Free App Friday - Lakeshore Phonics Apps

Lakeshore Learning has recently come out with a few educational iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch apps that teach and reinforce phonics skills for early elementary aged children. These apps are being offered for free through December 30, 2011. Each app is described below.

Beginning Sounds Interactive Game

Designed for children ages 4 - 7, this app features a sorting game in which students match words that have the same beginning sound by dragging and dropping pictures into the correct spot on a board.









Letter of the Day Interactive Activities

A great app for kids who are just learning the letters of the alphabet. First they listen to a chant about the letter, then practice identifying the letter in words and pictures, and finally watch an animation of how to draw the letter and then practice drawing it themselves with their finger. Designed for ages 4 - 6.







Phonics Tic-Tac-Toe Interactive Game

This app features a tic-tac-toe game that can be played by 2 people. To win an "X" or an "O" each player must answer a phonics question correctly. Students will answer questions like "Which word has a long i sound?" and "Which of these words has a different ending sound than the others?" Perfect for ages 6 - 8.






Classroom Integration Ideas:
These apps would be ideal in a learning center with small groups of students. Students could work individually or together to complete the activities within each app. If you have an iPad dongle for your classroom, the Letter of the Day app would be a good one to use as a whole class activity when introducing or reinforcing a particular letter of the alphabet.