App Profile: Nonsense!

**Nonsense!** is a nonsense word generator that takes much of the decoding pressure off while putting the FUN into reading. It was made by real-life educators with the goal of making a difference, to help the one in five students (!) who struggle to read.

The ability to sound out nonsense words is the ultimate measure of one’s decoding skills, ensuring that users are not tempted to guess at “regular” words. **Nonsense!** is designed to help dyslexics, struggling readers, ESL/ESOL students, and those who struggle with articulation.

This app is NOT meant for students to use alone. It is recommended for use by learning & reading specialists, speech and language therapists (SLTs), ESL/ESOL teachers, classroom teachers and parents to support students.

Learners enter the mad scientist’s laboratory where they control the mighty generator’s on/off switch to create their own nonsense words. The combinations are almost limitless, and the ease of decoding is increased by using Open Dylexic, a font specifically designed to increase readability for learners with dyslexia. The user can climb the nine levels of Nonsense as their phonemic skills increase (and THEY WILL!).

Check out this **Nonsense!**:

Level One/CVC: “duz”
Level Two/CCVC: “phun”
Level Three/CCVCC: “thuzz”
Level Four/CCCVC: “shrad”
Level Five/CC or CCC + VCC: “sploft”
Level Six/VC+e: “ake”
Level Seven/CVC+e: “mipe”
Level Eight/CCCVC+e: “strome”
Level Nine/CC or CCC +VC+es: “thrupes”

Decoding nonsense words requires the reader to rely SOLELY on his/her ability to attach sound to the 40+ phonemes and to successfully blend them. GONE is the temptation for students to GUESS at familiar words as each generated nonsense word is not in their familiar lexicon.

This app has a story, as most good things do! It was designed by an Orton-Gillingham certified instructor and teacher (M.Ed) in conjunction with her technology savvy spouse, who holds a Master’s Degree in Educational Technology from Johns Hopkins University. It was developed in response to a question he asked in passing about a year ago: “Can you think of a program I could design that would help your students become better readers?” He simply wanted a fun programming project, but it turned into a year-long labor of love and collaboration with a lot of tuning and tweaking along the way.

Nonsense! makes a difference. It creates a safe learning environment because nonsense words are inherently silly! It’s difficult not to laugh when reading some of them. Still, the only way to decipher nonsense is to DECODE and this app entices students to actually WANT to do so.