Cheap as Chips Literacy Apps
Have iPad? CHECK!
Have progeny or student itching to level-up their literacy skills? CHECK!
Have oodles of cash to spend on App downloads? Not exactly….
And that’s why I’ve put together this list. LITERACY APPS for the iPad for under NZ$3.00! Cheap as a scoop of chips…not shoestrings, wedges of kumara chips…run of the mill potato chips. Mmmmmm….potato chips…arrrrrggghh…
So let’s have a quick look at my criteria for entry into the Cheap as Chips list.
- Said iPad App must cost NZ$2.99 or less…FREE if possible!
- The App needs to have a Literacy focus, as in it must be designed to develop and practice reading and writing skills.
- Candidate application must be decent and consumable, as in good…like a bowl of chips, really.
That’s it! Let’s pour ourselves something bubbly to have on the side and tuck into some greasy ‘Appy’ goodness.
ABC PHONICS WORD FAMILY WRITING
(For Shortpants – ages 4-7)
Based on Montessori literacy principles, ABC Phonics presents you with Word Families to recognise and then ‘write’ (trace your fingers over the words on your touch screen). Word Families? Rail, pail, snail, hail, blackmail…no not that last one 
You can ask ABC Phonics to pronounce each word or spell it out verbally.
So we’ve got a great combo of spelling, vocabulary building and writing practise.
There’s a paid upgrade should you want further words and features, but really the free version has plenty to keep you going for awhile.
Word Mine
(For Halfthings and Lankies – ages 8 upwards)
Simple and funky in an industrial, post-modern way. Word Mine works basically like this. Letter Blocks fall from the sky (Tetris style). It’s the player’s job to make words out of the fallen letters.
Once you’ve tapped out a word on your touch screen, those letter-boxes disappear and you score some points…the longer the word, the more points you get.
Easy-peasy! What’s the catch? Level by level the letters fall faster and faster, piling up at an alarming rate. Should a stack of Letter Blocks reach the top of the screen then you’re DEAD.
All over, red rover.
Primary skills here? Spelling and vocabulary extension. It wouldn’t hurt to have a four to six word spelling list handy when playing this one.
Word Family Phonics
(For Shortpants – ages 4-7)
Similar to ABC Phonics, this app provides families of words that it will read out to you, spell for you, and provide for you to trace (to practice your writing). The advantage that Word Family Phonics potentially has over ABC Phonics? The series of cute and cuddly friends that help you during play. And as an added source of motivation, you can earn further fuzzy friends through the course of the game! I’m overwhelmed with cuteness right now…even the hives I’m breaking out in are cute.
Okay, so personally I prefer ABC Phonics, mainly due to its crisp style as opposed to the cheesy engagement techniques of Word Family Phonics. But it gets the job done, and want to guess which one my six year old daughter proffers?
Jack and the Beanstalk
(For Shortpants – ages 4-7)
This one’s an interactive story book. It’ll talk you through this contemporary rendition of Jack and the Beanstalk, and you can play some not-too-shabby mini-games along the way. The style is quirky and engaging…the ‘shortpants’ that I’ve showed this one to were completely sold!
A funky way for kids to get another book under their ‘belts of readingness’. A particularly good one for reluctant readers!
Hangman…with a difference.
Word Magic
(For Shortpants and Halfthings, ages 5-8)
So there’s words, right? Yup. And there’s magic, right? Not of Harry Potter ilk, but there’s definitely some magic in the design of this lexical Lyretail Anthias.
Word Magic says the word for you and waits patiently for you to select the correct missing letter. A simple flashcard approach.
But its the versatility of Word Magic that makes it a bit enchanting. You can hone down your target words to word length, vowel length, and syllabic structure, thus really tailoring the experience to the player and their current abilities.
Very handy for scaffolding, teacher-types!
Type Type Train
(For Halfthings and Lankies, ages 7 upwards)
Apart from the rather demonic prairie dogs that plague this app, Type Type Train is a surprisingly good word recognition and typing game. I won’t go on about it here, as I have a full review of Type Type Train lurking OVER HERE.
