Parents' Guide to HangArt: Play Hangman, Draw Pictures, Tell Stories

App iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad Paid Education
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Common Sense Media Review

Mieke VanderBorght By Mieke VanderBorght , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 6+

New twist on old game makes learning fun.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 6+?

Any Positive Content?

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age 6+

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What's It About?

HANGART: PLAY HANGMAN, DRAW PICTURES, TELL STORIES gives kids practice with 200 sight words. In hangman, kids play the classic game as a single player or with a friend in two-player mode. Each correct letter reveals a bit more of a drawing representing the word, and a help button eliminates possible letter choices, if needed. With each incorrect letter, users see one more piece of a kid hanging from a play structure instead of a traditional hangman drawing. Once completed, kids can trace the letters to practice writing the word or skip that step. In "draw pictures" kids draw their own pictures of the words and can save them to the device, and in "tell stories," kids record a story using the words they've "won" in hangman. Customize by using capital or lowercase letters or providing a first-letter and/or last-letter hint.

Is It Any Good?

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

With three ways to engage, kids have a wonderfully interactive experience exploring a good-size selection of important words. In addition to guessing a word, kids also think about its meaning, use it in context, and get creative. Every element was clearly well thought out, including the difficulty levels, special easy-reading font, and parents' guide to the drawings. Also, while drawings are simple and cute, they also purposefully present diverse representations of words -- a baby with brown skin, a Native American corn husk doll -- which help widen kids' horizons and expectations. Storytelling and drawing also let kids explore the words in their own way, and the two-player mode encourages users to play together. The biggest downsides are some technical issues and the handwriting approach: At times the app freezes or doesn't respond to where you tap, and the letter-tracing feature can be slow in its response to where you move your finger. Also, the direction to create letters doesn't coincide with best practices around letter formation, though the target age would probably benefit more from writing words without guides anyway. Look beyond these issues, and it's a jewel of a game.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about what each word means in HangArt: Play Hangman, Draw Pictures, Tell Stories. Examine and explore how the word is represented visually in the app and explore the history, cultural representations, or people featured. Then, ask how kids might want to make a drawing of the word's meaning.

  • Play together and discuss strategies for playing hangman. Point out the difference between vowels and consonants, look for patterns in words, and use logical clues (for example, if there's a "q," there's probably also a "u").

  • Work together in the storytelling section. Help kids plot out a storyline with a beginning, a middle, and an end.

  • Read the parent's guide on the developer's website for lots of additional great ideas, including tips for using this app with English-language learners.

App Details

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Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by

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