Syllable Stomp
Hearing the beats in a word: how many stomps in koala?
How it plays
The voice asks "How many stomps in koala?" and shows the animal. Your child taps one, two, three or four emu footprints. A right answer stomps the word out, a beat at a time ("Ko… a… la! Three stomps!"). A wrong one stomps it out too, then asks again, so every tap teaches. Every word is an Australian animal from the site. It starts with one and two beats, then three, and kookaburra's four comes last. Stomping along out loud helps.
What it's for
Hearing the beats in a word: how many stomps in koala?. It adapts as your child plays: after a few rounds that go well it steps up a little, and after a couple of hard ones it quietly steps back. The level number only ever goes up.
There is no score to lose and no way to fail. A wrong move is met with a gentle nudge, and a level ends when it's won.
Away from the screen: Name stomps
About two minutes, with things most homes have.
- Stomp out your child's name together, one stomp for each beat: Ol-i-ver is three.
- Now the names of everyone at home, and the pets.
- Try a long one: hip-po-pot-a-mus!
Three questions to ask while they play
- How many stomps in your name?
- Which animal has the most stomps?
- Can you clap it instead of stomping?
Play together
Things to say or ask
- Let's stomp it together: ko-a-la!
- How many beats in your name?
- Long words, more stomps!
Taking turns on one device: One player says the word and stomps; the other counts the stomps and taps the number. Swap.
Talk-about cards: a question a day for a week, for the car or the dinner table. Print them, or read them from your phone.
If they find it hard
Stomp along out loud while your child counts. Saying the word slowly, with a stomp on each beat, is the whole skill. Or try A Rhyme at a Time first: hearing how words sound, one pair at a time.
A sheet to print
Print the Syllable Stomp sheet
One A4 page, in black and white or colour.
What it practises
- Hearing syllables. Hearing the beats in a word: ko-a-la has three.
AC9EFLY09 (English, Foundation); EYLF 5.1 (Early Years Learning Framework V2.0) - Hearing single sounds. Picking out one sound by ear.
AC9EFLY09 (English, Foundation); EYLF 5.1 (Early Years Learning Framework V2.0) - Australian animals. What animals look like and where they live (My animal friends cards).
AC9SFU01 (Science, Foundation); AC9S1U01 (Science, Year 1)
The codes are from the Early Years Learning Framework V2.0 (for children from birth to five) and the Australian Curriculum v9 (Foundation to Year 2). Each links to the official wording. Every skill, and the games for it.
What it costs, and what we collect
Nothing, and nothing. There is no account, no advertising and no tracking of any kind. Which games have been played is remembered on your own device and is never sent anywhere. The full version is here, and it's short.
Where it lives
Syllable Stomp lives in The Quiet Deep — words and spelling. It works on a phone, a tablet or a classroom screen, and once it's been opened it keeps working with no signal at all.
Updated