Prep Positions {App Review & Giveaway}

How much do you love Smarty Ears apps?  They are just absolutely fantastic (and no, I was not paid to say that).  I am thrilled to bring you a review of another one of their great apps: Prep Positions, and I have a FREE copy of the app to give away...
to one lucky reader!

I always have students with prepositions goals and am looking for new ways to get the practice in.  The PrepPositions App is a great practice tool that makes the "work" more fun, which my students love.  This app also has a cute circus theme that is appropriate for older students as well as younger students (if the background is too "busy" for you, it can be changed in the settings).

Adding Students
Adding students is very easy.  You just click on "Add New" and enter the student's name.  They also get to choose a fun avatar (or you can take their picture).  My students LOVE the avatar choices.

Getting Started
To begin practicing, select the student (or students) and click on "play." The app will prompt you to select or adjust the level each student is working on. You can modify the students level by clicking on "Modify" under their picture.  This will bring up a menu where you can adjust their level or select which prepositions you would like them to work on at each level (you must choose at least 2 preposition targets on each level).

 You can also bring up a menu where you can select which target items you want to include in the practice session.

When you're finished, hit the check mark and start practicing.

Practice Time
A picture will be shown with a sentence in which the preposition is missing.  The student is provided with 3 choices of preposition to fill in the sentence.  The student will drag the preposition into the blank in the sentence.  If they are correct, they will hear a musical sound and the next item will appear.  If they are incorrect, the word they chose will move back to bottom and they can choose again.

 A feature I love about this app is that there is an option for the child to record themselves saying the sentence after each trial. This feature can be turned on/off in the settings.  If turned on, after the child selects the correct preposition, they will be prompted to say the sentence themselves.  You can record them saying the sentence so they can play back and hear themselves.   

The app will keep track of how many correct responses the child has.  If the answer was correct on the first try, a star at the top of the screen will fill in.  If you are playing with more than one student, it will automatically switch back and forth between them, keeping track of each student's progress as they go.

 The settings can also be accessed during play by clicking on the settings icon in the top left corner.  A menu will pop up on the left side of the screen allowing you to adjust settings without having to go all the way back to the home screen. 

When a student has completed a level, a screen will pop up asking if you want them to do additional practice at this level, or move on to the next.

Game
As the students play, they earn balls for correct responses.  After they earn 5 balls, they have the opportunity to play a game.  The game is simple, yet fun.  The students shoot a ball out of a cannon and see how far they can get it to go. It's very basic, but I found myself engaged in it, trying to beat my high score.  Pretty fun!

Report Cards
A report card can be accessed for each student from the home screen.  The report card can be created to show how the student has progressed on each level, during a particular session, or on each preposition.  The progress can be shared by email, printing, or you can send it to the Smarty Ears Reporting Center, if you have that app.

Summary
PrepPositions is a wonderful app for practicing a variety of different prepositions.  The pictures are crisp and the app is fun.  This will be a great app for students who need extra practice using prepositions in sentences.  I can also see this being used as a screener when I need to see if a student struggles with any particular preposition.  Being able to select which prepositions you want each student to work on is a huge plus.  However, I would not use this app with young students working on very basic use of prepositions.  They don't need to be readers to use the app, but I you'll want to make sure they can understand what each sentence/picture is trying to show.  I think it would be best for grades 2 and up.  I even think you could use with junior high age students because it doesn't seem too "childish." 

Overall, this is a great app.  I know I will use it a lot.  Smarty Ears Apps has done it again!  Great work!  You can find PrepPositions in the App Store for $19.99.  You can also enter below to win a FREE copy of the app (thank you Smarty Ears for the giveaway code).

***Note: I was not paid to write this review.  These are my personal opinions based on my use of the PrepPositions app.  Smarty Ears did provide me with a copy of the app so I could review it, but no other compensation was provided. 



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