Short Worlds 1.0 iPhone App

Short Words is an iPhone App appropriate for children just learning to read and explore the worlds of words. It requires that an older person help the child by reading and explaining word definitions, but even a very young person can experience the joy of making words simply by pressing one of the letters and watching it change and create a whole new word.
The Short Words app only works on iPhones and iTouch. View in App Store. (You might not be able to view the iTunes store if you don't have a mac)

Short Word screen dump showing
  • The Word Area Simple words in the C-V-C (Consonant-Vowel-Consonant) pattern are displayed at the top. Pressing a letter 'advances' that letter to create a new word. For example, 'bed' can be changed into 'fed','bid' or 'bet' depending on which of the three letters is pressed. If no new word can be created by changing the selected letter a message is displayed.
  • The Definition Area Simple definitions for the currently displayed word are show here. Young readers may need a more experienced reader to help them read the definitions.
  • Next Clicking the Next button caused the rightmost letter to advance. If it advances past 'z' without creating a new word the middle letter is advanced. In turn, if the middle letter advances past 'u' without creating a new word the leftmost letter is advanced.
  • Random Clicking the Random button causes a 'one-armed-bandit' style display while a new random word is created.


This simple little app is a great way to introduce very early readers to word familes. Have them guess what word will appear next! Please remember one of the most significant contributions you can do for a young child is to read to them and foster an interest in books and reading in general.

About the programmer
Kevin Neelands lives in Gainesville, Florida (home of the fightin' gators) and gets his kicks writing silly little programs.