I work on understanding and using prepositions for many of my students. For some, using prepositions in sentences is extremely challenging. Once again, Smarty Ears Apps has created a great app to help with that skill.
Prep Positions was created by a speech-language pathologist and designed to help with the comprehension and use of prepositional phrases. The app is a multi-player, multi-level app which means not only can multiple students use it at the same time – but each student can work at his or her own level! That makes it perfect for group work!
A tap of a “modify” button brings up the various levels for an individual player. The app includes everything from basic prepositions “At, Up, Down, On, and By” to complex prepositions of “according to, close to, depending on, thanks to, and in spite of”…and of course, everything in between.
A fun circus theme makes it interesting.
The way the app works is interesting. It’s a fill in the blank type sentence with word choices. All of the word choices are prepositions, but the student must chose the correct one that works with the displayed image and sentence.
Simply drag and drop the correct word to complete the sentence.
The app automatically keeps track of each player’s data. After a set amount of correct answers (which can be customized in settings), the player earns a “ball” to play in the awesome (and slightly addicting) game!
Aim the cannon for optimal trajectory by type of ball…select maximum velocity…and watch out for the traps. Some balls will fly well but stop quickly…some balls need to bounce off trampolines to fly well. But watch out for box blocks and water traps. You never know what will come up.
My kids like this game almost as much as that other “aim the birds to get the eggs back” game.
And of course, what Smarty Ears app would be complete without incredible data gathering? Prep Position is no exception!
Great Data by SESSION
OR by Preposition!
Why I love this app:
- Customizable
- Multiple player
- Advanced prepositions
- Works with older students working on comprehension and/or paragraph writing
- Fun Game to keep kids motivated
- Incredible data keeping for easy progress monitoring
Things I’d like to see:
- This is definitely geared for students who can read. I’d love to see a similar app but have it work for those students who can’t read too.
- I wish there were a way to play the game without having to earn the balls (that way I could play it in between kids, LOL).
I feel the app is worth the $19.99 because it incorporates the literacy piece and deeper comprehension pieces for older students. You can pick it up at the iTunes store.
Speech Adventures 