MathTappers vs READING MAGIC

MathTappers: Find Sums – learn basic facts for addition and subtraction Version 2.0 Description MathTappers: Find Sums is a simple game designed to help learners to make sense of addition (and subtraction), and then to support them in developing accuracy and improving their speed. Please go to MathTappers.com for additional information on all of our apps. For Parents: There are two modes provided to support your child as they play the game. The first mode is designed for younger learners and uses a picture of a grid in which apples are placed and both apples and blank spaces can easily be counted. The goal is to choose a pair of numbers that cause all of the un-shaded spaces to be filled with apples. The second mode uses a symbolic part-part-whole model designed to help older learners to efficiently and accurately recognize addition and subtraction facts. In this mode the goal is to pick two numbers that when placed in the top spaces add together to equal the value in the bottom space. The focus should always be on sense-making and accuracy before speed. Ask your child to explain how they know what the other number should be and what strategies they are using. Remember that this game is not intended to replace instruction – but rather to supplement it with a self-paced activity to support mastery and fluency. Mastering the concepts of addition and subtraction and building fluency in recalling the basic associations presented in this game are essential to success in later mathematics. Fluency is an individual attribute – challenge yourself with the game to get a sense of what levels of fluency you might expect your child to achieve. For Educators: MathTappers: Find Sums is designed to help learners to master basic addition and subtraction facts with understanding and then to encourage them to continue playing to develop efficient strategies and eventually improve their recall speed (fluency). This app doesn’t rely on the ‘magic’ of flash cards but rather presents useful models to support learners as they make sense of addition and subtraction. Although the game appears to be focused only on addition – subtraction is an inherent part of their activity and learning. Learners using this app are developing a sense of the relationship between two addends and a sum - providing them with opportunities to master both addition and subtraction facts concurrently. You cannot really understand that 7+3=10 or 3+7=10 without also understanding the rest of the fact family – i.e., that 10-7=3 and 10-3=7. It is expected that working with groups of fact families that share a common sum (e.g., sum to 10) will help learners to make connections between these families and synergistically enhance their mastery process. About: Design: Tim Pelton & Leslee Francis Pelton Programming: Mike Anderson, Joshua E Smith, Chris Rail & Garrett Reimer The designers of the MathTappers Apps are math educators and researchers seeking to create simple games that will help learners to make sense of mathematics one concept at a time. In each App we try to present at least one useful visual model to support learners as they strive to master the challenges presented. The regular version of each app is provided to users for free and is designed to be useful as-is. In addition, most MathTappers Apps offer an option to expand the feature set for a minimal fee. Revenues received from these upgrades will be used to support research on the educational utility of MathTappers Apps and further refinement and expansion of the MathTappers App collection. Play, Explore and Understand! Tim Pelton Web Site MathTappers: Find Sums – a math game to help children learn basic facts for addition and subtraction Support

Unlock the Magic of Reading with READING MAGIC 1! Transform your child into a confident reader with READING MAGIC 1! This app makes learning to read an exciting adventure with interactive activities focused on short-vowel words, specifically CVC (Consonant-Vowel-Consonant) words. Meticulously designed to provide an advanced boost to your child’s phonemic awareness, this app combines three foundational pillars of literacy science into one powerful, interactive ecosystem: Blending (Listening), Segmenting (Speaking), and Decoding (Reading). Grounded firmly in Science of Reading principles and utilizing University of Florida Literacy Institute (UFLI) guidelines, READING MAGIC provides specific, precise training with extensive repetitions to help young brains bridge the gap between spoken sound units and complete words. IDEAL FOR BOTH BEGINNING PRE-READERS AND STRUGGLING READERS For Beginning Pre-Readers: A stress-free launchpad. By practicing words through pure sound sequences first, your child masters the internal mechanics of reading without cognitive overload. This keeps them from being frustrated by trying to learn separate, difficult skills at the same time. For Struggling or Remedial Readers: If your child's reading is hesitant or choppy, or if they guess at words, this app provides the targeted intervention recommended by modern reading science to help young brains bridge the gap. THREE CRITICAL SKILL-BUILDING PILLARS While many phonics programs completely overlook the auditory mechanics of reading, our program systematically guides your child through the complete progression of decoding: Skill 1: Blending (Listening): Interactive listening activities train your child’s neural processing ability to hear isolated sounds in words and join them together mentally. This builds the vital auditory runway required for future fluency. Skill 2: Segmenting (Speaking): True spelling and reading independence require the ability to pull spoken words apart into their individual sound units. These exercises build explicit awareness of the acoustic structure of language. Skill 3: Decoding (Reading): The ultimate bridge to literacy. Your child applies their mastery of blending and segmenting directly to text, smoothly moving from spoken sounds to visual words. STRUCTURAL SPACING & INSTRUCTION (Science-Backed Layout) Our app builds the actual findings of reading science directly into the user interface for maximum visual clarity: Anti-Crowding Design: Peer-reviewed research, including Marinus et al. (2016) and Wery & Diliberto (2017), demonstrates that generous letter spacing is critical for early decoding. By placing each letter on its own isolated card with distinct physical gaps, our layout eliminates visual crowding, allowing your child to isolate each sound unit cleanly. True Comprehension: The app strictly discourages picture guessing, forcing children to rely purely on their decoding skills to foster true comprehension and build lasting confidence. INDEPENDENT LEARNING & AESTHETIC SIMPLICITY Distraction-Free: Our minimalist design eliminates overstimulating audio-visual clutter, excessive sound effects, and animations to keep your child entirely focused on the mechanics of reading. Stress-Free Growth: Built-in natural feedback loops offer gentle corrections, nurturing self-discovery and independent learning at your child's own pace. EXPERT RESEARCH BACKING "Before a child can read fluently with their eyes, they must be able to blend fluently with their ears. Weakness in auditory blending is one of the strongest early predictors of later reading failure." — Dr. Joseph Torgesen, Florida State University. "Teaching students to blend and segment benefited their reading much more than did a multiple-skills approach... and teaching phonemic awareness with letters created effect sizes almost twice as large as teaching children without letters." — The National Reading Panel (NRP) Meta-Analysis.