Nintendo Takes on Early Learners With Biff, Chip and Kipper

Millions of children have learnt to read with Biff, Chip and Kipper, Oxford University Press' much loved series of early learning BOOKS. Parents and children alike will be excited therefore by the arrival of the three-volume series Phonics Fun with Biff, Chip & Kipper, coming to Nintendo 3DS and 2DS systems on 12th September 2014.

Many parents may already be familiar with the phonics method used in the popular TEXTBOOK stories of Floppy's Phonics from Oxford Reading Tree, but via the many fun and intuitive features of Nintendo 3DS and 2DS systems, the series is set to be presented in a more interactive way than ever before. Consisting of three volumes packed with games devised by educational experts that are both motivational and rewarding, Phonics Fun with Biff, Chip & Kipper take scenes and illustrations from the well-respected series of books, and uses the same synthetic phonics method, which introduces individual letter sounds to children before blending them together to read a word.

As a way for kids to develop digital reading skills while using their fun and familiar Nintendo handheld consoles, Phonics Fun with Biff, Chip & Kipper brings to life the stories using touch-screen features for simple navigation during exercises, fully spoken instructions, and microphone playback for children to record their voice and check their pronunciation skills. Meanwhile, parents are encouraged to support their children and join in the fun, with the chance to sing along to songs with their kids, read aloud story lyrics, and for those eager to keep track of a child's progress, can even check out useful data on how they are faring after each set of exercises. Also for parents, a handy Parents Guide is included with each game to learn more about the exercises and the teaching methods they use.

The three volumes of Phonics Fun with Biff, Chip & Kipper are packed with exercises that are quick and easy-to-complete, and which provide encouragement - such as providing fun exercise completion stamps - at all times, especially when the tasks become more sophisticated. Such is the depth of content in the three volumes that each one contains the equivalent of over 30 Oxford Reading Tree TEXTBOOKS!

Volume 1- At Level 1 children focus on the sounds they hear around them in daily life - at school, at home, in the park or in town. Levels 1+ and 2 move onto practising the actual sounds (phonemes) and also start to introduce some alternative spellings of certain sounds (consonants).

Volume 2- At Level 3 children continue practising new sounds and are introduced to alternative spellings of certain vowel sounds. Level 4 revises all the sounds already introduced, before moving on to further alternative spellings as well as different pronunciations of the '-ed' ending.

Volume 3- By Level 5 and 5M children put together their knowledge of all the alternative spellings and pronunciations they have learnt so far. The exercises help children reinforce the link between sounds and the different ways they can be written. At Level 6 the emphasis is on increasing your child's confidence and fluency through reading a range of Non-Fiction BOOKS.

Oxford Reading Tree holds an unrivalled position in early years learning. Millions of children have learnt to read with Biff, Chip and Kipper, with approximately four-fifths of schools in the UK using the series and a readership that spans 138 countries. The characters have such a place in children's hearts that they were voted British children's fourth most popular literary characters, ahead of Doctor Who, Thomas the Tank Engine and Winnie the Pooh.

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