Bob Books Series 2 by Applicable2U

Bob Books Reading Magic Set 2
 by Learning Touch

 Learning Touch development group has added once again to their collection of reading applications set 2 of the infamous Bob Books. If you are familiar with the hardcover version of this series, then you know that enjoyment and learning will be extended for your little one(s) anytime or anywhere you may be. But now, in the format of an app on your Apple device.  The Bob Books collection was designed to guide children through the early stages of reading.  When reading your little one(s) will be provided a great deal of  repetition and consistency as they read short stories and learn new letter sounds.   Amazingly, Bob Books Series 2 has twelve new scenes for those advancing beginner readers looking to build their confidence and to become independent readers. It is an educational and interactive book that will appeal to all through the use of adorable graphics, sounds and animations. With four levels of play, users will not want to put down their device of choice as they will be entertained while learning to read!

Upon entering Bob Books Set 2, it is evident that viewer feedback was taken into consideration as the format organization has slightly changed from the first app collection of Bob Books.  Similar to the previous series, depending on the academic reading level or age of the user, parents and/or teachers can change various options within the book.  For example, spelling can be set as phonics based or by letter name.  This is a very useful option as it guides children to make connections between the letter and its sound.  In addition, music and sound effects can be set to: never, sometimes or always. Again another useful option as this age group tends to have a short attention span and can be easily distracted by outside things.  One of the newest additions to this application series is the "Where would you like to start" page.  It is here that each level is explained.  Level 1 - has users dragging and dropping letters into place as it is matched.  Level 2 -  builds upon level 1, however, letters now need to be placed in the correct order from left to right.  Level 3 - it is here that the user will no longer be provided any visual hints.  Level 4 - has users spelling those words seen in levels 1-3.  To extend the challenge further within this level, users will be provided extra letters as a possible distractor.    

Initially pages start out as black and white with a short sentence at the bottom.  To begin the "magic," readers will see several objects on each page shaking and rattling.  This motion indicates which words need to be spelled.  Once spelled, objects will magically be filled with color and that word within the sentence will appear in bold.  It is important to note that each part of the sentence is not spelled out, such words as "and" or "the" for example are not a part of the repetition.  Such sight words and many others can be reinforced with support from a parent and/or teacher in another format. A nice added feature that this series of apps has is that the user is in control of movement from one page to the next. This allows those just learning to read the ability to show off their reading skills to others near by.   A note to the developers - for a future update, might it be possible to highlight in a different color, say bright yellow, each part of the sentence as the narrator is reading it in full.  By adding this feature it would provide the reader one more visual representation or form of repetition of each word.  

Overall, Applicable2u loves what Learning Touch has done with this series of books.  Do you have young ones just learning to read in your classroom or at home?  Then we feel that it is a MUST have within your iTunes account.  If you would like to learn more about Learning Touch, please visit theirwebsite here.  Interested in the first series of the Bob Books app, then please click here to add to your library of applications.   If you are already a fan and want to add Series 2, then please click here.  

Reviewers website: www.applicable2u.wordpress.com

Basic Cloze Practice and Advanced Cloze Practice by Applicable2U

Basic Cloze and Advanced Cloze Practice

Having been in a variety of school districts since graduating, I am amazed at the number of strategies that a teacher incorporates to teach his/her students to read. Of those techniques, how often do you find yourself incorporating the cloze procedure? The significance of this strategy are astounding. If unfamiliar with this term, it can be defined as a “multifunctional strategy, which can be used for reading diagnosis and reading comprehension instruction.” Diagnostically, teachers use this technique as a way to understand how the reader utilizes the context of a passage or sentence in order to understand the meaning of the text. Instructionally, the cloze procedure develops a students inferential comprehension. In a nutshell, it forces the learner to activate background knowledge while looking for context clues and making reasonable inferences. Happily, eSkills Learning can now say that there is an app for that!! Recently launched to the Apple Store, the cloze procedure can be reinforced with of course, a Bingo game. With two simple downloads, Basic Cloze Practice and Advanced Cloze Practice will guide users both individually and within a group.

Basic Cloze Practice – One of the most important skills that a student can acquire as they learn to read is the ability to use semantic and syntactic clues to build comprehension.   This educational app is designed to guide those reading at a 1.0-3.9 reading level according to Spache and Dale-Chall Readability Formulas. Through three forms of game play (single, multiplayer and practice mode), struggling readers to developing readers will be challenged.  It was developed to work on all Apple devices, however, with the power of the iPad, group instruction can take a whole new approach.   While meeting the Common Core Standards as one explores and learns, it might be interesting to see the integration of the “practice mode” of this educational app within a multi-ability group or done as a read aloud strategy for the whole class.  Simply connect your iPad to a large screen as students benefit from participating collaboratively irrespective of their reading levels.  As the class collaborates, various discussions can be had as you navigate through each passage and the choices allowing those less confident readers to bring forth their prior knowledge as the more proficient reader provides the necessary scaffolding to process the text.  By initially setting the tone of the cloze procedure collaboratively, students will be encouraged to take risks.  In addition, it will guide others to see what good readers do when processing print – reading ahead, rereading, predicting on the basis of meaning, and/or testing out possible options.  Once the support and strategies are set in place, users can then attempt to practice their new knowledge as a single player or with a friend if multiple Apple devices are available.  For additional teacher support, eSkills Learning offers a Teacher’s Guide for additional situations that their application can apply, click here to read more.

Advanced Cloze Practice – Do you happen to have a classroom of varying reading levels?  In need of additional support for your “high flyers?”  eSkills Learning has thought of that!  The next in the reading series, Advanced Cloze Practice, guides those at a 4.0-6.9 reading level.  In this app, reading passages are much longer and vocabulary can certainly be more challenging.  As users explore and learn, they too should take into consideration those strategies that a good reader uses, along with skills learned during Word Study to decode unknown words.  As with the Basic Cloze Practice, this series can be played in three modes and game boards will change with each experience, however, the types of deletion will be slightly different. Educators, parents or users will notice the deletion of such things as: parts of speech, sequence, antonyms and synonyms.  To support their users and the proper integration of such mobile learning, educators or parents can access the Teacher’s Guide by clicking here.

Although this application series may be tagged as “reading”, it is in fact cross curricular.  Users will notice that passages fall into all content areas and integration can happen throughout a lesson and/or a unit.   If you are looking to game for a reason, then begin downloading whichever series fits your classroom’s learning needs from your iTunes library here – Basic Cloze Practice and Advanced Cloze Practice. If you want to learn more about eSkills Learning, then be sure to visit their website here.

Reviewers website - www.applicable2u.wordpress.com

My Word! Reader! - Are Bees Smart, or What? New Reading App for iPad

Are Bees Smart, or what? is the first ofMy Word! Reader series, a unique, innovative and educational reading appdesigned to raise literacy levels of elementary and secondary school students. The smart approach is ideal to encourage and stimulate children who struggle with reading with top features and high-interest subject.

A top reading app to help develop basic literacy skills and comprehension. For kids 7+

The iPad continues to bring innovation into our kids learning. Reading can be a struggle for some and today we are happy to let you know about Are Bees Smart, or What? A reading book app that caught all our attention for its innovation and unique concept.

What the kids at Fun Educational Apps really liked is the story and all what they learned about bees and the top features with what they call the “video dictionary” and the “word bag”. Within the text kids will find words highlighted in blue. Tap on these words and you will see a small animation that explains the meaning of the word, a type of visual dictionary. Each time you tap on a word, it goes into the word bad and at the end of the book kids can revisit all these words for review.

At any time, kids can have access to 6 learning games. Each learning activities complement reading and is designed to engage the reader and develop basic literacy skills and comprehension. Activities include Learning about the silent “K”, Initial consonant sounds, initial consonant blend, sight vocabulary scrambled words, initial consonant sounds and key words review.

Overall, Fun Educational Apps really liked the apps. The kids liked it and it supported their learning and reading in a fun, entertaining and interactive way. A definite fun educational app that can be personalised and customized based on the reading level of your kids.  Help is there and kids can decide when to use it. A top reading app that we are happy to recommend and we hope to see new stories coming soon. The only thing we would add is attach a definition to the words in the word bag. 

Cross Posted:  Fun Educational Apps