Common Sense Media Review
By Amanda Bindel
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Arcade-style games test reflexes as much as grammar skills.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 8+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Download
Videos and Photos
Smashing Grammar
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's It About?
SMASHING GRAMMAR features six versions of one idea: Kids can choose which skill to focus on, choosing from "Noun Disco," "Verb Garden," "Syllable Spaghetti," "Spelling Slumber Party," "Tense in Paradise," or "Plural Piggies." Gameplay continues as long as the winning streak continues. Then kids see high score reports and can chose another game or play again. Gameplay simply involves tapping the correct answer, be that choosing the correct meatball in a bowl of spaghetti or the right pig in a piggy bank. Bombs and bonus hearts are thrown in, too, to deduct or add points.
Is It Any Good?
Arcade-style tap-and-smash game tests reflex speed and a variety of grammar skills. Overall, the visuals, music, and voice-over make the games appealing and inviting, so kids will readily jump in. Note, however, that there's no instruction or feedback offered, beyond whether an answer is right or wrong, so this is more for practice than instruction. Occasionally, there are answers given that are somewhat ambiguous. For example, in the "Noun Disco" game, the word "knock" is a wrong answer, even though it can be both a noun and a verb. Also, when kids are selecting words to plug into given sentences, such as "John ate _____ for breakfast," kids are paying more attention to words that make sense in context than to the word's part of speech. In the end, though kids may have fun at first, they may not be engaged for long since each game is basically the same.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the grammar concepts tested in Smashing Grammar, instructing kids on how to identify the skills covered since there's no instruction in-app.
If kids find the speed of the game discouraging (due to hitting the wrong answer in haste), assure them that the game isn't testing their knowledge as much as their speed.
App Details
- Devices : iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad
- Subjects : Language & Reading : spelling
- Skills : Thinking & Reasoning : applying information
- Pricing structure : Paid
- Release date : August 19, 2016
- Genre : Education
- Publisher : Fairlady Media
- Version : 1.0
- Minimum software requirements : iOS 7.0 or later
- Last updated : October 20, 2019
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