Sounds Have Letters 5: Phonics Made Fast, Fun, and Easy

This app is ideal for children from 4 1/2 to 6 years old, and it is the follow-up to the FREE Sounds Have Letters 1 app and the $.99 Sounds Have Letters 2, 3, and 4 apps. In this app, children learn about the sounds spelled by the letters w, v, z, x, and qu. Children are introduced to each sound and it's letter or letters through a fun and captivating video. With each new sound, children learn to hear the target sound at the beginning of words by picking between two rhyming words (wall vs fall). Next, they pick the sound at the end of words that share the first two sounds (buzz vs bug). After each new sound, children build three-sound words with letters they've already learned, by picking the first, then middle, and finally the last letter in words. Children can then read and write the words they just built. Building and writing the words puts together the skills they've been practicing separately, and is based on research that shows learning the skills needed to spell words teaches reading faster than learning to read in the usual letter-to-sound direction.

After learning multiple sounds, children practice picking the letter that spells the sound at the beginning and then at the end of words. This is a highly effective review lesson that also allows them to practice the primary skill needed for spelling--hearing sounds in words and knowing the corresponding letter.

It is important for children to follow the Sounds Have Letters apps in order as each one builds on the letters and skills learned in the previous app.