Super Readers App Review
App Info
Price: $2.99
Overview
Super Readers is a simple and straightforward app designed to help beginning readers master basic sight word vocabulary. There are four levels provided ranging from kindergarten to second grade, with two short interactive ebooks in each except the middle first grade level with four books.
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- Features include:
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- 10 simple ebooks that reinforce basic sight words
- Compatible with Dolch, Fry and other beginning sight words lists
- Simple interactions available on each page
- Three modes of play
- Capability to record student reading
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Quality
Super Readers is a simple app that provides practice on basic sight words using short ebooks with interactions. Each page presents a sentence written with target words. Learners can choose to have the computerized voice read the text with each word highlighted as it is read, to read on their own with option to touch an unknown word and hear it, or record their own voices reading the sentence out loud. The books are repetitive and have clear basic illustrations. Some pictures have short animations or sound effects that play when the picture is tapped.
Education
This app provides very basic practice with sight words, but overall is somewhat sparse. For example, of the forty Dolch Preprimer sight words, only fifteen are represented in the Kinder level. It would be very helpful for students needing additional practice with sight word recognition, and particularly for young special needs students. The recording feature is simple to use and allows teachers or parents to assess fluency progress indirectly, which can be ideal for many situations.
The text is clear and easy to read. Many of the sentences are repetitive, which can be invaluable to struggling students. In the mode where text is read aloud, the visual highlighting of the spoken words is accurate and very helpful for engaging multisensory learning. Illustrations are concrete, simple and colorful. Some have sound effects or simple animations that activate when they are touched, making the program interesting for young students or those with disabilities.
Entertainment
This software will satisfy the very young or some students with special needs, but older pupils or those who are used to apps with more pizzazz will quickly become bored. Similar pictures from different pages and even different books have identical sounds and animations, so there are few surprises. For example, the dog always barks in the same way and the car always zooms down the road in a straight line. The ball illustrations are the most entertaining, since the ball will roll or bounce depending on where it is dropped.
The software does have one quirk that most young children will find entertaining, but parents, teachers and other adults will find somewhere between counterproductive and annoying. If the user brushes across all of the text quickly, the recorded voice will read all of the words simultaneously producing a reasonable approximation of a crowd talking at once. The application’s makers should consider finding a way to fix that particular diversion because children are quite likely to prefer that to the traditional way of using the voiced text if they discover it.
Value
If you are searching for a simple application for a student struggling with basic sight words, this one will fit the bill. However, there are flashier apps available for similar prices that will have more play value for most students. The main attraction to this program is that it is so simple to use that even students with cognitive limitations or other disabilities can enjoy it. It would also be useful for the very young or those who are not yet experienced enough to use a more complex application. For $2.99 it would be a reasonable investment to help a young struggling reader.
Child Friendly
This app is outstanding in its protection for young children. The main page is very clear in its layout and the only icon that is easily accessible is the one that leads to the reading material. There is a “For Parents” icon that does not open to a casual tap. A message flashes on the screen that the icon must be held for three seconds to open.
Inside the “For Parents” section is information about the application and its makers, options to change the relative volume levels of narration, sound effects, background music and recording/playback volume, instructions for application’s use, an email link and a ratings link. There are no links to social media or even directly to the internet. There are no obvious in-app purchases.
