Picture Packets vs Keywords Understanding Lite
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Picture Packets
This app is part of a comprehensive reading and writing curriculum designed for beginning readers or those who have struggled with literacy. It focuses on transitioning from phonetic sounds to reading words in letters, helping children become independent readers and writers.
- Part of a 14-app reading curriculum
- Aids transition from sounds to letters
- Develops independent reading skills
- Encourages creative writing
- No ads or in-app purchases
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Center for Innovation in Education Picture Packets - Transition Dekodiphukan Description The twelfth 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. Dekodiphukan is a full fledged curriculum. It is a set of specific learning activities, not a set of games. The curriculum’s fourteen apps are all free with no ads - popup or otherwise - included. While the apps may be downloaded all at once and stored in a folder on the iPad, no more than two or three of the apps are used at any one time by the child. Picture Packets - Transition The twelfth of the Fourteen Apps The child begins Picture Packets-Transition at the same time as he or she begins the Writing Worksheets. Despite the lack of specific letter instruction accompanying the Picture Packets, the parent will observe that when his or her child reads the Picture Packets-Transition phrases, the child often attempts to read the words in letters, as opposed to the words in sounds. The sounds above the letters are used when the word they represent is not known. Children use the sounds to check the accuracy of their reading without having to ask a parent or anyone else a word they do not know. It may seem like more should be said about teaching children how to read the letters in the transition phrases, because it is the transition level of the program that produces the most parental anxiety. The concern is that a child may not be able to make the switch from sounds to letters to become what the parent feels is a real reader. But the most difficult learning level has already past. It passed for each child when that child mastered the art of blending two and three sounds into words. The child who can read phrases comfortably and who is at the transition level has already cleared all the hurdles. The child now is merely finishing out the run. Picture Packets - Transition Introduced in tandem with the Writing Worksheets No specific lesson with the letters is given to the child Letter association take place in the Writing Worksheets and Sightword apps
Keywords Understanding Lite
This app offers a sample of speech and language therapy exercises focused on sentence comprehension. It helps users practice following directions, understanding basic concepts, and improving auditory and reading comprehension skills through interactive activities.
- Listening comprehension exercises
- Reading comprehension exercises
- Following directions (one/two-step, temporal, sequential)
- Basic concepts (size, color)
- Vocabulary understanding
- Sample of full app features
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Keywords Understanding LITE is a free version of Keyword Understanding. It gives you a sample of the content you would get in the full version. It allows you to see how the full version works and try it out for free. Keyword Understanding (the full app version) is a professional speech and language therapy app that works on sentence-level reading and listening comprehension. It also targets the understanding of vocabulary, basic concepts and the ability to follow directions of increasing keyword length. WHO IS KEYWORD UNDERSTANDING FOR? - Children with reduced attention and auditory processing difficulties - Children with language delay or disorder - Children with autism and language comprehension difficulties - Adults with aphasia and reading or spoken language comprehension difficulties after a stroke or traumatic brain injury - Adults with cognitive-communication difficulties due to stroke or brain injury WHAT LANGUAGE AREAS DOES KEYWORD UNDERSTANDING TARGET? FOLLOWING DIRECTIONS: Following directions is important in our everyday lives. In order to understand and follow directions, one needs a strong knowledge of basic concepts, vocabulary and the ability to process and retain spoken or written information in memory. BASIC CONCEPTS, ONE AND TWO STEP DIRECTIONS: Keyword Understanding works on the basic concepts of size and color as well as one and two-step directions of increasing length and difficulty e.g - “Touch the red balloon” - “Touch the small green umbrella” - “Touch the yellow chair and the blue candle” - “Touch the big pink cupcake and the small green glasses”. TEMPORAL DIRECTIONS (BEFORE/AFTER): Keyword Understanding includes Temporal Directions tasks that target the child or adult’s ability to follow directions that include the concepts 'Before/After' in a variety of positions in the sentence. e.g - “Before you touch the t-shirt, touch the phone” - “After you touch the lamp, touch the vase” - “Touch the flower before you touch the box” - “Touch the sock after you touch the bucket” SEQUENTIAL DIRECTIONS (FIRST…THEN): The app also includes Sequential Directions that target the child or adult’s ability to follow directions that include the concepts 'First ... Then' in the sentence. e.g - “First touch the ladder, then touch the bike”. FEATURES OF KEYWORDS UNDERSTANDING LITE This FREE version, Keywords Understanding LITE allows you to sample each activity in the full version but it only includes 6 objects. The FULL version includes many more allowing for much more variety in each activity and many more trials. The full version also allows you to select and deselect vocabulary items in the Word List. 3 modes: - Listening Comprehension (Audio Only): Match the spoken direction to the pictures - Reading Comprehension (Text Only): Match the written direction to the pictures - Listening and Reading Comprehension (Audio and Text): Match the spoken and written directions to the pictures - Bright, colorful, real-life photos of common objects - 6 objects in five different colors and sizes. The full version has a large variety allowing for thousands of possible following directions tasks - 3 trials in each activity. The full version allows for up to 50 trials per session. - A comprehension check activity to find out where comprehension breakdown occurs - Audio feedback for correct answers only, incorrect answers only or both - Graded tasks of increasing difficulty - User profiles and result history - Automatic tracking of scores - Optional results summary via email - iOS voices (automatically selected based on your region). Download an enhanced iOS voice for best quality. All Aptus Speech Therapy apps participate in the 50% off Volume Purchase Program, so you can buy in bulk at a discounted price. Are you looking for a different kind of speech therapy app? Check out our full range of speech and language therapy apps for adults and children on the AppStore or on our website.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is device support: Keywords Understanding Lite at 3 against Picture Packets's 1. On rating, ratings volume, update cadence 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
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Picture Packets against 5.0 for Keywords Understanding Lite. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 3 respectively.
Picture Packets ships an update every 69 months, Keywords Understanding Lite every 68 months. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Picture Packets | Keywords Understanding Lite |
|---|---|---|
| Price | — | Free — better |
| Rating | 5.0 (2 ratings) | 5.0 (3 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 3 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 69 months | Every 68 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 28 MB | 60 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Bob Baratta-Lorton | Aptus Speech and Language Therapy Limited |
Customer experience
Picture Packets
Keywords Understanding Lite
In-app purchases
Picture Packets
No in-app purchases
Keywords Understanding Lite
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Picture Packets free?
Is Keywords Understanding Lite free?
Which has better reviews, Picture Packets or Keywords Understanding Lite?
Do Picture Packets or Keywords Understanding Lite have ads?
Which is updated more often, Picture Packets or Keywords Understanding Lite?
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