App Features:
* Learning through phonemic awareness.
* See story read syllable by syllable.
* Tap a word in the story to display the syllables.
* Animated “Syllable Slam” that will show words as syllable
blocks.
* Three Song and dance routines with associated bouncing
ball sing-a-longs through the syllables.
* Many narration options including self narration and Spanish.
* Clip art and camera images can be added and recordings
applied to them.
* The story can also be heard in Spanish.
* Before and after chapter questions to test understanding.
* A complete after story discussion. Were the farm animals
really lazy? Was the Little Red Hen bullying?
* Beautiful classic artwork.
This is a reading app based on the story of the Little Red Hen. Through interactivity and using phonics, its goal is to improve reading skills and comprehension.
The app’s animation is focused on syllables and words. As the story is tapped, it is narrated. As the narration progresses, an option shows the syllables of every word highlighted in red. If a word is tapped, that word is pronounced and each syllable “pops out” as it is read. There is also an animated “Syllable Slam” that will show words as syllable blocks. Each page of the story can also be heard in Spanish.
Each page has a narration preferences section. Through a recording feature, users have the option of narrating the story themselves or they can use a prerecorded narration. Additional narration options include play back speed, word highlighting and an end of page narration ping sound.
Each page also has a picture preferences section. Pictures for use in the app can be obtained from the device’s camera, saved images, an image gallery or from thousands of filtered clip art images on the web. Once an image is chosen, it can be sized, rotated or dragged anywhere on the page. Users can also create a recording associated with the image. When the image is tapped, this recording will play. With some imagination, these talking images can add fun and intrigue to the story.
For greater reading comprehension, pages are sectioned into chapters. There are thought provoking questions at the beginning and end of each chapter.
This app also takes a multimedia approach to education. There are four multimedia pages. The Song, Happy Ending and Finale pages incorporate song and dance. Classic songs from the 1920’s are adapted to the Little Red Hen theme. A bouncing, “dancing,” ball is synchronized with the highlighting of each word syllable as the song progresses. Towards the end of the app, the Discussion page has a group of children discussing the morale of the story. As the children talk, their words are highlighted below them; related story images are also displayed.