Phonological awareness games
In Cut It Out, students isolate individual phonemes by listening to a beginning, middle, or ending sound and choosing a picture of the word containing the sound in that position.
Skills
Phonological awareness
- Blending at the compound word, syllable, onset-rime, and phoneme level
Standards covered
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.2.C — Isolate and pronounce initial, medial vowel, and final sounds (phonemes) in spoken single-syllable words.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.2.D — Isolate and pronounce the initial, medial vowel, and final sounds (phonemes) in three-phoneme (consonant-vowel-consonant, or CVC) words.1 (This does not include CVCs ending with /l/, /r/, or /x/.)
In Gem & Nye, students blend sounds into words, starting with compound words and syllables and then moving to beginning (onset) and ending (rime) sounds and finally individual phonemes, to identify the picture of the word the Soundbots say when blended together.
Skills
Phonological awareness
- Blending at the compound word, syllable, onset-rime, and phoneme level
Standards covered
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.2.B — Orally produce single-syllable words by blending sounds (phonemes), including consonant blends.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.2.B — Count, pronounce, blend, and segment syllables in spoken words.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.2.C — Blend and segment onsets and rimes of single-syllable spoken words.
In Wordbots, students practice segmenting words into their onsets and rimes to determine which Startbots and Endbots form a stimulus word.
Skills
Phonological awareness
- Segment at the compound-word and onset-rime level
Standards covered
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.2.C — Blend and segment onsets and rimes of single-syllable spoken words.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.2.B — Count, pronounce, blend, and segment syllables in spoken words.
In Zoom Boom, students practice rhyming by listening to a word and identifying the picture of the word that rhymes with it.
Skills
Phonological awareness
- Rhyming
Standards covered
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.2.A — Recognize and produce rhyming words.
Phonics Games in Amplify Reading: K–2
In Curioso Crossing, students practice accurate and automatic word recognition by identifying the correct spoken word to guide their Curioso safely throughout the land.
Skills
Phonics – Early Decoding; Advanced Decoding
- Read high-frequency irregular words, regular words, words with inflected endings, two-syllable words, words with prefixes and suffixes, and multi-syllable words
Standards Covered
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.3.B — Associate the long and short sounds with the common spellings (graphemes) for the five major vowels.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.3.B — Decode regularly spelled one-syllable words.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.3.C — Know final -e and common vowel team conventions for representing long vowel sounds.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.3.E — Decode two-syllable words following basic patterns by breaking the words into syllables.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.3.F — Read words with inflectional endings.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.2.3.A — Distinguish long and short vowels when reading regularly spelled one-syllable words.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.2.3.C — Decode regularly spelled two-syllable words with long vowels.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.2.3.D — Decode words with common prefixes and suffixes.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.2.3.F — Recognize and read grade-appropriate irregularly spelled words.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.3.C — Read common high-frequency words by sight (e.g., the, of, to, you, she, my, is, are, do, does).
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.3.G — Recognize and read grade-appropriate irregularly spelled words.
In Food Truck, students practice “chopping” blends, ending sounds (rimes), and whole words into beginning sounds (onsets), ending sounds, and individual letters to create orders for their hungry goblin customers. The difficulty of words and segmenting tasks increases with each level as customers order more sophisticated “dishes.”
Skills
Phonics – Early Decoding
- Decode and spell words with common rime families
Standards Covered
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.3.A — Demonstrate basic knowledge of one-to-one letter-sound correspondences by producing the primary sound or many of the most frequent sounds for each consonant.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.3.B — Associate the long and short sounds with the common spellings (graphemes) for the five major vowels.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.3.D — Distinguish between similarly spelled words by identifying the sounds of the letters that differ.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.2.E — Add or substitute individual sounds (phonemes) in simple, one-syllable words to make new words.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.3.B — Decode regularly spelled one-syllable words.
In Grumpy Goblins, students learn sound-spelling correspondences for consonant digraphs and vowel teams by listening to a sound from a goblin and feeding it the piece of toast with the corresponding letter or combination.
