Common Sense Media Review
By Dana Anderson
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Simple, fun choice for practicing basic world building.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 5+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Download
Videos and Photos
Freefall Spelling
Privacy Rating Warning
Privacy Rating
Our expert evaluators create our privacy ratings. The ratings are designed to help you understand how apps use your data for commercial purposes.
Pass
Meets our minimum requirements for privacy and security practices.
Warning
Does not meet our recommendations for privacy and security practices.
Fail
Does not have a privacy policy and should not be used.
Privacy Rating
Our expert evaluators create our privacy ratings. The ratings are designed to help you understand how apps use your data for commercial purposes.
Pass
Meets our minimum requirements for privacy and security practices.
Warning
Does not meet our recommendations for privacy and security practices.
Fail
Does not have a privacy policy and should not be used.
What's It About?
As kids playing Freefall Spelling swipe a finger on the screen to move dropping letters into the right spots, they spell words that match the corresponding pictures. Three modes to choose from, Freefall, Type, and Scramble. In Freefall Mode, spellers have to work fast because the letters are falling at a quick pace. Once they get a certain number right, kids win items for an in-app fish tank. Parents can build their own customized lists or choose from 150+ pre-programmed words.
Is It Any Good?
With two levels -- one with "hints" and the other with more challenging words and no letter hints -- FREEFALL SPELLING is a great choice for pre-spellers and new spellers to practice letter recognition and basic word building. Words like "Cat" and "Bee" start off the rounds, progressing to "Lego" and "Mouse." In between rounds, kids earn fish tank rewards. The voice accompanying the app is encouraging, but the music is somewhat annoying (you can turn it off in settings). Perhaps the best part of this app is the handmade drawings that are both inviting and calming -- just like the app itself.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Create a new spelling list on the app for your kid based on words he or she is learning at school or words from a favorite learn-to-read book.
Talk to kids about working under pressure. If the pace of the app seems stressful for them, reassure them that it's OK to take their time and they will get faster as they play the game.
App Details
- Device : Kindle Fire
- Subjects : Language & Reading : letter or word recognition , spelling
- Skills : Emotional Development : handling stress , Thinking & Reasoning : part-whole relationships , Self-Direction : working efficiently
- Pricing structure : Paid
- Release date : October 31, 2012
- Genre : Education
- Publisher : Merge Mobile
- Version : 1.0
- Minimum software requirements : Android 2.3.3
- Last updated : November 11, 2020
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate