About Word Safari
Word Safari picks up where simple three-letter words stop. Children meet the letter pairs that make one sound — sh in ship, ch in chick, th in moth, ck in sock, ng in king — and the vowel teams that trip up early readers: ee in sheep, oo in moon, ai in snail, oa in goat. Every word has its own original picture and is read aloud. The four stages build up from finding one missing letter, to hearing which letter pair is in a word, to spelling five-letter words from letter fruits on a vine (with one spare letter to make children think), to reading words and short questions on their own. Wrong letters are chosen so they never make another real word, so a child's answer is either right or clearly not. Each word found brings a jungle animal out of hiding, and the Picture Dictionary lets children tap any picture to hear it and see its spelling.
What children learn
- Know the common consonant digraphs sh, ch, th, ck and ng
- Read and spell words with the vowel teams ee, oo, ai and oa
- Segment four- and five-letter words into sounds and spell them in order
- Read words that look alike (boat and goat) carefully, using every letter
- Build vocabulary and sort words into categories by meaning
Tips for parents
- Point out that sh, ch and th are “two letters, one sound” — a simple phrase children remember.
- Hunt for letter pairs in books and on packaging: the ee in “green”, the oo in “food”.
- In Jungle Reading, let your child try before tapping Help. Reading the word themselves is the point.
- If spelling feels hard, say the word slowly together and tap one fruit per sound.
- Ten minutes is plenty. Finish on a word your child got right.
Tips for teachers
- Practises Common Core RF.1.3a (consonant digraphs), RF.1.3c and RF.2.3b (vowel teams), and RF.1.3b (decode one-syllable words).
- Use Sound Spotting as a whole-class listening check: pupils show sh, ch or th on mini whiteboards before you tap.
- Jungle Reading's look-alike options (boat and goat, king and ring) are a good prompt for discussing careful decoding.
- Follows Word Builder for pupils who are secure with CVC words.
Word Safari FAQ
How is Word Safari different from Word Builder?
Word Builder covers three-letter CVC words like cat and pig. Word Safari is the next step: digraphs, vowel teams and longer words with blends, plus reading for meaning.
What age is it for?
Ages 6 to 8, roughly first and second grade — after children can sound out simple three-letter words.
Does it need sound?
Sound helps most in Sound Spotting, where children listen for a letter pair. The other stages show the picture and the word on screen, so they can be played with the sound off.
Why do some wrong letters never appear?
The game avoids wrong letters that would spell another real word — for example it won't offer “a” in d_um, because “dam” is a word. That way a child is never marked wrong for a real word.
Is it free and safe?
Yes. There's no sign-up, chat or personal information, and progress is saved only in your browser.