Skills
Phonics – Letter Combinations
- Sound-spelling correspondences for consonant digraphs and vowel teams
Standards Covered
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.3.B — Associate the long and short sounds with the common spellings (graphemes) for the five major vowels.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.3.A — Know the spelling-sound correspondences for common consonant digraphs.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.2.3.B — Know spelling-sound correspondences for additional common vowel teams.
In Hangry Goblins, students practice letter-sound combinations by feeding individual letter sounds, consonant digraphs, blends, and vowel teams to goblins that become more and more “hangry” until they are given the letters that match their demands.
Skills
Phonics – Letter Sound Correspondence
- Sound-spelling correspondences for individual letters and letter combinations
Standards covered
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.3.A — Demonstrate basic knowledge of one-to-one letter-sound correspondences by producing the primary sound or many of the most frequent sounds for each consonant.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.3.B — Associate the long and short sounds with the common spellings (graphemes) for the five major vowels.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.3.A — Know the spelling-sound correspondences for common consonant digraphs.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.2.3.B — Know spelling-sound correspondences for additional common vowel teams.
In Picky Goblins, students practice sound-spelling correspondences for individual letters by listening to a sound from a goblin and feeding it the piece of toast with the corresponding.
Skills
Phonics – Letter-Sound Correspondence
- Sound-Spelling Correspondences for single letters
Standards Covered
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.3.A — Demonstrate basic knowledge of one-to-one letter-sound correspondences by producing the primary sound or many of the most frequent sounds for each consonant.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.3.B — Associate the long and short sounds with the common spellings (graphemes) for the five major vowels.
In Read All About It, students practice reading sentences with words that include the sound-spelling correspondences, word features (e.g., prefixes/suffixes), and phonics rules (e.g., vowel consonant long e, syllable patterns) they learned and practiced in other games.
Skills
Phonics – Early Decoding; Advanced Decoding
- Read grade level text accurately
Standards Covered
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.3 — Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.4 — Read emergent-reader texts with purpose and understanding.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.3 — Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.4 — Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.2.3 — Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.2.4 — Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.
In Rhyme Time, students practice with different rime families (words that end with the same sounds and rhyme) and decode words in these families by swapping the first letter sounds of words while the ending sounds remain constant.
Skills
Phonics – Early Decoding
- Decode words with common rime families
Standards Covered
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.3.A — Demonstrate basic knowledge of one-to-one letter-sound correspondences by producing the primary sound or many of the most frequent sounds for each consonant.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.3.B — Associate the long and short sounds with the common spellings (graphemes) for the five major vowels.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.3.D — Distinguish between similarly spelled words by identifying the sounds of the letters that differ.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.2.E — Add or substitute individual sounds (phonemes) in simple, one-syllable words to make new words.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.3.B — Decode regularly spelled one-syllable words.
In Tongue Twist, students practice with different rime families (words that end with the same sounds and rhyme) and build words by changing the ending sound (rime) while the beginning (onset) sounds, consonant blends, and consonant digraphs remain constant.
Skills
Phonics – Early Decoding
- Decode words with common rime families
Standards covered
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.3.A — Demonstrate basic knowledge of one-to-one letter-sound correspondences by producing the primary sound or many of the most frequent sounds for each consonant.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.3.B — Associate the long and short sounds with the common spellings (graphemes) for the five major vowels.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.3.D — Distinguish between similarly spelled words by identifying the sounds of the letters that differ.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.2.E — Add or substitute individual sounds (phonemes) in simple, one-syllable words to make new words.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.3.B — Decode regularly spelled one-syllable words.
In Word City, students identify and manipulate beginning, middle, and ending letter sounds to assemble word chains that form buildings.
Skills
Phonics – Early Decoding
- Letter-sound correspondence
- Decoding and spelling regular words
Standards Covered
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACYRF.K.3.A — Demonstrate basic knowledge of one-to-one letter-sound correspondences by producing the primary sound or many of the most frequent sounds for each consonant.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACYRF.1.3.A — Know the spelling-sound correspondences for common consonant digraphs.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACYRF.1.3.B — Decode regularly spelled one-syllable words.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACYRF.1.3.C — Know final -e and common vowel team conventions for representing long vowel sounds.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACYRF.2.3.B — Know spelling-sound correspondences for additional common vowel teams.
