Parents' Guide to

Playwords

By Jenny Bristol, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 4+

Practice reading and spelling through gentle gameplay.

App iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad Kids' Games
Playwords Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this app.

  • Playwords App: Screenshot #1
  • Playwords App: Screenshot #2
  • Playwords App: Screenshot #3

Community Reviews

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age 3+

Based on 1 parent review

MaryI
MaryI Adult
October 14, 2011
age 3+

Simply Wonderful!

Great illustrations, excellent clear and lively female voiceover. Would recommend as a great intro-to reading app for kids.

This title has:

Educational value
Great messages
See all 1 parent review

What’s It About?

Kids choose from three levels of word exploration. In Picture Blast, kids see a colored line-drawn picture and the word. They can hear the word read aloud by tapping the word "answer" or the picture. In Word Match, kids see the same pictures from Picture Blast with four word choices. Kids must choose the word that matches the picture. In Lost Letter, kids see the same pictures and the word with one letter missing and must choose the letter block that completes the word. The sounds and background music are peaceful and score is not tracked.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: (1 ):
Kids say: Not yet rated

PLAYWORDS is a visually attractive app that helps kids learn to read and spell a variety of words. Its instruction is gentle, with no scoring or goal to reach. Each of the three games offers a different level of challenge, testing a different component of literacy. This app may appeal to a wider range of abilities than most literacy apps. Once kids have mastered the 300+ words, however, there will be little to bring them back to the app.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Play the app with your child, emphasizing the letter sounds in the words.

  • Draw your child's attention to printed words in their world -- point out an exit sign and pronounce the word together; look at a stop sign and form the sounds in the word.

App Details

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