# Word Builder - The Phonics Teaching Tool > Phonics teaching tool for decoding English language letter-sound patterns. (iPhone/iPad app by Reading Doctor Pty Ltd.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/word-builder-the-phonics-teaching-tool/id651218991 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [Reading Doctor Pty Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/647872297) - Category: Education, Games, Word - Price: $15.99 - Rating: 3.00/5 from 2 App Store ratings · 11 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 8.0 · 50 MB - Languages: American English - Released: 2013-06-15 - Data updated: 2026-06-06 - Monetization: paid - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/word-builder-the-phonics-teaching-tool/id651218991/reviews.md ## What is Word Builder? Word Builder™ is a must-have tool for anybody who is teaching phonics! Created by speech-language pathologist Dr. Bartek Rajkowski, PhD, Word Builder™ is a scientifically based, fun, intuitive means through which to learn how to use letter-sound patterns to crack the code in the English language. The app is perfect for teaching beginning readers, students with reading difficulties and students learning English as a second language. "Word Builder is the best program I have seen that enables students to play with sounds and hear the word it makes. They can manipulate the sounds within a word, make rhyming words, play with nonsense words and be told whether it is a real word or not. The scaffolding built into the program means students can be working at a task appropriate to their level of learning with very little assistance. An added bonus is that the Jolly Phonics letter groups are already built into the program. This app is an excellent way to give those beginning in English literacy at any age a tool to really help boost confidence and skill. Well worth the money!" - Jan Polkinghorne, SPELD phonics trainer PLEASE NOTE: - Requires iPad 2 or higher - Includes Australian, North American and British English accents. - Although students enjoy using WordBuilder™, it is a serious teaching tool, not a game! It does not read or spell words for students but makes it easier to teach students to read and spell words for themselves! - Wordbuilder™ is best used in parallel with a synthetic phonics program such as Jolly Phonics, MULTILIT or Letters & Sounds. - If you would like advice about how best to use the app, please see our website or contact us! Which skills does Word Builder™ help you to teach? Research shows that we read unfamiliar words by converting letter patterns to speech sounds and then mentally joining the sounds to read the word. Competent readers self-teach by successfully decoding new words, while poor letter-sound knowledge and decoding ability are hallmarks of reading difficulties. This code-cracking skill has been shown through decades of research to be crucial in learning to read and spell. WordBuilder™ helps you to teach students 'code-cracking' skills found through research to be vital in learning to read and write in English. How do parents, teachers and reading specialists use Word Builder™ to help students? - build words with letter-sound tiles for the student to read, or say a word for the student to build - change which letter-sound tiles are available so that beginning students can practice with the most basic building blocks of written language while more advanced readers can learn less common patterns - save your own letter-sound tile sets (corresponding to your phonics program or your student's needs) - an in-built memory-aid system helps students to remember letter-sound relationships. It can be adjusted to the level of help required by the student. - swap and remove letter-sound patterns from words - write irregular words by changing sounds while keeping letter patterns the same (so you can write words like 'said' and 'who') - insert blank tiles, syllable markers and apostrophes in words - save images of the words you create and create lists using the notes app - share the words you create via email, Facebook, Twitter, Airdrop and more! How do students use Word Builder™? Word Builder™ gives students an easy way to experiment with making and reading words using the most common letter-sound patterns in English. Students can: - tap on letter-sound patterns to hear the speech sounds they represent - make words by combining these patterns - slide a finger over the patterns in a word to hear the individual speech sounds in the word - see an animation of a mouth which explicitly teaches students about the relationship between speech and written language - move and replace letter-sound patterns by dragging and dropping them - check to see if words they have made are correctly spelled ## Key features - Build words with letter-sound tiles - Manipulate sounds within words - Create rhyming and nonsense words - Adjustable scaffolding for learning levels - Jolly Phonics letter groups integration - Customizable letter-sound tile sets ## Recent user reviews (10 of 11) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/word-builder-the-phonics-teaching-tool/id651218991/reviews.md ### 1/5 — App is not fully functional *2021-02-06* The app has no sound. I went to setting and the only option is for the sound preference for the “w” and “y” sound. I’d like a refund. ### 5/5 — This app is very useful for phonics tutoring *2017-03-06, version 2.1.0* I use this app with my students for word building and blending. Sometimes we play a board game and they get to build a word of my choice as a prize for a certain coloured square. You can blend CBC, ccvc, cvcc, and then when they are ready use vowel digraph and consonant digraphs. It is great when the student has really had enough writing for the lesson but you still want to work on that sound or revise old ones with them. They enjoy picking the sounds. It reinforces that concept that the code is constant and we just put the pieces of code together to make words. You can swap sounds any place in the word and see how the word changes. I love all the other reading doctor apps (as do the kids when it's time to use them) and use them for a quick game at the end of my tutoring session as revision for the sounds we have covered. I also encourage kids to use them at home. ### 5/5 — A favourite! *2014-09-11, version 1.2* I use this app with students everyday. We use it for constructing and decoding tricky words and phoneme manipulation activities. Recently, I've also treated the app as a 'spell-checker' - the voice output assists students to self-correct their spelling errors. Great for teaching the 'magic' 'e' rule, too, as it contains long vowel sounds in red and the silent 'e'. Refreshing to finally use an app with an Australian accent. It's become a necessity during a lot of my sessions, highly recommend this one! ### 5/5 — Great app for speech and reading *2014-03-26, version 1.2* This app is great for teachers and speech pathologists alike. Students are really interested in watching the moving mouth produce the sounds. Helpful speech production and literacy. ### 5/5 — Great for struggling readers *2014-03-16, version 1.2* Great Tool. Use it with my students regularly. Especially with the kids who are struggling readers. Love the mouth! ### 5/5 — Very useful! *2014-03-16, version 1.2* Took me a while to realise just how useful this app is. Now I use it with my students every day. Thanks! ### 5/5 — Fantastic App! *2013-08-15, version 1.2* Fantastic App! This app is fun and easy to use. Makes it easy to help my son with reading tricky words. Well done and thanks! ### 5/5 — Excellent for speech-language pathologists *2013-06-27, version 1.0* Love the Australian vowels and the usability of this app. A very flexible tool. Incredibly useful for working with children who have literacy difficulties. I can also see its potential for working with speech disorders. It would be great if there was a function to make a single sound tile (plus video) larger for teaching purposes. Overall, fantastic. Thank-you! ### 5/5 — Do your child a favour…get Word Builder! *2013-06-25, version 1.0* A must for ALL children learning to read and write. Both my 3yo and 6yo can use this and they love it. Most importantly they are learning. Teachers…we need this in our schools!!! ### 5/5 — Word Builder *2013-06-24, version 1.0* After a brief time of familiarization this app was easy to use, even for a technerd like me! Great teaching tool only wish it had been around 40 years ago, especially when I was in 1 teacher R-7 schools. Very pleasing to see the return of an effective and fun means of actually TEACHING reading and spelling skills again ## Frequently asked questions about Word Builder ### What is Word Builder used for? Word Builder is a serious teaching tool designed to help users teach phonics and English language decoding skills. It focuses on letter-sound patterns to help students crack the code of the English language, aiding in reading and spelling. ### Who is Word Builder designed for? This tool is ideal for teaching beginning readers, students who experience reading difficulties, and individuals learning English as a second language. It is also a valuable resource for parents, teachers, and reading specialists. ### Does Word Builder have ads? No, Word Builder does not contain advertisements. It is a paid application focused on providing a dedicated learning experience without interruptions. ### What is the price of Word Builder? Word Builder is available for a one-time purchase of $15.99. This price grants access to all its features for teaching phonics and reading skills. ### What devices does Word Builder support? Word Builder is currently supported on iPads, specifically requiring iPad 2 or higher. It is not available for other mobile platforms at this time. ### How does Word Builder help track progress? The app allows for adjustable scaffolding and customizable letter-sound tile sets, enabling users to tailor tasks to a student's specific learning level. While it doesn't explicitly mention a progress tracking feature, its adaptive nature supports individualized learning. ### Can Word Builder be used with other phonics programs? Yes, Word Builder is designed to be used in parallel with synthetic phonics programs such as Jolly Phonics, MULTILIT, or Letters & Sounds. It can also be customized to match specific phonics programs or student needs. ### What accents are included in Word Builder? Word Builder includes Australian, North American, and British English accents. This allows for diverse pronunciation practice and learning. