touchstone when learning to read. Reading Eggs uses these keywords alongside embedded picture mnemonics which embed a picture/keyword into the visual look of the letter. This isn’t just cute, it is research-based to help children remember these important sounds.

Unfortunately, the app isn’t always accurate. For example, Reading Eggs chose the keyword and picture ‘orange’ for the letter <O>. The first sound in orange is not the short /ŏ/ sound. This representation appears many times on the Reading Eggs site including printable materials such as the “sound mat”. The placement test for the entire app even asks a child to, “click on /ŏ/ as in ‘orange’”. An example of an accurate picture and sound that could have been used is an ‘olive’ as it begins with the accurate sound of short /ŏ/ and is already in a conveniently round shape.

Short vowel sounds are foundational and tricky in learning to read. Inaccuracies like this can be confusing and frustrating for children who are trying to learn to read words.

Missed Opportunities in Word Pronunciation

High Frequency Words in Reading Eggs are sometimes taught using visual identification of the whole word like in its games “Leaping Penguins” and “Golden Goose”. The child is told a target word to look for and then shown a sample of words to choose from. When the child chooses the correct word, a “ding” sound indicates they were right. In this teaching practice, verbal pronunciation of the visual word should be repeated as many times as possible. It would be optimal for the child to hear the correct pronunciation of the word every time they click on it.

Fast-Paced Reading Activities

One of the most important activities within Reading Eggs is the “Blend a Word” game, where individual sounds are named with their corresponding letters and then combined to form a word. The instructional model is followed by a prompt for the child to repeat the process. However, a notable inadequacy is the swift pace at which this activity progresses. The rapid pace of the game may hinder the learning experience, especially for children who require more time to process and practice these foundational skills.

Additionally, limited opportunities for children to repeat and blend sounds adequately may result in less effective learning outcomes.

Introducing more interactivity and allowing for a more flexible pace in this aspect of the game would better support all children, including those who may need additional time to master the blending of sounds.

Reading Eggs’ Digital Library

Diversity & Variety of Books

Reading Eggs has a digital library with over 3500 different book titles, including:

Fiction
Nonfiction
Leveled books
Decodable books
Books that can be read aloud to a child
Books a child can read themselves

Notably, the Reading Eggs library also contains a First Nations series which is a culturally diverse and beautiful addition to the types of stories children can hear and learn about.

Different Types of Text

The Reading Eggs digital library has decodable books. Decodable books are phonetically controlled texts that only ask children to read words they’ve been taught and have practiced how to read. Decodable texts discourage guessing by relying on pictures in the stories and encourage decoding by looking at the words and sounding them out.

The decodable texts in Reading Eggs are cute and generally aligned with the scope and sequence provided. Some books do appear less decodable than others, such as the early introduction of multisyllabic words.

Additionally, when searching for decodables, the library features a Lexile, F & P level, or Reading Recovery level for the decodable books. Ideally, decodable books would be ‘leveled’ by their place in the scope and sequence or by outlining skills the child needs to know before reading.

Is Reading Eggs a Good Phonics App?

Reading Eggs stands out as a robust educational app, offering an extensive range of activities and a diverse digital library to support literacy and math skills in young learners.

While its multilingual features and login options contribute to accessibility, the app is not without its challenges. Complex navigation, overwhelming visuals and audio, and pacing issues in critical activities raise concerns about the overall user experience.

Despite these challenges, Reading Eggs could be an interesting resource to supplement systematic literacy instruction, especially if improvements are made to enhance the accuracy of phonics instruction, user navigation, and instructional pacing.

To discover more phonics apps that are effective for kids, check out our library of reviews here!