Big Math vs Oz Phonics 2

Big Math is an iPad app for elementary school children to practice addition, subtraction, multiplication and division of big numbers. It has both portrait and landscape orientation. It has a dolphin theme, and when the child has finished a set of problems, a dolphin sound (whistle, scream, yell or motorbike) is heard. The child starts by picking what he or she wants to work on in the Settings screen of the app. Settings options include: * Entering a name and message for the child who will be using the app. The name and message show up throughout the app. * Entering the options for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and/or division. For addition, the child can add 2 numbers, either 2 digit or 3 digit, or 3 numbers, either 2 digit or 3 digit. For subtraction, the child can subtract either 2 digit or 3 digit numbers. For multiplication, the child can multiply 2 digit or three digit numbers. For division (long division), the child can divide with a 1 digit, 2 digit, or 3 digit divisor. The app allows regrouping, where the child can "carry" in addition, multiplication, and division or "borrow" in subtraction and division. The child can elect to have problem sets timed. Once the settings are set, the child goes to the area he or she wants to practice (Big Add, Big Subtract, Big Multiply, or Big Divide), selects the number of problems to do, and starts doing Big Math! Dolphin sounds are courtesy of Dolphin Encounters in the Bahamas! Try it and enjoy!

Visit ozphonics.com for free worksheets to accompany this app. Exercises covering US Common Core State Standards: RF/1/2b, RF/1/2c, RF/1/2d, RF/K/1a. Many students will be able to attain these skills at Kindergarten level. Further Grade 1 Common Core skills are covered in our Oz Phonics 3 app. Oz Phonics 2 has 15 sections that revise and reinforce the CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words (cat, sun, fix, etc ) in Oz Phonics 1 and introduce two new sounds, then blends (two individual sounds pronounced smoothly one after the other). As with Oz Phonics 1, it is advisable to work through each of the 15 sections, repeating where necessary. Move on when the student has a good idea – not necessarily a perfect grasp – of each section. PARENT/TEACHER HELP FOR BEGINNING READERS IS INVALUABLE!! 1. Making Words Here we have a phonics touch pad that leads to words. Listen for the word and individual sounds, then tap on the matching tiles. 2. Word Finder Based on the traditional find-a-word game, phonics find-a-word "sounds out" the word when the student correctly locates it. The word is selected by sliding a finger across or down the matching letters. 3. Missing Beginning Sounds It is important for beginning readers to get into the habit of identifying every sound in a word to discourage them from guessing. This activity will help find the beginning sound in CVC words. 4. Missing Middle Sounds As with previous exercise but now with the middle sound missing. Most students find the middle sounds most difficult to identify. 5. Missing End Sounds As with previous exercise but now with the end sound missing. 6. This/That This screen demonstrates the concept of “this” and “that”. “This is near, that is far”. The words "this" and "that" start with the voiced /th/ sound. The letters /th/ can also make the unvoiced sound at the beginning of ‘thin’. 7. a, an, the These three words all contain a lazy little vowel sound like a soft /uh/ - this sound is distinctly different from the short /u/ sound as in 'sun'. It is called the schwa vowel, and makes reading sound very natural, just like normal talking. The schwa vowel is shown in green. This vowel is always unstressed, in contrast to the word or syllable that follows. It is at the beginning of 'ago', 'away', 'along', though these words are not taught at this stage of the Oz Phonics system. Some people use the stressed vowel at times – it is not wrong, but does not sound as natural as the schwa vowel. The lazy vowel is the most common sound in English and an understanding of it is very helpful when it comes to understanding the difficulties of spelling. 8. Sentence Word Order A simple sentence reading and word order exercise. 9. CCVC - Missing 2nd sound 10. Consonant Blends All the blends here are made up of two individual sounds, one after another. Before touching the screen you might like to get the student to try to work out the sound of the blends, based on their letter/sound knowledge from Oz Phonics 1. Oz Phonics 1 covered all the individual sounds here with the exception of the ‘u’ making a /w/ sound in the ‘qu’ blend. Tap on any tile and a word appears at the bottom, beginning with that blend. 11. Consonant Blends Test An exercise the test the student’s knowledge of the blended sounds covered in number 10. 12. Blends Making Words A guided exercise to construct words using the blends covered in 10. and 11 . Note that the 21 blends can by accessed by scrolling the blends list horizontally. 13. Word Test A selection of word lists. You can turn the volume down and get the student to try to read every word, or you can turn the volume up and play the game – “tap on the word you hear”. You can also use these lists for spelling/handwriting exercises where the student uses paper and pen. 14. and 15. CCVC - 1st and 2nd phoneme(sound) deletion exercises. Example question: what word do you get when you take away the /l/ from 'slap'? - answer 'sap'.