Sight Words & Spelling with Pixopop HD

What it is: an app for teaching sight words and spelling with 240 sight words divided into 24 lists (with an option to create custom lists).

What you do with it: there are three modes of using the app: audio flashcards (review the words one by one), word challenge (listen to the word and point to the correct word on the screen) and spelling practice (listen to the word and try to spell it using the on-screen keyboard).

What we liked: the concept, simple graphics, ease of use, the option for creating custom word lists, detailed stats of child's progress, the Tricky Word List feature (automatically keeps track of the words the child has difficulty with).

What we didn't like: the narration could be more lively and inspiring. The 'trophies' rewards system (you get a simple picture for each list completed) may be not too enticing for the target age group. We would like to see some sort of instructions and guidance for parents within the app. As we understand there is no option to track the progress of more than one student.

Bottom line: a very good tool for educators and parents of children learning to read and spell. Can also be used for students learning English as a second language.

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