Read With Me! vs Decoding Chart
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Read With Me!
This app helps children learn to read naturally during story time by displaying words dynamically, one at a time. Parents can customize the word display duration and the number of words shown per sentence to tailor the experience to their child's needs. It uses speech recognition to display the words from a dictated sentence on screen.
- Dynamic word display
- Customizable word duration
- Speech recognition integration
- Picture book library
- Child-friendly font
- Progressive learning
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The goal of the Read With Me! is to embrace your child’s ability to learn to read naturally during your normal picture book reading time. The words are presented dynamically one at a time in large type and stay on the screen long enough for the child to attend to the words and eventually learn to read them. This experience allows your child to learn to read naturally in the same manner that they learn to understand what you say. To begin, just search our library for a physical book you have available to read. Select this book from our library by touching the start icon. Then go to the Settings to allow the reading experience to be uniquely tailored to your child. For each recorded sentence, choose the number of words that your child will see, as well as the duration for each word. The default settings are reasonable for most children, and you will quickly determine the optimal settings that seem appropriate for your child. The printed text that the child sees has typical punctuation and is presented in an easy-to-read type font. When you dictate a sentence from the book, your child can now see the printed words from the book on the screen. This application carries out automated speech recognition under your command. For best accuracy, you will want to read clearly and with emphasis as you usually do with your child. You activate this recognition by touching the screen before you begin reading a sentence from the book, and touch it again when you have finished reading the sentence. The words from the sentence you just read will then appear on the screen. The words will occur one at a time on the screen, and will follow their sequential order in the sentence (even though some of the earlier words in the sentence might be missing). This method of presentation has been proven to be a valid method of reading text, and it allows your child to focus on each word separately at their center of attention. The printed text that the child sees has typical punctuation and is presented in a large easy-to-read type font. Engaging Your Child Your child is usually engaged in your shared reading times, and it offers an ideal opportunity for giving them the opportunity to learn to read naturally. Our observations have shown that children find the written words as part and parcel of shared reading, especially if it is begun early. Our application is more interactive and somewhat more demanding than normal reading but as parents or caregivers you are starting your child’s road to literacy. The screen accompaniment is necessary because the words in picture books are usually difficult to read because of their small size and fancy fonts. In addition, children look at the pictures and not the words. We believe that learning to read in this manner instills in your child a much more positive attitude about reading and will set him or her on the pathway to reading to learn. You can see the books in our library here. http://psyentificmind.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/ReadWithMeBookList.pdf If you have questions email dominic.massaro at gmail.com For video instructions and demonstrations of the program, see http://psyentificmind.com/videos-2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3R3pGTYwa7E&feature=youtu.be http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5A6dHp-qMg&feature=youtu.be
Decoding Chart
This app is part of a reading and writing curriculum designed for beginning readers or those who have struggled with literacy. It helps children transition from recognizing sounds to understanding letter spellings, using color-coded charts to guide them.
- Sound-to-letter decoding
- Color-coded spelling guidance
- Frequency-based spelling order
- Part of a comprehensive reading program
- Supports beginning readers
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Center for Innovation in Education Decoding Chart - Flip Dekodiphukan Description The tenth of the fourteen apps that comprise the Baratta-Lorton Reading Program. The Reading Program is a reading and writing curriculum for beginning readers and any child who has already experienced difficulty in learning to read. 99% unique – 100% effective - 100% free Background for the fourteen apps The Baratta-Lorton Reading Program also known as Dekodiphukan (pronounced decode if you can) was developed by the Center for Innovation in Education whose many other offerings include Mathematics Their Way, the first non-traditional math curriculum adopted in by the State of California. Dekodiphukan has been in use in classrooms across the United States and Canada since 1985. The Program has been used to teach thousands of children to read and to write regardless of background or supposed lack of reading readiness. To date, no child using the program in a classroom setting has ever failed to learn to read or to write. This Dekodiphukan reading and writing curriculum is now a series of fourteen apps plus a parent-guide for the iPad that, within a period of six months to a year (or occasionally a bit longer for some special needs children), will enable every child using it to read and to write. Reading with enjoyment. Writing creatively. Decoding Chart - FLIP The tenth of the Fourteen Apps The Decoding Chart converts words written in sounds to words written in letters. It is the vehicle for transitioning the child from sounds to letters. Its use is introduced once the child can comfortably read and write phrases. The Chart contains the pictures of all forty-four sounds arranged in the same rows and in the same order within each row as they are in the Stamping app. Beneath each sound picture are various ways that sound may be spelled. The spellings listed beneath each sound appear in order of frequency of occurrence in the words which beginning readers are most likely to encounter. Each of the spellings that appear beneath the sound pictures are color coded. The first spelling of each sound is coded white. If a second spelling is listed, it is coded yellow. Third spellings are red, fourth spellings are blue, fifth are green, sixth are brown, and seventh are purple. The color codings indicate to the child which spelling is to be used to write the letters for a word. The Decoding Chart does not contain all possible spellings for each sound. It does, however, contain the spellings that appear in ninety-five to ninety-eight percent of the words the child will encounter while learning to read and write. A parent guide to how to use the Decoding Chart is included in The Guide instructions for the Writing Worksheets. Two Apps and the Decoding Chart Download Chart – Levels The Decoding Chart-Levels app displays the chart in five different levels, each level matching one of the five levels of the Reading Program. Chart - Flip The Decoding Chart-Flip app displays half the chart on one side and half on the other side of a flip view. Download While the Decoding Chart is available in two app formats and moving between apps is possible with a double-click of the Home button on the iPad, the double-clicking process may not be easily managed by the child. A more child-accessible version of the Decoding Chart can be downloaded from the Center’s website and printed out. Decoding Chart Converts words in sounds to words in letters Introduced once the child can comfortably read phrases Available in two different app forms Also downloadable from the Center’s website Instructions for its use are included in The Guide’s Writing Worksheet instructions
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Decoding Chart at 3.5 against Read With Me!'s 1.0. Read With Me!'s advantage is update cadence (every 4 months vs every 71 months) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and ads 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Decoding Chart holds the better App Store score, 3.5 against 1.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 2 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.
Read With Me! ships an update every 4 months, Decoding Chart every 71 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Read With Me! | Decoding Chart |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 1.0 (1 ratings) | 3.5 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 2 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months — better | Every 71 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPad |
| Requires iOS | 9.0 — better | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 36 MB | 9 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Dominic Massaro | Bob Baratta-Lorton |
Customer experience
Read With Me!
Decoding Chart
In-app purchases
Read With Me!
No in-app purchases
Decoding Chart
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Read With Me! free?
Is Decoding Chart free?
Which has better reviews, Read With Me! or Decoding Chart?
Do Read With Me! or Decoding Chart have ads?
Which is updated more often, Read With Me! or Decoding Chart?
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