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 2.2.1 — 2017-09-12 This app has been updated by Apple to display the Apple Watch app icon. General Bug Fixes and support for the latest version of iOS. Don't forget to check out our Facebook page for the latest announcements: www.facebook.com/readingdoctor ### 2.1.0 — 2017-02-06 Welcome to Word Builder version 2! This is a major update! For detailed instructions regarding how to use the new features, please see our website or tap on 'How to Use Word Builder' when you open the app. We are determined to make this app the best available phonics teaching tool. Please let us know if you have any feedback, and please join our free Facebook group to connect with others using our apps (see www.facebook.com/groups/readingdoctor). New Word Builder v2 features include - completely updated artwork! - with the new tiles and Word Building tools, you can now use Word Builder to build 99% of English words! - added Spelfabet, Letters & Sounds, LETRS and Phonics Hero presets in addition to MULTILIT and Jolly Phonics - added International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) symbols below letter-sound tiles - improved fonts and updated the keyboard New letter-sound tiles added: - voiced th (as in breathe), - ti (like in nation) - ci (like in vicious) - si (like in mansion) - ssi (like in mission) - ea (like in head) - ie (like in pie) - y (like in fly) Added ability to - insert letter-sound tiles within a word using the new 'insert blank' tool (e.g. turn 'pot' into 'spot') - tap on the canvas to drop blank tiles - mute tiles (so you can write words with silent letters, like 'castle') - insert syllable markers (so you can split multisyllabic words up for students, as in 'com/pu/ter') - add apostrophes to words - swap letter patterns while keeping speech sounds the same & swap speech sounds while keeping letter patterns the same, so you can now build irregular words (like 'said, you' and 'who') - turn vowel patterns into schwa sounds and write schwa vowels on the canvas (see instructions for more information) - mute the speech output from the app - save the words you build to the camera roll / photos - email words you build - create a list of words you build in the 'notes' app, from which you can email your list or print it - share a list of words you build with another person so you can both add to the list - send a word you build to another device via airdrop + much more, including many bug fixes We hope you enjoy this version of Word Builder. Please contact us if you have any questions or need help! The Reading Doctor Team. www.readingdoctor.com. ### 2.0.9 — 2017-02-03 Welcome to Word Builder version 2! This is a major update! For detailed instructions regarding how to use the new features, please see our website or tap on 'How to Use Word Builder' when you open the app. We are determined to make this app the best available tool for teaching students phonics skills. Please let us know if you have any feedback, and please join our free Facebook group to connect with others using our apps (see our website for a link). New Word Builder v2 features include - completely updated artwork! - with the new tiles and Word Building tools, you can now use Word Builder to build 99% of English words! - added Spelfabet, Letters & Sounds, LETRS and Phonics Hero presets in addition to MULTILIT and Jolly Phonics - added International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) symbols below letter-sound tiles - improved fonts and updated keyboard New letter-sound tiles added: - voiced th (as in breathe), - ti (like in nation) - ci (like in vicious) - si (like in mansion) - ssi (like in mission) - ea (like in head) - ie (like in pie) - y (like in fly) Added ability to - insert letter-sound tiles within a word using the new 'insert blank' tool (e.g. turn 'pot' into 'spot') - tap on the canvas to drop blank tiles - mute tiles (so you can write words with silent letters, like 'castle') - insert syllable markers (so you can split multisyllabic words up for students, as in 'com/pu/ter') - add apostrophes to words - swap leter patterns while keeping speech sounds the same & swap speech sounds while keeping letter patterns the same, so you can now build irregular words (like 'said, you' and 'who') - turn vowel patterns into schwa sounds and write schwa vowels on the canvas (see instructions for more information) - mute the speech output from the app - save the words you build to the camera roll / photos - email words you build - create a list of words you build in the 'notes' app, from which you