YMCA Reads!
Writing/Grammar Skills
Grammar Jammers Primary Edition
Ideal for: Beginning reading, catch-up reading
What is it? A collection of quizzes, songs, rhymes and animations that teach basic (K-5) English grammar. As a positive reinforcement, children receive points foreach correct quiz answer; with enough points, they get an interactive “reward.”
How much is it? Free
Platforms: iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad. Requires iOS 3.1.2 or later.
Reviews: Most of the reviews are positive, saying that students and children enjoy the games. One user, though, says that the songs are“annoying.”
Ideal for: Beginning reading
What is it? A sentence-building app. Children see a picture and form asentence with the prompts provided. There are three levels: fill-in-the-blank, finish the sentence, and make a sentence with the given words. The app has an audio recording feature that lets the child save and send his or her sentences.
How much is it? $3.99
Platforms: iPad. Requires iOS 4.1 or later.
Reviews: There are no reviews available at this time.
Ideal for: Catch-up reading
What is it? An app to teach grammatically-correct sentence construction. As pin wheel lets users put together sentences, while tracking progress and offering encouragement animations.
How much is it? $3.99
Platforms: iPhone, iPod Touch. Requires iOS 3.1.3 or later. A separate versionis available for iPad, which requires iOS 3.2 or later.
Reviews: Parents and educators have praised Sentence Builder as an effective tool for teaching grammar and sentence construction. One teacher likes how “it prompts students to keep trying” after mistakes; another remarks that the app has a good focus on connector words. While the app is targeted to elementary-aged children, educators who work with both special needs and with adults say that it can be easily adapted to those groups as well. Another teacher noted that it was especially useful for adults who cannot write legibly or need to see a sentence written out before speaking it.
Ideal for: Catch-up reading
What is it? This app helps children develop their writing skills. It targets three skills: paragraph formation, idea integration, and inference. Children answer questions about pictures, and their answers are put together into a story. Audio clips help children follow along.
How much is it? $3.99
Platforms: iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad. Requires iOS 4.1 or later.
Reviews: This app is “a great concept” good for helping children learn story structure.
Ideal for: Beginning reading, catch-up reading
What is it? This app lets children create their own stories. The app has several“themes” that form a story based on children’s responses to a series of questions. The children then select the images they want – pre-installed pictures, or their own uploads. The story can be shared as a PDF as well.
How much is it? $4.99
Platforms: iPad. Requires iOS 3.2 or later.
Reviews: One parent writes that this app has helped her kids’ writing skills and creativity. It “keeps their attention” while practicing sentence structure and word use. A speech-language pathologist adds that the app is great for speech therapy.