Jolly Phonics

Jolly Phonics is an integral part of teaching and learning phonics in many schools’ around the world. This app aims to bring that knowledge and value to the digital world in a highly successful manner.

There are a number of key features in this app which is aimed at giving young people the best possible help in beginning to read and reading through phonics. Excellently for English users, there is the opportunity to choose between an English or American audio. A number of phonics apps fail to take the difference dialects make in the teaching of phonics however the audio is extremely clear and just one example of the app being clearly thought-out and aimed towards the right users.

If the user so wishes, especially if the app is being in a learning context, they can select whether the app uses print or precursive lettering. This is cleverly done is it doesn’t just change the lettering all the way through the app but also in the section where the user can practice the writing of the individual letters and the instructions given for helping do this.

On opening the app the user is welcomed to the homescreen where they can set up their profile. This is through a plant pot where the letters grow out of the flowers and the user can work their way through the learning the letters via different activities. A number of profiles can be set up allowing multiple users to play the app and each profile, or plant pot can also be personalised with photos etc. The plan pots also save the progress of the user so they can easily pick up where the left off once they have exited the app.

Once a profile has been selected the user works their way through the main 42 letter sounds of the English language. These are done through small chunks of letters of similar difficulty, progressing as the user becomes capable. All the way through the app there is an added bonus of having a ‘helping hand’ with Bee (an animated Bee) explaining to the user what they can do and how they go about doing it. This guide works in a highly successful way, more so than a written guide as it hovers over where the user needs to click etc whilst also explaining this. The user, however also has the option to turn off the sound if they so wish.

The whole design of the app is good and works at helping to engage the user. It is set in a garden, hence the flower pots as profiles, and uses different garden animals and insects to help the user through the app. This is simply yet effectively achieved all the way through the app.

There are a number of ways in which the user is able to learn the letters and sounds as they work their way through the app. These are all interactive and include copying the letter in the correct manner whilst also being given the sound and a picture related to the letter, further compounding the user’s knowledge of this. You can attempt the write the letter as many times as you wish, with the option to rub out and start again if you need more practice. There is also the option to choose from 4 different colours when writing out each letter. Once the user has been given this initial instruction in letter formation and recognition they are then taken to a different screen to help them show this recognition in both sound and sight. Throughout the app there is plenty of praise given and the user has the ability to try again if they are incorrect. If they are still struggling then they can have the sound repeated for them.

The app then moves sensibly through the process of learning a new letter. Having already moved through the recognition and formation stage and passed successfully through the sound stage the next game is the blending of the sounds that have been given into words. Again, the user is given plenty of help on this page, if they need it and are encouraged to sound out each letter individually before blending them all together. There is also the option to get further words to blend helping the user to further embed their knowledge of the sounds. To further compound this understanding the next game asks the user to listen to a word, whilst also being given a pictorial aid, and then spell it correctly by knowing which order the sounds go in. By clicking on each letter the sound is given so the user is able to successful listen and match the correct sounds and letters to the right order thus spelling the word.

As you would expect from a company so proficient in helping young people read through the phonics there is a lot of knowledge about how to do this successfully shining through in the app. It is a clear, concise and expertly put together app that understands what educators and parents need to help young people to learn to read through phonics.

You can download Jolly Phonics on your iOS or Android devices from the app stores. Download the Jolly Phonics app from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store.