Parents' Guide to

Sentence Maker

By Dana Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 4+

Engaging, adaptable sentence practice with real-life images.

App iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad Paid Education
Sentence Maker Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

  • Sentence Maker App: Screenshot #1
  • Sentence Maker App: Screenshot #2
  • Sentence Maker App: Screenshot #3

Community Reviews

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age 5+

Based on 1 parent review

Taximom4four
Taximom4four Parent of 0, 3, 5 and 8-year-old
February 3, 2014
age 5+

Very diverse app, a lot of possibilities

See all 1 parent review

What’s It About?

In SENTENCE MAKER, kids view crisp, simple photos of objects (such as a door) or actions (such as a child cooking), which act as the subjects of sentences. Each photo appears on the screen individually along with scattered words that will create a sentence. Gray-scale tiles for each word line the bottom of the screen in sentence order. Kids need to read each scattered word (or tap it and have it read by the narrator) and then place the words in the proper order. If kids don't move the word to its match, the app makes a "boing" sound, and the word won't fit into that spot. Once all words are matched, the narrator speaks the entire sentence so kids can hear how it flows.

Is It Any Good?

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

Sentence Maker provides a direct, visual, and adaptable way for kids to practice word pairing and sentence making. The real-life images of actions and objects are pleasant and easy for kids to relate to, and the letter-tile and word-grouping format is simple to understand. Although the images do a fair job of including people of both genders as well as of different ages and races, a broader diversity of pictures would increase the app's relatability. Users can add their own images in the paid version.

With settings that can be customized to suit a child's current needs (including using only word pairs, giving hints, or deleting or adding specific images and sentences), Sentence Maker has the potential to elevate kids' understanding of and comfort level with sentence structure in a low-stress way.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Use the customizing options to tailor Sentence Maker to your kid's needs.

  • The images that act as the sentence subjects are excellent discussion starters. Discuss the pictures' details such as colors, emotions, actions, and objects.

App Details

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