Tiggly Doctor: Spell Verbs and Perform Actions Like a Real Doctor
By Amanda Bindel,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
G-R-O-S-S spelling fun shocks and introduces a few verbs.
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Tiggly Doctor: Spell Verbs and Perform Actions Like a Real Doctor
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What’s It About?
In TIGGLY DOCTOR: SPELL VERBS AND PERFORM ACTIONS LIKE A REAL DOCTOR, three characters wait in the doctor's office lobby, all with a revolving array of (mostly disgusting) maladies. Kids choose which patient to see and learn about the ailment. To heal the patient, kids spell the verb that corresponds to the treatment and guide the tools to complete the treatment -- such as plucking the worm from the blemish on a boy's head. Using the Tiggly manipulatives or only the on-screen options, kids choose the verb that matches the one they see, and then they hear the completed word said aloud. One patient introduces longer vocabulary words, and as kids demonstrate mastery of easier words, the challenge picks up, with treatment verbs evolving from "cut" to "anesthetize."
Is It Any Good?
Disgusting patients entertain kids with shock humor, but the increasingly challenging verbs will expand their vocabularies and spelling skills. The three characters look like puppets, made up of different colorful textures, and they give a dramatic demonstration of suffering sure to entertain. The controls are easy to use: Tapping a letter moves it into place as easily as dragging if you're playing without toys, but the manipulatives add another layer of interactivity. However, if kids don't act fast, the app will complete the treatment for them; they only have a few seconds to tap and drag the medical tools before they move on their own. The story line makes spelling fun, but the words are limited to the verbs in the game with no way to enter custom lists. Also, the degree of emphasis on the letters, their sounds, and learning spelling words is relatively low. More and varied activities with some repetition or feedback around letter choice would be great.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the gross factor. Do kids find it funny, or does it turn them off?
Encourage kids to read widely to build their vocabulary and spelling skills, and use some of the words they encounter in the game in everyday conversation.
App Details
- Devices: iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Kindle Fire
- Subjects: Language & Reading: spelling, vocabulary
- Skills: Thinking & Reasoning: memorization, part-whole relationships
- Pricing structure: Paid (App is free with purchase of Tiggly Words toys, which cost $29.99)
- Release date: December 19, 2015
- Category: Education
- Topics: Numbers and Letters
- Publisher: Tiggly
- Version: 1.2
- Minimum software requirements: iOS 6.0 or later; Android 2.3 and up
- Last updated: October 4, 2019
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