Zupzi Read is for ages 3 to 8, and the lesson changes with the age a grown-up enters, in three bands: 3 to 4, 5 to 6 and 7 to 8 (no age set counts as 5 to 6). The youngest skip Blend, Word chain and Listen and build, and get small blocks with breaks; from age 5 come the sound slider, word chains and building words; from age 6, the Reading check with a grown-up may say a word needs help. Age isn't the level: a short reading game suggests where to start.
- Ages 3 to 8
- 3 age bands
- Where to start: a reading game
The three age bands in the app
| Age | Steps in the lesson | Pace | Listening, if allowed | Home screen |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ages 3 to 4 | Warm up, Hear it find it, Hear it write it, New sound, Heart word, and the book or Sound game. No Blend, Word chain or Listen and build. | Small blocks with a “Great job!” break: “Keep going” or “Stop for now”. | Only encourages; never says a word needs help. | “With a grown-up” sits at the top of the home screen: “Best with a grown-up at this age.” |
| Ages 5 to 6 | All eight kinds of steps, with the sound slider, word chains and building words. | One block, start to finish. | Only encourages in lessons and books; in the Reading check, from 6, it may say a word needs help. | Three doors: My map, My books and Together. |
| Ages 7 to 8 | All eight kinds of steps. | One block, start to finish. | Only encourages in lessons and books; in the Reading check, it may say a word needs help when it is quite sure (twice in a row). | Three doors: My map, My books and Together. |
No age set counts as 5 to 6 for the lesson and as under 6 for listening. Each step also has fewer items for the youngest.
At 3 and 4
Lessons skip Blend, Word chain and Listen and build: they have the Warm up, finding and tracing letters, the new sound with its friend, heart words and a book or the Sound game. They come in small blocks with a “Great job!” break, and the home screen suggests doing them with a grown-up. See before reading: playing with sounds.
At 5 and 6
All eight kinds of steps join in, with the sound slider, word chains and building words. Lessons and books only encourage; from age 6, the Reading check with a grown-up may say a word needs help, and only when it is quite sure.
At 7 and 8
All eight kinds of steps. A child who already reads can start further along: the reading game suggests a level, and a grown-up can choose “Start at level”.
What the school standards expect, by grade
In the United States, the Common Core reading standards start in kindergarten. For foundational reading, kindergarten covers hearing the sounds in spoken words, letter sounds and the first common words; 1st grade adds digraphs, final -e, vowel teams and word endings; 2nd grade adds more vowel teams, prefixes and suffixes. Each page lists the standard item by item and where it is in Zupzi Read's program: kindergarten, 1st grade, 2nd grade. Source: Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts, Reading Standards: Foundational Skills (K–5) (CCSSO, 2010; PDF published 2022).
Where to start, at any age
A grown-up answers a few questions (whether your child knows the letters, whether your child can read words) and the app suggests a starting lesson; the reading game can refine it and be played again any time. In Grown-ups, “Start at level” moves a reader to the first lesson of any level, and “Easier” and “Harder” move one lesson with one tap. The app also moves ahead by itself when your child shows mastery.
Questions
Can a 3-year-old learn to read with Zupzi Read?
Zupzi Read starts at 3 with listening: sounds in spoken words, letter names and first sounds, in small blocks, best with a grown-up. It makes no promise about when a child will read.
My 7-year-old already reads a little. Will it start too easy?
The reading game suggests where to start, and skills your child already has are skipped as they show them. You can also choose “Start at level” in Grown-ups.
Does the age change what listening says?
Yes. Under 6, or with no age set, listening only encourages and never says a word needs help. From 6, only the Reading check with a grown-up may say a word needs help.
More about Zupzi Read
- Scope and sequence
- How a lesson works
- Decodable books
- An app that listens
- With a grown-up
- Wi-Fi, ads and purchases
- The method, with sources
Or follow the path, topic by topic:
