Common Sense Media Review
By Christopher Healy
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Clever, hands-on method for learning how to spell.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 6+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Download
Videos and Photos
Montessorium: Intro to Words
What's It About?
Kids choose from two spelling activities, a free play area, and a game. In the spelling activities, the narrator pronounces a word and asks kids to choose the letters or letter combinations (phonograms) that make up that word. Kids drag letters or phonograms from the top of the screen to hear the letter sounds and place them in the spaces below an illustration of the word. Kids can also play with letters and spelling in the Storyboard area or practice listening and letter recognition skills with the Alpha Spy game.
Is It Any Good?
Montessorium: Intro to Words is an attractive and easy-to-use educational app. Although it could use some up-front instructions, once kids have figured out what to do, they can have a lot of fun sliding around talking letter tiles to form words -- learning a lot about spelling in the process.
The "Alpha Spy" game is a great way for kids to extend their learning as they practice letter-sound recognition. The app's "Storyboard" feature is basically a sandbox, in which kids can slap together letters and pictures. For older kids, who are already somewhat adept at reading and spelling, this can be a neat feature to play around with. But younger kids just learning the ropes will most likely treat it like a Colorforms set and just put together interesting scenes (which isn't necessarily a bad thing).
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Help your kids get started with the app. Show them how to scroll through the letters and drag them onto the screen.
Play Alpha Spy with your kids using objects around your home. They can expand their vocabulary and connect learning to real-life experiences.
App Details
- Devices : iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad
- Subjects : Language & Reading : letter or word recognition , phonics , reading , spelling , vocabulary , writing
- Skills : Thinking & Reasoning : applying information , part-whole relationships , Communication : listening
- Pricing structure : Paid
- Release date : December 19, 2013
- Genre : Education
- Publisher : Montessorium, LLC
- Version : 3.0
- Minimum software requirements : iOS 4.3 or later
- Last updated : November 11, 2020
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