The other day I downloaded another Grasshopper Apps app. Little Solver targets analogies, not verbal analogies, but rather shape figural analogies. The analogies start out simple but quickly advance to analogies that I found challenging. Good spatial recognition skills are helpful. At first glance, one might question its usability for speech paths. I thought about this and it occurred to me that this app could be used to elicit language.
The app presents analogies in four square fashion with the blank-is-to-blank visuals in the two upper quadrants. The two bottom quadrants have the blank-is-to-? visuals. At the most basic level, this app could be used to elicit conversation about shapes, similarities and differences. At at more advanced level, the child could explain what picture, among the four choices works best to complete the analogy and why. Discussion could ensue as to why an different choice may be better. This type of discussion would encourage the child to use reasoning skills, comparing, contrasting and descriptive abilities.
There are two scoring features. At the top of each analogy screen are three red hearts. If an incorrect answer is selected, a heart turns gray. It is possible to return a heart to red by correctly answering a set number of analogies correctly. The game stops after the three hearts have turned gray, at which point a score screen appears. The total score is given as a percentage. Below the total score are the levels by number and name, the number of attempts at each level and the accuracy at each level. It is also possible to retrieve scores by tapping on the pause button on the screen of every analogy. The scoring is for the existing game only. One cannot input names to track progress over time.
Cost: Free for a limited time
Ages: 6 to adult
Rating: ++++
Developer: Grasshopper Apps
Website: www.grasshopperapps.com
Analogies app
About the Author: Mirla G. Raz
I am an Arizona licensed speech pathologist and am certified by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. I have been in private practice for over 30 years working extensively with children who have speech and language problems. I received my Master’s degree from Seton Hall University in New Jersey. After graduation, I decided that I need sun and warmth and so headed south to work for the Volusia County Schools in Daytona Beach Florida. The next year I moved to California where I was offered a job working for the Los Angeles Unified School District in the severe oral language handicapped program. My next move was to UCLA where I worked in the department of Clinical Linguistics at the Neuropsychiatric Institute. In 1981, I moved to Arizona where I went into private practice. It gives me tremendous satisfaction to know that I have helped hundreds of children gain normal speech and language skills.
