The FUNetix® 12 Hour Reading App is a “Learn-to-Read” app that is the culmination of 18 years of working to battle the illiteracy crisis in America. At the American Youth Literacy Foundation (AYLF), hundreds of volunteers have worked tirelessly over the past year to bring this “onramp to literacy,” to every child, for free, so they can be reading at a 2nd grade level in just 12 hours!
The app is based on a patented curriculum that reduces the time it takes to learn how to read, to just hours. Tested and proven for more than 18 years with thousands of children of diverse cultures, backgrounds, ethnicities and socioeconomic status, the app re-engages the phonemic awareness and phonics components of teaching English literacy, using a diacritic pronunciation approach that aligns with the, now understood, neuroscience of how the brain processes, stores, understands, codifies and decodes written language.
This is a phonics-based reading app that teaches all 44 sounds of the English language through a simulated, 1-on-1 tutoring experience. FUNetix uses a science-based, patented way to teach reading by “showing the sounds” of words. Using diacritics (pictures to help represent sounds) children can independently sound out new words they haven’t seen in print before. The app is comprised of 40 easy, gamified, fully narrated that will have your child reading confidently in just 12 hours of engagement.
Formats/platforms used:
The FUNetix 12 Hour Reading App is available in the App Store, Google Play and Amazon Kindle App store. All you have to do is download the FUNetix app and play it with your child, or let them play it by themselves; or sign up to be paired with one of their “distance learning” high school or middle school tutors for FREE, and they will walk through the app with your child, who can be reading at a 2nd grade level in just 12 hours!
Primary website URL:
Problem Solved:
Learning to read is a long process that can be very difficult for some children. People become skilled readers by learning that written text is a code for speech sounds. The primary task for a beginning reader is to crack the code. FUNetix has developed a quicker and easier way for children to learn how to crack the code of reading, and become fluent readers!
Age or grade range:
For kids between ages 5-9 who are either "reading ready" or struggling to read or cannot read at all.
Core, supplemental, or special needs?
FUNetix gives a name and a symbol to each of the 44 sounds in the English language. Even though, in theory, the letters in the alphabet should match up to a sound in the English language, that's often not the case. Many letters can represent more than one sound and many sounds in English don't have their own dedicated letter. This creates a gap between the 44 identified sounds of English and the 26 letters of the alphabet. FUNetix solves this problem by filling in the gap for kids and showing them ALL of the hidden sounds in words, taking the guesswork out and making it logical and easy. Teaching the 44 sounds of English (when listed out this is called the Phonibet, an alphabet of sounds)) is the crucial step for the "reading brain" that ONLY FUNetix delivers. That's why it's so easy and works so fast. Can be a primary tool or a supplemental tool for classrooms. Helps special needs children by making learning to read much more logical and easy.
Subject or topic:
FUNetix teaches the basic principles of reading first, using letters and sound symbols in a logical, phonetic way; then it teaches English using the time tested “Diacritic Method,” as applied to English with the patented FUNetix curriculum.
Lesson time needed:
Students need about 30- 40 minutes, two to three times per week.
Pricing model:
It is free for download on Google & Apple store and also on Amazon Kindle.
Further, they also offer free tutoring to students who wish to sign up. They are paired with middle & high school tutors who are trained to use the Funetix app.
There are no in-app purchases, logins or signups required.
Additional services needed?
Nothing extra needed.
What makes FUNetix unique?
Other phonics curricula teach phonemic awareness by playing rhyming games or using audio cues to break words apart (segmentation). Only FUNetix names every sound and uses an audio/visual naming system to identify EVERY English sound. These three cues (sound, pictogram, name) working together, exponentially accelerate a child's grasp and retention of phonemic awareness and phonological knowledge of their spoken language, preparing them for mapping letters to sounds and decoding.
FUNetix uses advanced research, allowing your child to learn how to blend and decode phonetic English within the first 4 hours. Over the next 4 hours, they are instructed how to apply all 44 letters and sound symbols as a "diacritic" pronunciation guide to all English words. With another 4 hours of practice, children are reading at a 2nd-grade level – all in all totaling about 12 hours of instruction and consumption time.
FUNetix instills confidence in children from the very first minute. The app is so simple to understand that kids "get it" right away. When the narrator says, "the letter 'm' says /mmm/” and “the Eagle says /ee/,” kids understand that when you blend those sounds, it makes the word "me." We call this the "Blending Breakthrough." Once kids have gotten past the blending breakthrough, it's almost impossible to STOP them from learning how to read!
Characteristics:
When your child starts the app they will experience a story about a koala, an elephant, a dog, a cat, a chameleon and a unicorn who go on a journey to learn a secret code and to find the hidden treasure.
In order to find the hidden treasure, your child will be invited to learn a super easy, child friendly “secret code” that looks totally different from English. It’s a phonetic English code called Kindercode/21E®, and it has 19 of the English consonants like B, C, and D, etc. But it also has 25 additional “sound symbols” that are super easy to learn, like the Star, the Acorn & the Eagle.
Within 1 hour or less, they will be reading and understanding the 21E Secret Code. Within 4 hours they will be using the 21E symbols as a pronunciation guide to sound out English words and sentences, sort of like using “training wheels” to learn how to ride a bike.
Within 8 hours, your child will be reading stories and decoding normal, everyday speech, presented as both fiction and non-fiction content. And during hours 9-12, the app starts to take the training wheels off. But the FUNetix “Magic Hat” button will still be there for “new” words and words your child may know, but has never seen in print before.
Here’s what users are saying:
“As an educational tool, this app works wonders for early readers! I can attest to that fact because I used to teach the FUNetix curriculum to struggling young readers, in person, and now I can use the app as a tool - which makes the whole learning process more interactive and fun with the student! I highly recommend this app!"
--Keith K.
I want my child to continue using the app to improve his reading skills and to keep practicing what he has already learned before the school year.”
--D.L.S
“I've had the privilege of meeting with R. Kali Woodward and his team at American Youth Literacy Foundation Inc. I was introduced to the FUNetix app developed for youth literacy. FUNetix is a game changer for young students struggling to read. FUNetix is free on iTunes & Google Play, remote learning support is available from volunteers, and the modules speak for themselves. Please share this, check it out, download the app, or contact AYLF with questions.”
--Nichole M.
