App review by Dana Villamagna, Common Sense Education | Updated March 2012
Sight Words Hangman
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Sight Words Hangman

Spooky but clever twist on a classic for fun sight-words practice

Get it now
  • Download from App Store
  • Download on Amazon
Learning rating
Editorial review by Common Sense Education
Community rating
Based on 2 reviews
Privacy rating
Not yet rated Expert evaluation by Common Sense
Grades
K–2 This grade range is based on learning appropriateness and doesn't take into account privacy. It's determined by Common Sense Education, not the product's publisher.
Subjects & Skills
English Language Arts, English-Language Learning, Communication & Collaboration, Critical Thinking
Price:  $1.99
Platforms:  iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, Kindle Fire
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Take a look inside

5 images
Kids choose the “Hangman” game or “Flashcard” mode.
Lists become progressively more difficult.
Flashcard mode can be played as basic flashcards or a quiz format.
Easy or difficult settings.
Some kids may find the hangman figure spooky.

Pros: More than 300 sight words presented in a fun, recognizable game.

Cons: It would be nice if the app offered an alternative to the eerie hangman figure.

Bottom Line: Good spelling practice for kids who like guessing games.

How Can I Teach with This Tool?

The app would be a fun treat after a successful day in the classroom, or a way to warm up kids for a more serious lesson.

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Standards:

Sight Words Hangman is an app allowing emerging readers to practice sight words in a familiar guessing-game format. In the game, a word is spoken from one of 45 lists of 10 sight words, and four choices appear. Kids choose the word they think is correct from those choices (which typically vary quite a bit from one another; no attempts are made here to "trick" kids into choosing the wrong word). A score is kept in the upper right-hand corner so kids can track it. If they choose incorrectly, a part of the hangman appears on the gallows.  Each list gets progressively more complex than the last; five of the lists are based on holiday words. A flashcard mode with a quiz option is also available on Sight Words Hangman for kids who need extra practice before playing the game.

 

 

Kids who have played hangman before will catch on to this app, although the paper version of the hanging man is far less spooky than this one. Kids who are bothered by mildly scary images may not like this hangman –- at all. Other than that, with no social network gaming capabilities, ads, or external links, Sight Words Hangman is a safe, contained way for young kids, or for students for whom English is a second language, to practice sight words in the classroom without much oversight. Unfortunately, multiple kids' results can't be tracked on the same device's app, and results are not displayed beyond the last game played.

Overall Rating
Engagement Would it motivate students and hold their interest? Is it visually appealing? Would it inspire teachers to try something new or change their instruction?

As long as kids aren't afraid of the hangman image, the game is fun and the positive feedback is encouraging.

Pedagogy Does the tool help teachers promote a more student-centered experience? Will students gain conceptual understanding or think critically? Does it deepen teachers’ pedagogical thinking?

There are 45 lists (10 words each) with increasingly complex or long words to spell that kids can choose from to play the game. The flashcards present the same words in practice or quiz style rather than a game. 

Support Can students and teachers get assistance when they need it? Is it created with people of different abilities and backgrounds in mind? Is learning reinforced and extended beyond the digital experience?

Limited settings include choosing game or flashcard mode, and quiz mode when using the flashcards. The View Results page offers detailed results of a kid's correct and incorrect answers.

Common Sense reviewer
Dana Villamagna Classroom teacher
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Key Standards Supported

Language

  • L.K.2d

    Spell simple words phonetically, drawing on knowledge of sound-letter relationships.

Reading Foundational Skills

  • RF.1.3

    Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.

  • RF.1.3b

    Decode regularly spelled one-syllable words.

  • RF.1.3g

    Recognize and read grade-appropriate irregularly spelled words.

  • RF.2.3

    Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.

  • RF.2.3c

    Decode regularly spelled two-syllable words with long vowels.

  • RF.2.3f

    Recognize and read grade-appropriate irregularly spelled words.

  • RF.K.3

    Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.

  • RF.K.3c

    Read common high-frequency words by sight (e.g., the, of, to, you, she, my, is, are, do, does).

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Community Rating

(See all 2 reviews) (2 reviews) Write a review
Featured review by
Kim P. , Media specialist/librarian
Media specialist/librarian
North Fairview Elementary School
Topeka, United States
Experience the traditional Hangman game in a new way with sight words
"Sight Words Hangman comes with many lists of sight words. Once you have chosen a list, the game pronounces a word for the user to choose out of a list of four words. If you are correct, you go to the next word. If you are wrong, the Hangman game at the top draws in a head, followed by the other traditional pieces of the body in the game. I like this as a center or free time activity, but would not use it as a real teaching tool in my classroom. It would be nice if you could customize lists so st ...
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