Parents' Guide to

Smiley Sight Words

By Christopher Healy, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 4+

Hundreds of learn-to-read flash cards, good customization.

App iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad Education
Smiley Sight Words Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

  • Smiley Sight Words App: Screenshot #1
  • Smiley Sight Words App: Screenshot #2
  • Smiley Sight Words App: Screenshot #3

Community Reviews

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age 6+

Based on 2 parent reviews

Stephanie28
Stephanie28 Adult
September 4, 2018
age 6+

Aprendiendo palabras

Creó que le ayudará mucho a mi niña
Stephanie28
Stephanie28 Adult
September 4, 2018
age 6+

Aprendiendo palabras

Creó que le ayudará mucho a mi niña
See all 2 parent reviews

What’s It About?

Kids or parents start at level one of the sight words or choose a specific set of words to practice such as shapes, nouns, days of the week, and Dolch. Once kids read the word out loud or, if they cannot read it, tap on the word to hear it spoken aloud, they tap on a smiley or frowny face to log it correct or incorrect. Kids shake the device or double tap the screen to re-shuffle the cards. After a round of words is complete (most rounds have 20-40 words, more or less), kids can see their learning data.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: (2):
Kids say: Not yet rated

If you're seeking a set of virtual flash cards with which to drill your child on reading common words, SMILEY SIGHT WORDS might be the best you can get. It's got over 1,500 words arranged into five decks, each with multiple levels of difficulty. Kids can interact with the words, tapping to hear them aloud and marking them with either a smiley or frowny face. They can also shuffle the deck with a shake of the device. Parents have a lot of control here with the ability to track progress, remove already-mastered words, and even create a custom deck. Up to 40 kids can each have their own profiles on the app.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Assign verbal statements to the smiley and frowny faces to put a positive spin on the sad ones. For example, the frowny face could be saying, "Keep working on it," or "Oops! Try again."

  • Encourage your child to use the words in a sentence to reinforce learning and provide reading clues.

App Details

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