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Spelling Apps for Students
Top Picks
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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.
Grades: Pre-K–1
Price: $4.99
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.
Grades: Pre-K–1
Price: $2.99
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.
Grades: Pre-K–1
Price: Free
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.
Grades: Pre-K–1
Price: $1.00
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.
Grades: Pre-K–2
Price: $2.99 In-app purchases available.
Rocket Speller
Fun, easy-to-use game makes spelling fun
Bottom line: Great mix of spelling, phonics, and fun.
Grades: Pre-K–2
Price: $0.99
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.
Grades: K–3
Price: $4.99
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.
Grades: Pre-K–3
Price: $1.99
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.
Grades: K–4
Price: $2.99
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.
Grades: K–5
Price: Free to try 14-day free trial, then it's $27 per year for a personal account (36 students) and $135 per year for a premium account (whole-school).
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.
Grades: K–12
Price: Free, Paid Requires a $69.95 per year subscription through the website, and supports up to 25 users.
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.
Grades: 1–4
Price: $2.99
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.
Grades: 1–5
Price: $4.99
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.
Grades: 1–6
Price: Free, Paid $0.99 to unlock full content including sharable lists, list importing, 400 spelling lists, and 6,300 words.
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.
Grades: 4–8
Price: Free to try The app is free to download with limited access. The full game is $7.99, or there's a subscription to all Touch Press games at $4.99/month or $49.99/year.
Osmo Words
Versatile word game challenges across content areas and abilities
Bottom line: Fun game-like way to review spelling or content vocabulary.
Grades: 1–8
Price: Free, Paid The app is free; requires Osmo game system, which costs $99.99. Classroom kits range from $399 to $595.
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.
Grades: 4–12
Price: Free
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.
Grades: 4–12
Price: Free to try The app is free to download with limited access. Full access to the app is $7.99. There's also a subscription available to all Touch Press games for $4.99/month or $49.99/year.
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.
Grades: 5–8
Price: $.99
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.
Grades: 6–12
Price: Free, Paid Free download with optional in-app purchases from $0.99-$19.99. $2.99 removes ads.
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.
Grades: 8–12
Price: Free, Paid The free version includes one lesson with only 20 SAT prep words. Once unlocked for $4.99, it includes 500 words. The All Language Pass costs $17.99.