Let’s suffice to say that there are fewer more engaging, in fact downright addictive, ways to practise word recognition on the hop, and hone those typing skills. ”Yee har,” said the demonic prairie dog.
Sentence Maker
(For Shortpants and Halfthings, ages 5-8)
You’re not strictly ‘making’ sentences in this app. You’re given a sentence to assemble under a picture of said subject. In this instance…a horse.
No more complicated than a set of wordy fridge magnets, really. But sentence maker will read out the sentence and individual words for the player. And you can alter the length and complication of the sentences depending on the reading of the player. 
Saves them running to the mum and dad translation service!
Talking Stories (Creative)
(Shortpants and Halfthings, ages 3-8)
Six folk-tales, none of which have I ever heard of before. Each is tastefully told, with a minimum of cheese, and the artwork is engaging in its quirkiness.
Hand-drawn illustrations. No mass produced graphic art sullying the virtual walls here!
And each story comes with two extra features. An object find and a word/image match, both of which nicely reinforce the vocab building properties of the storytelling.
A fresh app where there’s delight in the details…down to where the player has to colour in the story icon before the story will even play. Excellent stuff!
The Thrill Electric
(Lankies, ages 13-17)
Something for the teenagers here. An interactive graphic novel from the UK’s Channel 4. The issues of modern day digital communication explored through a beautiful Victorian Manchester. Note the ‘ye olde telegraph’ take on text bullying. That’s not cricket is it, what what?!
Click on the Image for Fullsize
While the writing isn’t quite as sharp as it could be (I’m particularly picky about writing), the animated reading function is brilliant. Particularly for readers who are daunted by vast tracts of text. The animation tracks smoothly from frame to frame, either automatically or manually. You choose.
A catchy for teens who seem allergic to the paper page.
Dyslexia Quest
(Shortpant, Halfthings and Lankies, ages 5-15)
I’m stunned by how good this one is. Really, I am. Whilst taking a journey up a nicely rendered cartoon mountain, in search of The Yeti, you are giving yourself a mental acuity test. Fun completely masks the learning here! Scientifically backed by dyslexia specialists. Artistically fronted by skilled animators. 
Dyslexia Quest provides a simple and seemingly effective diagnostic tool for dyslexia, and because of the immersion factor, you’ll probably get more honest answers than from a straight questionnaire. Fun even if you’re not a case for dyslexia…always good to know where the strengths and weaknesses are in your grey matter!
iHow-to Book
(For Shortpants and Halfthings, ages 4-7)
A great concept on this one…even if the artwork leaves a bit to be desired. Maybe it’s just a taste thing. The illustrations aside, this is a learning-to-read app with the right bells and whistles. Read aloud function and word sound-out at a tap. But iHow-to Book is special because of the focus. Each book is a how-to instruction on everday activities, from brushing hair to buttering bread.
A double-shot espresso of learning. Actually, is there a book in there about ‘how to make Daddy a coffee?’. Let me check…
Garfield: Forms of Media
Part comic, part interactive lesson. Garfield takes us on a little quest to save Nermal from a pervasively evil ad for sugar-coated cereal. It’s been a while since ads were as overt and clumsy as Kool Kat Karl, but Garfield’s heart is in the right place. And this is a good freebie introduction to understanding media. 
We learn about the basic elements of an ad, and then get to ‘make’ one of our own through a multiple choice process. Not subtle, but it’ll do the job better than handouts and worksheets.
SB Spelling
A clean-lined app that knows exactly what it’s about. Spelling Lists! So rather than boring the nearest adult to psychosis with ‘how do you spell’ repetitions, the student can input their school spelling list and have SB Spelling test them on it. 
SB can either display the word and then hide it while you’re typing in what you recall, or it can jumble the letters and keep the word there for you to work out. And it’s all done on the clock, for a little added ‘Spellbound’ tension. Can hold up to 10 different spelling lists of sizable length.
And that’s it for now, folks! I shall endeavour to add more as I find them. And if you know of any gems that I haven’t covered above, please let me know. There’s a contact form at the bottom of my homepage.
Cheers and thanks for reading!
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