Verb Quest from Smarty Ears is designed to target verbs in children. Children who are English Second Language learners as well as children with language difficulties often find different verb tenses difficult to master.
Verb Quest is a very detailed app that uses a Magic theme as a backdrop.
The app has a detailed tutorial to guide the user through using the app, but it is easy to navigate and works in a similar manner to the other Smarty Ears Apps.
Verb Quest has 20 different levels which can be seen in the picture below:
Each sentence has a corresponding picture to help reinforce the skill. The student is required to drag the correct form of the verb into the correct place. There is the option to have the ‘hint’ on or off. If the student makes an error, there is a buzz and the words move back to the bottom of the screen.
The Settings Menu has the following options:
What I Like:
- Reading accuracy and comprehension can be addressed by removing the Audio Reading option
- The app has the option to automatically move to the next level when the student obtains 10 correct answers.
- The ability to record the answer. I have found this really reinforcing for the students to hear themselves producing the verb in a sentence correctly.
- The reports are detailed and provide specific information. Reports can be displayed by session or by level.
- The ability to have multiple players doing different activities is a really nice feature if you are working in groups.
- The ability to change the background to a plain white background is really nice for children who are distracted by the busy background.
I would Like:
- The option to have the choices read by tapping on the word. This would allow the student to work more independently. It will also enable young readers to use this app independently.
- Although the app provides different types of wands as ‘awards’ these were not very motivating. A simple reward game would make this app so much more engaging for the students.
The verb is the heart of a sentence – every sentence must have a verb. Recognizing the verb is often the most important step in understanding the meaning of a sentence. Verb Quest is a great app for addressing this skill in great depth.
Verb Quest is available on the App Store for $19.99 but you can win a copy by entering via the Rafflecopter!
Thank you to Smarty Ears for providing me with a copy of the App for review. All opinions are my own.
