i Can Spell with Phonics vs Name That Cutting Pattern
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
i Can Spell with Phonics
This app teaches 150 sight words through phonics and sentence context with vibrant photos. It breaks words into "phonic chunks" and sounds them out, offering a fun, independent learning experience for young children and those needing remedial support.
- Teaches 150 sight words
- Breaks words into phonic chunks
- Words in meaningful sentence context
- Vibrant photos for visual learning
- Independent use for children
- Reward games for motivation
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Easy to use – Top quality recorded speech – Educationally sound – It gets results! Teaches 150 sight words with regular spelling. Breaks words into "phonic chunks" and sounds them out. Words are taught in meaningful sentence context with vibrant photos. It's like training wheels for spelling success! Ages 5 to 7, plus Remedial, ESL and Special Needs. Designed for children to use independently – Hours of learning fun. Begin learning two letter words, CVCs, short vowel sounds and simple rimes, before moving on to consonant blends, common digraphs, including: sh, ch, th, ck, oo, ee, ow, ou, ay, ai, oa, and r-controlled vowels: ar, ir, or, er. i Can Spell with Phonics provides an easy introduction for beginning spellers, with no irregular words, no typing, and no spelling tests (these will be introduced in our later apps!) TO PLAY... Simply tap "PLAY" and pick one of the five words to start (from easy to hard). Or pick a word list from 1 to 15, CVC words, a short vowel or digraph, or pick your own "My Words" list. Each 10-word-lesson is made up of three activities, followed by a reward game. Activity 1: Tap on the "phonic chunks" to build and sound-out each spelling word. Activity 2: Name the pictures: Drag the vowels, beginning letters, rimes or digraphs to complete the words. (This may be completed strategically, or by trial and error.) Activity 3: More "phonic chunks", but this time the spelling words are put in context, with engaging sentences and vibrant photographs. Reward Game: Choose between "Match the Pairs", "Word Search", "Fish Food" and "Space Rescue". NO ADS – NO IN-APP PURCHASES – NO WORRIES! All links and app settings are placed behind a parental gate. VOICE OPTIONS: American, British and Australian English TEACHERS: If you find the reward arcade games too distracting for your classroom, these may be turned off (in "Settings"), enabling students to play word games only. Please visit our developer website (link found at the bottom of this page) to view videos, get the app guide, and free worksheets! SYNTHETIC OR ANALYTIC PHONICS? Our apps systematically break words into phonemes and sound them out. The whole word and phonics are presented together. Neither is given priority, because the phonemic and visual aspects are BOTH important when learning to read and spell. i Can Spell with Phonics teaches spelling through immersion and repeated exposure both visually to the correct spelling, as well as hearing and actively sounding out the words. Phonics is taught explicitly, and the words are also placed in meaningful sentence context. The words included are phonemically regular sight words, however the vocabulary is not limited to the extent required by most "synthetic phonics" programs, which tend to dictate a specific order in which to introduce phonemes. If required, teachers can pick their own words for the lesson using "My Words" (words must be chosen from the 150). We use a traditional pronunciation of "w" and "y" ("wuh" and "yuh"). Our apps are designed to be highly educational, fun to play, and also take into consideration the needs of struggling literacy learners. A GREAT START... Whether you are buying this app for your four year old who has already mastered the sounds of the alphabet, or for your eight year old who still struggles to read, i Can Spell with Phonics will provide them with intensive phonics practice which is easy, fun and effective. *Get a 50% discount for quantities of 20 or more = ($1.49 each), via Apple’s Education Volume Purchase Program (VPP)
Name That Cutting Pattern
This app helps students tackle challenging multi-syllabic words by breaking them down into manageable syllables. It provides supplemental support for common English word-cutting patterns to improve reading fluency.
- Syllable segmentation for multi-syllabic words
- Support for common English cutting patterns
- Improved reading fluency
- Supplemental educational tool
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Multi-syllabic words can be challenging for students to read. However, if you cut the word into syllables and read one syllable at a time, then the multi-syllabic word is more manageable. There are several common cutting patterns used in English and this app will offer supplemental support with those cutting patterns.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Name That Cutting Pattern at weekly against i Can Spell with Phonics's every 5 months. Name That Cutting Pattern also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.8) and price ($0.99 vs $1.99). i Can Spell with Phonics's advantage is ratings volume (17 vs 1) and iOS requirement (6.0 vs 13.0). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
i Can Spell with Phonics costs $1.99 and Name That Cutting Pattern $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Name That Cutting Pattern holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: i Can Spell with Phonics has 17 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
i Can Spell with Phonics ships an update every 5 months, Name That Cutting Pattern weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | i Can Spell with Phonics | Name That Cutting Pattern |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 | $0.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.8 (17 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 17 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 6.0 — better | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 111 MB | 69 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Michael Harvey | Edwards Insight, LLC |
Customer experience
i Can Spell with Phonics
Name That Cutting Pattern
In-app purchases
i Can Spell with Phonics
No in-app purchases
Name That Cutting Pattern
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is i Can Spell with Phonics free?
Is Name That Cutting Pattern free?
Which has better reviews, i Can Spell with Phonics or Name That Cutting Pattern?
Do i Can Spell with Phonics or Name That Cutting Pattern have ads?
Which is updated more often, i Can Spell with Phonics or Name That Cutting Pattern?
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