Early Reader

Early Reader is another great app for, well, early readers. This one combines phonics, sight words, sounding out words and reading sentences. It’s pretty thorough. The phonics section displays the letters of the alphabet. Tap on the screen and hear the sound the letter makes. Swipe your finger to move through the alphabet. Sight words displays words that children should know on sight. Tap on the word and hear it read aloud. Again, swipe your finger to move to the next word.  The sounding out section breaks words down into chunks. Tap on the word and hear it sounded out, then said normally. Finally in the sentences section there are simple sentences displayed on the screen. Tap the screen to hear them read aloud.

The thing that I really like about the Early Reader app is the “Tips” feature. On the bottom of the screens is a button that says “tips”. If you tap it you’ll see a guide for working with your child on the different reading skills. For example the phonics section explains how to help your child learn the letter sounds. The sounding out section explains how to break down a word. It even has an audio example that you can listen to for help. Very handy if you’re at a bit of a loss about what to do to help your child’s reading.

My five year old is getting very curious about words and has been starting to pick things up here and there. I think it’s terrific that the iPhone gives me another tool to help him get ahead.  Have you got an early reader in your house? I’ve been given a promo code to give away for this app. First person to comment wins the Early Reader app.

Price when Reviewed: $.99

See the app in iTunes