Ooka Island, Where Children Become Confident Readers, Brings Its Learn to Read Program to the U.S.
Ooka Island, Where Children Become Confident Readers, Brings Its Learn to Read Program to the U.S. Children In Pre-K to Grade 2 Who Visit Ooka Island for 30 minutes, 3 Times a Week, Learn to Read in One Year.
Charlottetown, Canada, January 5, 2016 (Newswire.com) - Ooka Island, the game based reading program that helps children in Pre-K through 2nd Grade become confident readers, announces its U.S. launch. Developed in Canada in 2008, and based on over 25 years of research, this robust new app teaches mastery of the five foundational reading skills - phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency and reading for meaning or comprehension - through 80 hours of educational games and 85 eBooks, all wrapped in an exciting 24-level adventure.
Ooka Island provides an engaging and effective platform for building fundamental reading skills. On the island, children are heroes tasked with finding missing books and helping the Ooka Elves learn how to read. Kids will learn skills through educational games like summiting Alphabet Mountain or spelunking in the Cave of Sounds, and by reading eBooks designed to engage and teach children how to read. Every 30-minute visit to the island follows a unique learning flow cycle: 20 minutes of guided play, followed by 10 minutes of reading a new eBook in the Popcorn Library, then ending with free play before the cycle begins again.
What is truly unique about Ooka Island is that it ensures that little learners take each of the 6,695 steps on the path towards becoming a confident reader. Individualized progress is continually analyzed to plot a personalized path so that each child learns at their own pace and masters the necessary skills before progressing to the next level. When children spend time on the island for 30 minutes, 3 times a week for a year, they will complete the program reading at a 2nd grade level. Studies have shown the program yields tangible, positive results within as little as 13 hours.
Ooka Island combines 25 years of Dr. Kay MacPhee’s extensive research and scientifically-proven teaching methods with adaptive technology. MacPhee is the creator of SpellRead, the scientifically-based intervention program for struggling older readers, which is ranked the #1 program for developing comprehension by the Institute of Education Sciences’ (IES) What Works Clearinghouse.
Ooka Island also sends parents weekly progress reports for a detailed picture of where their child is excelling or having difficulty along with recommendations. This actionable information empowers parents to maximize their child’s learning off the island and to have meaningful, productive dialogue with teachers. The Ooka Island Reading Team is also available via email or chat for questions.
Ooka Island is offered in subscription tiers ranging from a 1-month recurring subscription for $9.99 to a 1-year program for $89.99 and 1-year program + paperback books gift bundle for $149.99. Ooka Island is supported on the web, iPad & iPhone and coming soon to Android. Visit OokaIsland.com for more information.
ABOUT OOKA ISLAND
Ooka Island is where children Pre-K to Grade 2 become confident readers, so they can read to learn and take on the world. Founded on 25 years of research, Ooka Island is a game based reading program that uses adaptive learning technology to personalize each child’s learning path within the program and sends weekly progress reports to parents. Its scientifically-proven reading concepts were ranked #1 by the Institute of Education Sciences. Through 80 hours of educational games and 85 eBooks, a child can start with no reading skills and graduate one year later at a 2nd grade reading level. Ooka Island, based in Canada, was launched in Canada in 2014 and expanded to the US in 2015. Visit OokaIsland.com for more information.