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SCIENCE OF READING X GAME-BASED LEARNING
The Science of Reading and Game-Based Learning are the foundation of everything we do at Mrs Wordsmith. Here, you’ll find more information about each of these methodologies, how they apply to teaching reading, and how they came together in our apps, Word Tag® and Readiculous, to make a literacy learning experience unlike any other.
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The Science of Reading
First things first: educational resources must be effective. To make sure that ours measure up, we’ve done extensive research on 1.) the neuroscience behind how brains learn to read and 2.) the best way to teach children to read. What we found is that the Science of Reading is compatible with the way our brains acquire literacy skills and is aligned with best practices in reading education. Explore the resources below to learn more about this school of thought (pun intended).
Since humans are not hard-wired to read, learning to read and write has to be explicitly taught. If this is not done properly, many children will struggle! A good reading instruction helps children to train their brain to connect spoken language circuits with learned image circuits -- in the case of reading, these images are the letters. The newly forged connections between letters and sounds create neural networks that enable us to read. What is critical is that students have repeated exposures to these new connections in order to solidify the circuitry in their brain.
ABC Handwriting Workbook
A hilarious, research-backed way to learn the alphabet and handwriting skills.
The Making of Word Tag®
We have a literacy crisis on our hands, and to solve it, we need to do something vastly different from the status quo. Countless experts agree that a robust vocabulary is an indicator of future reading success, but traditional vocabulary instruction is just not very exciting or effective. Enter Word Tag®, our first game-based learning app. By combining the science of reading and game-based learning, we created a groundbreaking resource that kids genuinely enjoy. Read on to learn more about how it works.
Word Tag is 80% fun, 20% work, and 100% game! This means that we have taken a game-first approach without making compromises on the pedagogical soundness. As a full-blown, character-driven action game with rewards, and not just a learning tool with some gamification elements, Word Tag properly engages children and makes them want to play. The evidence about the importance of engagement for maximizing the learning impact is compelling: unless children are engaged, any chances for learning impact are minimized.
But we didn't only base the design of Word Tag on the general research evidence about game-based learning; we tested that Word Tag itself works. An efficacy study run by Dr. Shawn Stafford’s UX lab tested the impact of the game on 20 children over the course of a month. The results were beyond encouraging: the students performed 43% better on vocabulary tests after having been exposed to the game for just 4 weeks.
Join the game-based learning revolution! Learn up to 1000 words a year and ace those exams without breaking a sweat.
Word Tag | For ages 7 - 13
Game-Based Learning
Something as fun and engaging as a video game can’t really make for a good learning tool…right? An increasing body of research says otherwise. Game-based learning is proven to increase student engagement, which in turn improves their focus on the learning tasks at hand. The result? Happier kids, parents, and teachers. If all this sounds too good to be true, you’ll definitely want to check out these resources.
Games are fun and enjoyable. When we do something that we enjoy, our brains release dopamine, a natural chemical linked to feelings of happiness. Kids (and adults, for that matter) want to return to things they enjoy because of this release of dopamine.
Games require focus. Exercising focus and attention abilities to play games helps to improve these abilities, which in turn improves reading and writing skills – even if the game itself is not directly related to reading and writing. A research study has found that action video games are an efficient way to boost attention abilities. These attention abilities are then transferable to other learning tasks in general.
Join the game-based learning revolution! Learn up to 1000 words a year and ace those exams without breaking a sweat.
Word Tag | For ages 7 - 13
Phonics Deep Dive
Thanks to the increasing popularity of the Science of Reading, curiosity about phonics instruction has grown considerably. So what exactly is phonics, and more specifically, what is its role in the process of learning to read? We break down the answers to these (and so many more) questions in the resources below.
The English language consists of approximately 44* phonemes (spoken sounds in language, such as the /f/ sound in funny) and around 200 graphemes (letters or combinations of letters that correspond to these sounds, such as f, ff, or ph). All words in English are made using these letters and sounds. Phonics is a systematic method for teaching children to read that focuses on the correspondences between sounds (phonemes) and letters (graphemes), starting from the most common and progressing to the least.
Blah Blah Blah Phonics Card Game
If you think "Systematic Synthetic Phonics" doesn't sound like the best time of your life, think again. Blah Blah Blah is the hilariously fun and effective phonics card game for ages four and up. It's fast-paced, it's silly, and it's highly competitive. The game was developed with teachers and phonics experts and is aligned to the National Curriculum, making it the perfect tool for young readers! For ages 4-7We make phonics fun! Readiculous teaches kids to read with the science of reading in just 10 minutes a day. The game, endorsed by literacy experts and grounded in scientific research, is designed to engage kids to learn to read through exciting mini-games. Readiculous engages kids to learn the sounds that go with each letter/spelling in a logical progression. As with most new things, repetition is the key to success. This is where we come in, we make learning ridiculously fun (pun intended) by designing reading games for maximum entertainment and educational value. Players learn 2x faster than traditional methods with just 10 minutes of daily play, reflected in personal progress reports showcasing which sounds, letters, and words they’re working on. Readiculous combines fun gameplay with educational content, tailored to support various needs.Note: 3 months of Readiculous Video Game is a non-cumulative promotion limited to one per customer.
The Making of Readiculous®
Phonics instruction works. The problem is that the nature of phonics instruction – with its sound-to-letter mapping and the breaking-up and putting-back-together of short words – can be quite dull and unengaging. And as explained above, children need to be engaged to learn effectively. So, we’ve combined everything we know about the Science of Reading with everything we know about the benefits of game-based learning and we turned The Science of Reading into a game that makes phonics and phonemic awareness fun and engaging. Read on to find out how Readiculous® works.
Readiculous consists of multiple mini-games that build on each other, resulting in a linear curriculum sequence. The sequence of mini-game levels is then divided into missions that are digestible sections for children to do daily. This is because little and often is how children learn best. A mission is a set of 9 mini-game levels, lasting on average 10 minutes (which could vary a bit depending on how quickly the child works through the activities).
Each mission is accompanied by a story featuring our characters. The first part of each story is unlocked when children start a mission; the middle part is accessed once they make it to the middle of the mission; and the third part of the story is presented to them at the end of the mission. Unlocking stories in this way is both an incentive to keep playing and a reward for the progress they are making.
Unleash the fun of phonics with a game that kids can't resist! It may look like fun and games, but this app will help your kids master important phonics skills and spark a lifelong passion for language and learning. We've developed Readiculous using the Science of Reading to make sure it is as effective as it is fun.
Readiculous | For ages 2 - 7
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