Sight Word Superhero

What is Sight Words Superhero app?

We love to see apps that have ongoing support, and Sight Words Superhero is an app we reviewed a while back. It has evolved and grown to the point where it deserves another look. Will the app hold on to the five stars it earned in its last review?

The app sets the scene at the start with a lovely animated introduction. A witch has captured the sight words, and it is up to the player to free them by working through the games and short stories in the app.

Sight Words Superhero continues in the theme of its earliest versions as it turns learning sight words into a game. If you aren't sure what sight words are, there is an explanation in the skills section of this review.

The app uses a series of minigames to help kids practice reading and recognising sight words. Each word is spoken by one of two narrators that you can select: a US-accented boy and a woman with an English accent.

Kids earn coins when they play the app's adventure and time modes. They can spend these coins to play the other minigames in the app's arcade. 

Related: Best Sight Words

What we love about Sight Words Superhero app.

Sight Words Superhero is very customisable. You can choose which word list to use and adjust them if you want. You can also change the number of coins kids have to spend to play each game, something which could be helpful if they are playing one to the exclusion of the others.   

Encouraging kids to play the other games by making them cheaper or the over-played ones more expensive will help kids practice with the words in different contexts.

Sight Words Superhero also merges its educational development with encouragement to play. As kids complete levels, the app reveals the next section of a story. Having the reward link in with reading practice ties the app together nicely. Kids will be more likely to read the story as they have earned it, and practising reading is what we want them to do.

The graphics vary quite a bit across the games included in this app. Some have very simple styles, but the best have beautiful hand-drawn characters, backgrounds and effects.

Sight Words Superhero supports parents. The app categorises the words into grades as well as types. Parents don't have to know which words their children should concentrate on learning in each grade or year group.

What skills does it teach?

Teachers will know all about sight words, but parents might need a further explanation. 

When kids first learn to read, they have to decode each word. Early readers start with the first letter in a word and move through the sounds made by the subsequent letters. As readers develop their skills, they don't need to do this with the easiest words as they recognise them as a whole.

The words we expect kids to be able to read without decoding them are called sight words. These are simple words and the most frequently encountered in English. There is disagreement over which words we should ensure kids can recognise on sight, and different educationalists follow a different list, but there is usually considerable overlap between them.

Sight Words Superhero helps kids to build their ability to read words without decoding them. The words it has chosen are from two of the most popular word lists known as the Dolch List and Zeno List. Kids who have completed the challenges in this app will have exceeded both lists' requirements.

Some children with dyslexia benefit from extra work with sight words. Many sight words are abstract and not linked to objects, which makes them challenging for some kids to remember despite the word's apparent simplicity and frequency of use.

What age is it appropriate for?

The app's word lists are appropriate for kids aged from PreK to grade 2, roughly ages 4 to 7. The ideal users of this app are children who have some reading ability but are still decoding common words. 

Is Sight Words Superhero app easy to use?

The app is easy to use. Kids will quickly understand how to navigate between the activities and games. 

The options page, while a little cramped on phone-sized screens, is easy for parents to understand and adjust.

How will students benefit?

Learning sight words is an act of memory which needs repetition over time to be secure. This form of learning, while essential, is not the most interesting of activities, so anything that enhances it is welcome. Educational apps, like Sight Words Superhero, are excellent at this.

Kids will get the repetition they need without the feeling of boredom and lack of stimulation which can undermine their efforts.

How will parents benefit?

Parents using Sight Words Superhero with their kids gain help with knowing which words to concentrate on. You can look at the options, see a grade-appropriate list, and link your hands-on support with your kids to those words, perhaps by emphasising the words you and your child encounter during shared reading time.

When kids are playing alone, they can continue to practice those words with this app. 

How will teachers benefit?

Although Sight Words Superhero only has a single user profile, it makes resetting the player's score easy. Teachers can reset the app between users to give each child in their class a chance to learn with the app. 

Good to know

None of the words included in Sight Words Superhero's word lists has variations for US/UK English, so it is suitable for whichever country's spelling conventions your child follows.

Kids learn sight words best across multiple contexts. Sight Words Superhero is undoubtedly an excellent addition to others, but kids should use it alongside reading books and other practice methods.

Once Sight Words Superhero is on your device, it no longer needs an internet connection to work.

How much does Sight Words Superhero app cost?

Sight Words Superhero is free to download. The basic version does not contain advertisements but is limited, lacking some of the games, bosses, stories, and heroes.

What is included with the free version vs. paid?

You can unlock the full version of Sight Words Superhero through a single in-app purchase. Sight Words Superhero is one of those increasingly rare apps that does not require a subscription which is welcome considering its purpose. Learning sight words is an essential skill for kids, but it is one we want them to achieve and move on from quickly. 

Avoiding a subscription saves parents from having to guess how long they might need the app. After one reasonably priced in-app purchase, their kids have full access for as long as they need. Parents can pass it on to their younger kids later too.

Sight Words Superhero supports Family Sharing on Apple devices

Is Sight Words Superhero app safe to use?

Sight Words Superhero suits the target age range of its users well. It does not contain advertisements in the trial or full versions.

The options screen, where you can customise the app's word list, is protected by a parental lock. This lock uses a more robust maths problem than most, where you'll have to answer something like 6x4+3.

The lock's strength is appropriate for the age of the typical child using the app, and the content it unlocks is not unsafe.

What can Sight Words Superhero app improve on?

The app's customisation page, where users can add or remove words from the word lists, has two problems which could be solved by making the app more responsive to the device's screen size. 

On a phone-sized device, it is very cramped with tiny checkboxes to select. Screens with rounded corners or screen notches also cut off some of the content. You won't need to use this screen often, but today's educational app users are used to apps adapting to the device they have. 

Apps with in-app purchases can be difficult for schools to administer and purchase. If teachers could buy an app outright without going via an in-app purchase, it would make it easier for schools to deploy the app on their devices, and they would be able to take advantage of volume purchasing.

Overall rating of the app.

Sight Words Superhero fulfils its purpose well. It gives kids repeated practice at recognising high-frequency words and makes it much more fun than just answering questions. The games are simple to play so that kids can pick them up quickly, and their presentation makes them appealing. 

Sight Words Superhero will make a useful and good value practice app for kids as they build their early literacy skills. Download its free version and give it a try with your child. Sight Words Superhero has held on to its five-star rating.

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