Have you heard about the One Minute Reader app for the iPad? – I hadn’t. Not until I was given the opportunity to review this product.
What you should know:
- They offer 6 different levels E, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (we reviewed level 2)
- There is a free app for the Apple iPad that includes a placement test
- The free version includes a sample story from each level
- Each paid level is $19.99
- Each level has 25 short stories
- One Minute Reader
How the app works:
This app is so easy to use. I was shocked. First your child will pick a story. Then they do a cold reading for one minute. There is a start button at the top of the page so that it is timed. After the minute is up they mark the last word they read. The app then gives them their score.
After their cold read the child is then instructed to read along with a narrator. S is not an auditory learner. I was afraid this would turn her off from the program. It didn’t. The narrators voice was not robot like so it wasn’t a turn off for her. She was able to follow along. After listening to the story she was instructed to re-read the story herself with the timer set for one minute. S loves this part. It is like beat-the-clock for her. She sometimes will do this 7-8 times to see her score increase. I am not complaining!!!
After the ‘Hot Read’ scoring the child is let through a series of reading comprehension questions. S enjoyed that part but not as much as she enjoyed the race against the clock to read!
What we thought:
Knowing that S is not an auditory learner I was worried that this may not be for her. I have struggled to find a program that would be challenging enough for her but also engaging. This program fit the bill to a T. She has enjoyed using it and asks to use it frequently. Not only is she enjoying what she is reading she is also learning new facts as she goes. I love to hear her ‘get it’ as she reads and then re-reads the passages. She is clearly learning the words and understanding them as she goes. During the ‘Hot Read’ some vocabulary words are highlighted for your child to click on to learn what they mean. It is another great teaching tool that is tucked into this app.
S’s favorite stories are about the animals. She has enjoyed learning about the thirteen lined ground squirrel, the salamander, and a frog in an ice cube. She says that the story about the squirrels are her favorite because we have squirrels in our yard. (Though I don’t believe they are the thirteen lined ground squirrels.)
If you child is struggling with reading and needs something to keep them engaged this could be the program you have been looking for. Each level offers such a variety of stories your child is bound to find something that they enjoy reading.
