Learning words becomes entertaining in this app that teaches to top 400 SAT words by using of funny poems, silly mnemonic clues, and humorous comments. / Slammin Productions

Between weekly spelling tests and looming SATs, kids need to increase their vocabularies while growing up. For families with iOS devices, here are three apps that make the process of learning new words fun.

Kids' Vocab

Mindsnacks, best for ages 7-12, Free download (with in-app purchase of $4.99), iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad

Rating: 4 stars (out of 4)

This app puts vocabulary practice inside nine diverse, engaging games. When you first download the app, you get one set of 15 words. To unlock the rest of the 350 words taught in the app, you need to make an in-app purchase of $4.99. The additional words appear in 25 lessons with each set having a theme, such as baby animals, astronomy or fantasy.

Kids can study the words in the lesson before playing the games. The nine games slowly unlock over time. Players earn points by playing the games and can earn additional points by meeting certain challenges, such as correctly answering four questions in a row. The app tracks all of your points on a bar graph, and when the bar fills up, you are rewarded with a fresh new game.

The nine games present different ways to learn words. In one, you choose a word to complete a sentence. In another, you select images that represent the definition of a word. In a third, you try to match definitions and words in quick succession. The app tracks your progress; and once you have mastered a word, that word is cycled out of the games.

Unlike flashcards, where kids learn by staring at the card to memorize, with "Kids' Vocab," kids learn by playing fun games with kooky animals.

The Opposites

Mindshapes Limited, best for ages 7-12, $1.99, iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad

Rating: 4 stars

Kids learn new words by playing a game of matching antonyms with a pair of snarky siblings. The two teens spout words which float out of their mouths and above their heads. Players match the words by tapping to see if they turn green and disappear. The goal is to match a target number of pairs before the time runs out or the room fills up with words. If you manage to hit the target of say, 12 pairs, you get to play a bonus round with more words floating to be matched; and then the next level opens up. The game offers 10 levels of words, with the easiest being words like night and day, and the hardest covering compulsory and voluntary.

The app contains a dictionary of the words used in the game; and kids can study each level's word definitions before playing the humorous war-of-words game. If they don't want to study first, the game encourages them to learn while playing, since you aren't penalized for trying word pairs that don't match - they just temporarily turn red to indicate that they are not antonyms.

With a simple premise of matching words that are opposite delivered by silly siblings with an attitude, this is in-your-face fun with words.

SAT Word Slam

Slammin Productions, best for ages 13-18, $3.99, iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad

Rating: 4 stars

This is the cream of the crop among SAT study apps. By using humor, rhyming poems and clever mnemonic clues, this app makes learning 400 of the most used SAT words a breeze. Instead of being faced with static flashcards that run together in your mind, this app makes learning new words exciting. The app has professional voice actors read funny poems that explain the definition of words you want to learn. They are topical and silly, frequently including references to famous people.

For example, to learn the word "abase," an actor reads: "To embarrass or to humble, To make one a disgrace.

Barry Bonds was blushing, When he couldn't steal a base."

This poetic definition is then followed up with the mnemonic: "A baseball player was abased when he couldn't steal a base." Teens next hear a funny throw-away comment about how hard can it be to steal a base? - all you need to do is toss the thing in the back of your truck.

After learning a set of words, kids can choose to be tested on what they learned. The test questions take the form of presenting a sentence with a blank word missing and then providing a list to choose from. Occasionally a question is simply the definition, and kids select the correct word from a list. If you get a word wrong during the testing, the app offers you the option to learn the word right then before continuing on with the test. Kids return to the section to hear the silly poem and mnemonic clue. This excellent feature reinforces the learning at the time when kids are thinking about it.

To see if your budding wordsmith will like this app, try the SAT Word Slam FREE first - it provides complete functionality of the app; but instead of getting 400 words to learn, you only get 25. For those that don't have iOS, this fun app is based on a book of the same name by Jodi Fodor.


Copyright 2015 USATODAY.com

Read the original story: Three cool apps make learning words fun

Real Deals



Most Commented


Sign up for home delivery today