can email your list or print it - share a list of words you build with another person so you can both add to the list - send a word you build to another device via airdrop + much more, including many bug fixes We hope you enjoy this version of Word Builder. Please contact us if you have any questions or need help! The Reading Doctor Team. ### 1.3 — 2014-09-29 - Fixed iOS 8 compatibility issue. - Updated buttons - Added a new mnemonic for 'o' (octopus) when an American accent is selected - Added a 'blank' tile - Fixed some graphical glitches on retina screens Please join our new (free) Facebook group to connect with others using our apps: https://www.facebook.com/groups/readingdoctor/ If you experience any problems or need help with our apps please don't hesitate to contact us by emailing: support@readingdoctor.com.au Thanks! The Reading Doctor® Team. ### 1.2 — 2013-08-13 Thanks for all of the fantastic feedback! We are determined to make WordBuilder™ an even more outstanding teaching tool. If you have a suggestion, let us know (see below for contact details). We have released this 1.2 update due to a minor bug with the presets in the recent v1.1 update. Please note that installing this version will reset all presets. This reset will not be required in future updates! Here’s what’s new for the 1.1 and 1.2 updates: SWITCH BETWEEN NORTH AMERICAN, BRITISH AND AUSTRALIAN ACCENTS WordBuilder™ now has Australian, North American and British accent options! To switch to your native accent, please tap on the flags on the main menu screen. Your selection will be saved so you don’t have to switch accents each time you use the app! SWITCH BETWEEN TRADITIONAL AND RECOMMENDED PRONUNCIATIONS OF “W” AND “Y” You can read an explanation for this option from within WordBuilder™. To read the explanation or to use this feature, please tap on the settings button (the small cog next to the YouTube button) from the main menu screen. RESTORE FACTORY PRESETS FUNCTION Did you accidentally delete the inbuilt Jolly Phonics or MULTILIT presets? You can now restore them by tapping on the settings button from the main menu, then tapping the ‘Tap to reset’ button (please note this will also delete all other presets). ADDED SPEECH SOUND PICS (SSP) PRESETS Speech Sound Pics (SSP): SSP Green, SSP Purple, SSP Yellow and SSP Blue added to existing Jolly Phonics and MULTILIT default presets. BUG FIXES AND PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENTS We have significantly reduced loading times. We fixed numerous minor bugs and made some adjustments to speech sound recordings (such as reducing the volume of /f/ compared with /s/). WE WANT YOUR FEEDBACK! Please send any feedback and/or suggestions to enquiry@readingdoctor.com.au and remember to: Like us on facebook and follow us on twitter to stay informed about updates: http://www.facebook.com/readingdoctor http://www.twitter.com/readingdoctor Check our YouTube channel for tutorials and suggestions: http://www.youtube.com/user/Readingdoctor/videos If you like WordBuilder™, please write a review! Thanks, The ReadingDoctor Team. www.readingdoctor.com.au ## Apps similar to Word Builder | App | Rating | Price | Category | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Phonics Bingo](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/phonics-bingo/id570968805) | 5.0 (1) | $0.99 | Education | | [Shapego - School Edition](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shapego-school-edition/id1190518569) | 4.8 (23) | $14.99 | Education | | [2nd Grade Reading Comprehension](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/2nd-grade-reading-comprehension/id525312981) | 1.0 (1) | $1.99 | Education | | [Find the Rhyme - US](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/find-the-rhyme-us/id1250349325) | — | $19.99 | Education | | [漢字書き取り判定 実践編 脳を鍛える](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/id1006506200) | — | Free | Education | | [JLPT Test N5 Kanji Lite](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/jlpt-test-n5-kanji-lite/id973076480) | 5.0 (2) | Free | Education | ## More apps by Reading Doctor Pty Ltd - [Letter Sounds 1 : Phonics Graphemes for Beginners](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/letter-sounds-1-phonics-graphemes-for-beginners/id771807063) - [Letter Sounds 2 : Digraphs, Trigraphs & Endings](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/letter-sounds-2-digraphs-trigraphs-and-endings/id796085057) - [Sight Words 1 : Common English Words](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sight-words-1-common-english-words/id849060802) - [Blending Sounds 1 : Phonics Words for Beginners](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/blending-sounds-1-phonics-words-for-beginners/id883245394) - [Spelling Sounds 1 : Writing Words with Phonics](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/spelling-sounds-1-writing-words-with-phonics/id977063322) All apps by Reading Doctor Pty Ltd: https://appshunter.io/developer/647872297 --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-06-06.*