Phonics has become a familiar way children start their reading journey, so there are a growing number of apps available to practise their skills at home.
The latest is Fonics, which has just been launched by developer Way We Learn. Like competitors, it aims to make phonics fun through playing simple, clear mini-games with letter sounds.
“At Fonics every student starts on 0 and gains points for every correct answer. Points add up to increase their level which is always shown visually to them within the game,” explains the app’s website.
“This creates a desire to succeed instead of a fear of failure, which is hugely important when discovering something new.”
Its founder has plenty of practical knowledge of how children learn phonics too: she’s a Key Stage 1 prumary school teacher from England called Sophie Cooper. She told us more about the app, which came about when she was struggling to find a suitable app for her own class to use.
“Our games are specifically chosen to give students the skills to progress in their reading. The app progresses from simple one letter sounds to trickier three-letter sounds. Students are then able to use these skills they learn in the game to read sentences and books,” Sophie told us.
“Throughout the app students are constantly learning new sounds and revisiting ones they already know, cementing knowledge while all the time learning something new.”
If you’re a parent, you can download the Fonics app for free to use at home. Teachers can also get it for free to use in class. However, they can also choose to pay for its ‘Pro’ mode, which sets up accounts for each pupil to help the teacher track their progress.
“We want Fonics to be a free resource to help children who maybe haven’t got the opportunity for a full education, not just in the UK but all around the world,” said Sophie.
“Illiteracy is still a big problem globally, especially in developing countries where the simple ability of being able to read has a massive impact on a child’s future earning potential.”
Fonics is a free download for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, and a free download for Android from the Google Play store.