Microcomprehension Games in Amplify Reading: K–2
In Because This, That, students learn how common text structures give clues to meaning by rearranging sentences to identify cause and effect or problem and solution.
Skills
Microcomprehension
- Text Structure: Organize sentences using sequence/chronological order
Standards covered
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.3 — Describe the connection between two individuals, events, ideas, or pieces of information in a text.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.8 — Identify the reasons an author gives to support points in a text.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.3 — Describe the connection between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.8 — Describe how reasons support specific points the author makes in a text.
In Connect It!, students practice using different types of conjunctions (temporal and causal, for example) to combine two clauses into a coherent sentence.
Skills
Microcomprehension
- Syntactic awareness – connectives
Standards covered
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.2.3 — Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.
In Message in a Bottle, students build their awareness of syntax and the impact word order has on meaning by unscrambling scraps of lost messages to reconstruct sentences.
Skills
Microcomprehension
- Syntactic awareness
Standards covered
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.1.1 — Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.2.1 — Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
In Mind the Gap, comprehension levels are assessed through a modified cloze exercise in which students make selections to fill in the blanks of a text where approximately every seventh word has been omitted.
Skills
Microcomprehension
- Reading fluency
- Syntactic awareness
- Inference
- Comprehension monitoring
Standards covered
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.1 — Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.10 — Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently.
In Show Off, students learn how common text structures give clues to meaning, using cues from illustrations to rearrange sentences in the correct sequential or chronological order.
Skills
Microcomprehension
- Text structure: Organize sentences using problem/solution and cause/effect
Standards covered
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.3 — Describe the connection between two individuals, events, ideas, or pieces of information in a text.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.8 — Identify the reasons an author gives to support points in a text.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.3 — Describe the connection between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.8 — Describe how reasons support specific points the author makes in a text.knowledge of one-to-one letter-sound correspondences by producing the primary sound or many of the most frequent sounds for each consonant.
In Sloppy Scrolls, students practice the art of comprehension monitoring, or ensuring that they continually build and check a mental model of what they read. In the game, students are introduced to a world of enchanted scrolls that have lost their magic: they contain inconsistencies, and no longer make sense. The students must attempt to identify the inconsistencies by tapping the sentences that don’t match the rest of the passage. To increase the challenge of the game, some of the passages are presented without errors.
Skills
Microcomprehension
- Comprehension Monitoring
Standards Covered
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.10 — By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories and poetry, in the grades 2-3 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
In Storyboard, students practice making inferences by completing a storyboard that integrates relevant background knowledge missing from a given sentence.
Skills
Microcomprehension
- Inference
Standards covered
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.1 — With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.K.1 — With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.1 — Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.1 — Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
In Super Match, students work on developing cognitive flexibility, or the ability to track multiple elements simultaneously, by completing interactive puzzles that associate pictures and words across multiple dimensions (e.g., color and category, or starting sounds and category).
Skills
Microcomprehension
- Cognitive flexibility
Standards covered
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.1.5.A — Sort words into categories (e.g., colors, clothing) to gain a sense of the concepts the categories represent.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.1.5.B — Define words by category and by one or more key attributes (e.g., a duck is a bird that swims; a tiger is a large cat with stripes).
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.3 — Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.
In Unmask That, students build their understanding of anaphora, a tool authors use to avoid repetition, by linking pronouns to their antecedents in text.
Skills
Microcomprehension
- Syntactic awareness – anaphora
Standards covered
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.1.1 — Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.2.1 — Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
Comprehension Games in Amplify Reading: K–2
In Best Buddy, students examine character traits to determine which school club provides the best fit for their fictional friends.
Skills
Comprehension – Key Ideas and Details
- Character Traits
Standards Covered
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.3 — Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.3 — Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.
In Book Club, students compare and contrast two books on the same topic or theme to determine which book best meets the needs of a character in the game.
Skills
Comprehension – Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
- Compare and Contrast Texts
Standards covered
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.9 — Identify basic similarities in and differences between two texts on the same topic (e.g., in illustrations, descriptions, or procedures).
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.Rl.2.9 — Compare and contrast the most important points presented by two texts on the same topic.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.9 — Compare and contrast two or more versions of the same story (e.g., Cinderella stories) by different authors or from different cultures.
