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Spelling Bug Word Match App Review

App Info

Price: Free

Overview

If you’re looking for a fun way to get kids to practice their spelling words, look no further than Spelling Bug: Word Match. This educational app combines spelling practice with a fun matching game. Kids can match their spelling words by picture, word, sound, and letter outline. The app comes with word lists and adults can add customized word lists to help take kids’ practice even further.

Features include:

Create customizable word lists
Record word pronunciations
Play in multiple ways
Track progress

Quality

One area where the app could stand a bit of improvement is in its quality. It features the bright colors and cute graphics kids enjoy, but the graphics could stand to be refined a bit. It’s clear the images used on the flashcards are from free clip art banks and many do not appear centered on the cards. Despite the lack of quality in the graphics, the app runs well and includes other neat features, such as the ability to track kids’ scores as they complete matching games and the ability to record the pronunciation for each word. Words from lists that come ore-loaded in the app already contain crisp, clear audio pronunciations, but adults can choose to record their own if they wish.

Education

Kids can practice matching spelling words on lists pre-loaded in the app or custom words added by an adult. The pre-loaded lists include essential words, 1st grade words, 2nd grade words, and Easter words. Each word is accompanied by an image and an audio pronunciation. In the matching game, kids can also match identical words instead of pictures or block outlines of the words. While the block outlines are a unique way to encourage kids to remember the spelling of the words, they seem somewhat confusing and unnecessary for kids. If adults choose to add custom word lists, they can add up to 50 words, but are not able to add pictures to accompany the words which limits the types of matches kids can make.

When it comes to making matches, kids can choose how many cards appear on the screen at once. They can also compete at different levels. For the pre-loaded word lists, this means kids see shorter, less difficult words first and move up to more difficult words as they advance through the levels.

Entertainment

Despite their simplicity, kids tend to really enjoy matching games. This app enhances the matching experience by allowing kids to match the words to different attributes, so they may go through multiple levels matching pictures, and then try to challenge themselves by going through multiple levels by trying to match outlines. The app provides kids with positive reinforcement at the end of each level and gives them a rating of 1-3 stars and a points total to encourage them to do better. If kids earn enough points, they can color in fun bug pictures.

Value

For the price, kids can access four pre-loaded spelling lists and add custom word lists. While this may seem like a good value, the app could include a few additional word lists, better quality graphics, and the ability to add images to custom words to help make it worth the price.

Child Friendliness

Adults will be happy to note that the app is free from in-app purchases, ads, and other non-child friendly content. The settings area allows kids to control the sound effects, track progress, and add to custom word lists or change word pronunciations.