Soft Toys 1

This educational game uses 54 photos of soft toys to teach the 26 letters of the English alphabet from A to Z, both uppercase and lowercase. Suitable for students from grade 1 onwards, and those studying English as a second language.

Students hear a word spoken, they choose the matching photo and then trace the first letter of the word on the touch screen. Students are encouraged to trace letters by hearing more of the music as they trace. After six right in a row, Race Mode starts automatically. It asks questions at speed to test the students' memory and comprehension of the letters just covered, before continuing with new letters. At the end of the race, students can see how well they have done relative to their other races. The game gradually focuses on any letters that the students have difficulty recognizing, and speeds up as competence is gained.

By contrast to Race Mode, Story Mode slowly introduces new letters by saying them as the photos are shown, allowing students to quietly look, listen and learn.

The game is controlled by on-screen gestures which are simple to demonstrate and easy to use, and the game can be played without voice prompts.

* 54 photos of soft toys

* Tracing with coloured Bubble Writing

* Race Mode tests memory and comprehension against the clock

* Story Mode allows students to look, listen and learn

* Slideshow Mode displays all 26 letters in sequence, both uppercase and lowercase

* Zoom and Pan Mode magnifies the images to see more detail

* Easy on-screen gestures to control the game

* Context-sensitive help

The paid version of this app has much higher resolution photos than the free version. The free version has lower resolution photos and does contain advertising but no push advertising. No internet connection is required.