Sentence Ninja

'Sentence Ninja' is a user friendly and appealing app, which is designed to develop children's ability to build sentences and develop sentence structure skills.  It starts from the most basic subject and verb structures through to complex sentences and is therefore, suitable for use with Early Years upwards.  The banks of sentences and the 39 different levels mean that this is an extensive and detailed app which can be used frequently by the same child as they progress through the various stages.

The landing page is vibrant and engaging and there is a video tutorial which allows any teacher/parent to gain an overview in how to use the app and set it up for first use.

Before starting  a parent, teacher or the child themselves add players and a photo or an avatar can be used to assist with identification.  Several players can be set up on one device and the app can be played as an individual or with multiple players.  Each player can be started on any of the 39 levels and this can be modified before starting any session. The players act as ninjas placing words into the correct sequence to create a pathway which they can then cross. The players take it in turns and each can work at his or her own level of difficulty.  Hints can be given in terms of the first word in the sentence and colour coding of the words and corresponding sentence sequence can be turned on or off as required. Once a level is completed the child can choose to try more or move on to the next level.

The 39 levels are organised into six groups and as the player completes each group, they are awarded a coloured belt.  The belts, as well as progress charts and reports, offer feedback to the child and any adults as to achievements and areas for development.  In the 'Award Centre' the progress and achievements are shown for each player and the level currently being used can be adjusted. There is also an option to open, email and print corresponding homework sheets. 

A particular strong aspect to this app is the number of settings that can be changed to meet the individual needs of the user.  Key settings include turning the audio on or off, requiring sentences to be recorded by the player once completed and modifying the exercises by  selecting which  sentences are used  within each level.  This final option is particularly useful for British users who wish to avoid Americanisms such as 'pajamas' and 'popsicles'.  Personally the only missing option is a prompt to check if players wish to quit when pressing 'Done' as often my children pressed this by mistake once completing a sentence and then had to restart the exercises.  It may also be useful if a password was required before modifying the level so that children would only able to use the exercises selected by an adult.

Overall 'Sentence Ninja' is an engaging, detailed and progressive app which can be used by children with a range of ages and abilities either independently or, as a multiplayer.   The reward system and progress charts provide positive reinforcement for the child and useful monitoring for any adults.  The range of settings means that the app can be used independently and is a great method for developing children's grammar through engaging and meaningful activities. 

You can download Sentence Ninja on your iOS devices from the Apple App Store.