READING MAGIC 3 vs Teachley Subtractimals EDU
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
READING MAGIC 3
This app makes learning to read an exciting adventure for children. It uses interactive activities and science-backed methods to help master words with two or more syllables, building essential literacy skills.
- Science of Reading methodology
- Focus on multi-syllable words
- Blending and segmenting skills
- Phonemic awareness development
- Three engaging learning modes
- Interactive reading games
- Progress tracking
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Unlock the Magic of Reading with READING MAGIC 3! Transform your child into a confident reader with READING MAGIC 3! This app makes learning to read an exciting adventure through interactive activities focused on short vowel words containing multiple syllables. 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
Teachley Subtractimals EDU
This educational game uses engaging characters and strategies to teach subtraction to young students. It focuses on conceptual understanding and fact fluency, supporting intervention programs and differentiating instruction.
- Engaging subtraction strategies
- Conceptual understanding focus
- Fact fluency development
- Supports intervention programs
- Differentiates instruction
- Addresses Common Core Math Standards
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*Use your premium Teachley account login to unlock the app.* The sinister Professor Possum makes his return in Subtractimals. In this follow-up app to Addimals, students use subtraction strategies to help Memo, Patooey, and her cousin, Slurp stop his latest evil plan. Subtractimals EDU is the school version of an engaging game that teaches subtraction. The characters once again model strategies that children use to practice solving subtraction problems. Most fluency apps use drill-based approaches, such as digital worksheets, flashcards, and multiple choice. In contrast, Subtractimals focuses on teaching effective math strategies and scaffolds learning to promote conceptual understanding and fact fluency. Designed to support Response to Intervention programs, this app is a great tool for teachers looking to differentiate instruction for students. What are teachers saying? "Subtractimals builds on Addimal Adventure by providing kids with important strategies for learning subtraction. Our students love playing Teachley's apps and have greatly enhanced their addition and multiplication skills. We cannot wait to start using Subtractimals too!" - Cathy W., K-4 Instructional Technology Coordinator "Teachley's new app, Subtractimals is the perfect follow on to Addimal Adventure! This new subtraction app encourages the same deep mathematical thinking and grows with each student while guiding them in the process of subtraction." - Mauri Dufour, Kindergarten teacher and Apple Distinguished Educator Addresses many K-2nd grade Common Core Math Standards, including -K.OA.A.1 -K.OA.A.2 -K.OA.A.5 -K.NBT.A.1 -1.OA.A.1 -1.OA.B.3 -1.OA.B.4 -1.OA.C.5 -1.OA.C.6 -1.NBT.B.2 -2.OA.B.2 About Teachley: Teachley, LLC is an award-winning edtech company founded by expert teachers with PhDs in cognitive science and funded by the U.S. Department of Education and National Science Foundation. Teachley is transforming teaching and learning by using app data to help schools and districts drive instruction and target interventions. Based on cognitive science research, Teachley’s apps focus on teaching important strategies shown to improve learning within fun and engaging games. www.teachley.com *This app was made possible by the U.S. Department of Education, with funding provided by the Institute of Education Sciences’ SBIR program.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Teachley Subtractimals EDU at none against READING MAGIC 3's 1. Teachley Subtractimals EDU also leads on update cadence (every 4 months vs every 22 months). READING MAGIC 3's advantage is ratings volume (15 vs 2) and iOS requirement (13.7 vs 15.0). On price, rating, ads 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
Both are free to download. READING MAGIC 3 sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Teachley Subtractimals EDU asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for READING MAGIC 3 against 5.0 for Teachley Subtractimals EDU. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: READING MAGIC 3 has 15 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.
READING MAGIC 3 ships an update every 22 months, Teachley Subtractimals EDU every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | READING MAGIC 3 | Teachley Subtractimals EDU |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (15 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 89.5% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 15 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 22 months | Every 4 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.7 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 250 MB | 120 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | PRESCHOOL UNIVERSITY | Teachley |
Customer experience
READING MAGIC 3
Teachley Subtractimals EDU
In-app purchases
READING MAGIC 3
- Deluxe Upgrade$3.99
Teachley Subtractimals EDU
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is READING MAGIC 3 free?
Is Teachley Subtractimals EDU free?
Which has better reviews, READING MAGIC 3 or Teachley Subtractimals EDU?
Do READING MAGIC 3 or Teachley Subtractimals EDU have ads?
Which is updated more often, READING MAGIC 3 or Teachley Subtractimals EDU?
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