Ben and Betty (Starter Level – Book 1)

What is it

Ben the rabbit helps your child learn about phonics in a series of fun games. Choose a letter from A-G to hear it out loud, and see how the lowercase and uppercase letter is drawn through a simple animation. There are activities for each letter which helps the child learn phonics within words and sentences – such as collecting apples, spotting the odd ant out and finding the letter in a word. This app is inline with the first book in the Starter Level series featuring Ben and Betty. It is aimed at ages 2.5  -4 years. We have also reviewed the Ben and Betty Starter Level Pack (containing 4 activity books and a CD-ROM: ideal for a pre-school or nursery setting).

This app is intended to be used with a parent or teacher working with the child (as such you will see the instruction in writing on the screen) this is a great way to support a young child learning phonics.

What our experts think

This app introduces children to phonics in different contexts – on their own, and within words and sentences – which can help them learn how to blend the phonemes into words. An animation shows how uppercase and lowercase letters are written, helping children become familiar with this shape and process. There are also mini games such as tap the odd one out, which requires children to think logically about which object does not fit in a category.

It would be even better if...

The app could have larger text and easier navigation to make it easier to use.