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Spelling Apps for Students
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Montessorium: Intro to Words
Well-crafted app lets emerging readers and writers develop reading skills through word building
Bottom line: Basic reading skills are developed through word building, word play, and letter-sound recognition.
Gappy Learns Reading - Teach Kids Spelling and Reading With Letters & Sounds - Educational Sight Word Games for Kindergarten
Simple spelling game hones in on specific reading skills
Bottom line: A basic -- if somewhat limited and tedious -- letter-sound matching game for early readers and spellers.
Word Wagon - by Duck Duck Moose
Charming objects and animals turn spelling into play
Bottom line: Word Wagon is fun to use with students at various spelling skill levels.
Freefall Spelling
Cute, colorful app offers solid early spelling practice, custom lists
Bottom line: Bright images, three modes of play, and custom options combine for a good first digital spelling practice experience.
Avokiddo ABC Ride
Inventive letter-learning activities take kids on a near-perfect ride
Bottom line: A fun way for kids to play thoughtful games and explore letters and words. A few small changes could really beef up letter learning.
Rocket Speller
Fun, easy-to-use game makes spelling fun
Bottom line: Great mix of spelling, phonics, and fun.
Word Wizard for Kids
Super-structured spelling support and word-building free play, too
Bottom line: Helps kids improve spelling through pre-made or custom lists and word building.
Sight Words - An early reading & spelling adventure!
Repeatedly identify, spell sight words in fun, semi-customizable games
Bottom line: A variety of kid-friendly activities gives students lots of exposure to and practice with commonly used sight words.
Tiggly Doctor: Spell Verbs and Perform Actions Like a Real Doctor
Practice spelling while practicing medicine
Bottom line: G-R-O-S-S spelling fun brings shock value to spelling and vocab.
Spelling Shed
Drill-based practice caters well to teachers, less so to kids
Bottom line: When teachers use the whole program, including the offline materials like printables, there's potential here for a comprehensive if traditional approach to spelling drills.
VocabularySpellingCity
Subscription-based, student-facing app fine for independent practice
Bottom line: A potentially more engaging -- although uneven -- option for your students, if you've got a Premium membership.
Mystery Word Town Spelling
Old West crime-fighting takes kids on a spelling adventure
Bottom line: A challenging and really fun way for kids to practice spelling.
SpellBoard
Well-designed, kid-empowering spelling list creator
Bottom line: It's a quality app but needs some oversight; it would be nice if you could track multiple students' scores at once.
A+ Spelling Test
Spelling practice app meets expectations, doesn't exceed them
Bottom line: An option worth considering for students needing to build their spelling skills at home or in the classroom.
MasterSwords
Scrabble meets Choose Your Own Adventure in a dueling of (s)words
Bottom line: While it could use more gameplay variety, students will enjoy this game's Adventure Time-inspired take on vocabulary and spelling.
Osmo Words
Versatile word game challenges across content areas and abilities
Bottom line: Fun game-like way to review spelling or content vocabulary.
Spelling Bee
Functional flashcard and quiz tool links to impressive video library
Bottom line: Hard level words make excellent SAT vocab practice, but look elsewhere for more targeted practice.
W.E.L.D.E.R. Swap
Mashup of Boggle and Candy Crush gets kids forming new words
Bottom line: Students, especially word geeks, will dig this strategic game, but it's unclear how much it'll impact learning.
Scribblenauts Remix
Vocab-building word puzzles inspire creative problem-solving
Bottom line: Wide-open problem solving builds creativity, vocabulary, and spelling skills, but controls can be tricky.
Wordscapes
Beautiful, challenging vocab app is quite fun but riddled with ads
Bottom line: There's no doubt it's fun and features some nice vocab and spelling practice, but spring for the paid version and make sure students play thoughtfully.
SAT Vocab by MindSnacks
Variety is key in charmingly effective SAT vocab app
Bottom line: Upgrading to the full version gets you great games and a thorough word list for SAT vocab prep.