In Debate-a-Ball, students practice identifying the best evidence to support a claim. Students pick an animal avatar to compete with an automated opponent in debates on familiar topics. To win, students must put forward the best evidence to support each claim more frequently than their opponents. They are taught to identify evidence that is factual and strongly related to the claim.
Skills
Comprehension – Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
- Evaluate evidence
Standards covered
- CSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.8 — Describe how reasons support specific points the author makes in a text.
In Picture This, students complete the illustrations for a story by identifying words that describe its setting, characters, problems, and solutions.
Skills
Comprehension – Key Ideas and Details
- Story Elements/Plot
Standards covered
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.1 — Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.3 — Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.1 — Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.3 — Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.
In Storybox, students choose settings, situations, and solutions to send characters on different adventures, using details and context to help them resolve problems and complete the story.
Skills
Comprehension – Key Ideas and Details
- Story Elements/Plot
Standards covered
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.3 — With prompting and support, identify characters, settings, and major events in a story.
In Tube Tales, students learn the attributes of different genres and practice identifying them in brief texts.
Skills
Comprehension – Craft and Structure
- Text schema
Standards covered
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.10 — By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories and poetry, in the grades 2-3 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.5 — Know and use various text features (e.g., captions, bold print, subheadings, glossaries, indexes, electronic menus, icons) to locate key facts or information in a text efficiently.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.10 — By the end of year, read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, in the grades 2-3 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
In What’s the Big Idea, students examine pictures, picture sequences, and short passages to practice differentiating the main idea from story details.
Skills
Comprehension – Key Ideas and Details
- Main idea
Standards covered
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.K.2 — With prompting and support, identify the main topic and retell key details of a text.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.2 — Identify the main topic and retell key details of a text.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.2 — Identify the main topic of a multiparagraph text as well as the focus of specific paragraphs within the text.
Vocabulary Games in Amplify Reading: K–2
In Punchline!, students learn how words can have multiple meanings by channeling their inner comedian to crack homonym-based jokes.
Skills
Vocabulary
- Multiple-meaning words
Standards covered
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.2.4.A — Use sentence-level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
In Shades of Meaning, students differentiate the nuances in similar words — first by ordering them from weakest to strongest, largest to smallest, or least to greatest; then by putting them into sentences that further clarify their meaning.
Skills
Vocabulary
- Shades of meaning
Standards covered
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.1.5.D — Distinguish shades of meaning among verbs differing in manner (e.g., look, peek, glance, stare, glare, scowl) and adjectives differing in intensity (e.g., large, gigantic) by defining or choosing them or by acting out the meanings.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.2.5.B — Distinguish shades of meaning among closely related verbs (e.g., toss, throw, hurl) and closely related adjectives (e.g., thin, slender, skinny, scrawny).
Amplify Reading: K–2’s Integrated eReader
eReader Overview
Amplify Reading: K–2 has a new library of over 25 fiction and non-fiction ebooks and an adaptive algorithm that unlocks each book at the exact right point in a reader’s development. Moreover, they contain familiar interactions from the games so that students move seamlessly from text-embedded-in-games to games-embedded-in-text, maximizing their sense of growing competency.
The eReader also provides optional supports for its readers. From the settings icon on the title page of each book, students can turn on sentence numbering, read aloud functionality, and reveal words, as well as adjust the text size.
Student Experience
When students are ready for a text, it will appear as one of their quest steps.
When readers first unlock a new book, they read through it without interruption (with read-aloud support if appropriate).
In the second read, students discover embedded activities that repeat the familiar iconography of a game they previously mastered.
At the end of the book, additional activities evaluate students’ comprehension.
Achievements in books are part of the same overall reward system: helping your Curioso grow, just like achievement in skill-building games. Mastery of the content is reflected in the teacher dashboard within the given skill.
How teachers are using Amplify Reading
Independent study/rotation stations
Amplify Reading is a personalized, differentiated program designed to keep students engaged and on task in independent study. The program is most effective when used for a minimum of 45 minutes per week.
Other common uses
We designed the program to be flexible enough to fit any classroom model. Amplify Reading is browser-based, so it works on Chromebooks, iPads, laptops, desktops, and even iPhones. It can also be used at home to extend learning beyond the classroom.
