App Reviews: Smarty Britches: Nouns - Teaches Children All About Nouns in Lessons

Details

Smarty Britches: Nouns is an interactive storybook and activity app recommended for children in grades 1 to 3. The app is focused on teaching children about the different types of nouns by integrating the lessons into a story and presenting it through the pages of an interactive storybook. Join a boy with a magical pair of Smarty Britches as he explores fascinating people, animals, places, things, and ideas. This is created for teachers by a National Board Certified Teacher, aligned with Common Core State Standards, and designed to engage and inspire kids as they learn about Nouns.

The pages look and feel like an interactive storybook. Colorful, full page illustrations adorn the screen with the story text. A voice over narrator reads the story for you with a karaoke style highlighting of the words being read. The page does not end when the narration ends because it contains interactive elements that can be explored by children. Animations and additional dialogue and sound effects can be unlocked.

As the story finishes a mini lesson (ex. people noun, place noun, etc.), a button appears on the page which will lead users to a mini game/activity that will refresh and reinforce the lesson that was taught through a selection or matching game. Instructions for each mini game is recited by the narrator. Smarty Britches Nouns is surely a fun and enjoyable medium for you to teach your children or students about nouns.

What iHeartThisApp Liked

The app’s layout and controls are simple and intuitive. Each page is laid out like a story book page: the colorful illustration is presented full screen with a smaller section for the story text. There are two dog-earred corners or the page which allows users to “turn” the pages forward and back plus a Home button which brings users to a table of contents where they can either go straight to a particular favorite page or activity.

The audio support the visuals well with a clear and entertaining voice over narration. The karaoke style highlighting of the words being read also help children with their reading comprehension. Up beat music and cute sound effects complete the audio component of the story. For more advanced readers or users who just want to review the lessons, there is an option to turn off either or both of the narration and the music.

I like that the app is focused on teaching only one topic: nouns. The story is crafted well to include different examples and illustrations of the different types of nouns. The terms are also presented in all caps to further highlight its importance. The mini games after each term is discussed uses images and ideas from the story so it serves as a great refresher or reviewer for the users. These mini games are accessible through a button which is integrated well into the story book page.

The interactive elements within each page unlocks either a simple animation, an extra dialogue, or sound effects which will serve to enrich users’ experience of the story and the lessons.

A full set of FREE curriculum for the app is also available at http://sascynpublishing.com/smarty-activities/

Overall

Smarty Britches: Nouns is the first in an upcoming series of Language Arts educational apps for grades 1-3 that are designed by a National Board Certified Teacher. This app teaches children all about nouns in lessons which are integrated into an interactive storybook so they can have fun, enjoy, and learn at the same time.