Franklin KID240 Speaking Homework Wiz

by Franklin Electronics

Product Details

Product Manual [116kb PDF]

• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00001ZUII
• Item model number: KID-240
• Batteries: 4 AAA batteries required.
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
  • #64 in Electronics > Office Electronics > Electronic Dictionaries, Thesauri & Translators > English Dictionaries
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 1, 1999

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Is your child struggling with spelling, penmanship, or just unwilling to surrender to the vocabulary homework? The Franklin KID-240 SpeakingHomework Wiz shows young students how the assigned word is written with an instant penmanship lesson, in manuscript or cursive style. At the press of a few buttons, you or your child can peruse definitions, explore related words, and hear them pronounced. It also offers features that help you find words that you aren't sure how to spell.

The Franklin KID-240 Speaking Homework Wiz offers automatic spelling correction for close to 50,000 words, and articulates 40,000 basic and coherent definitions. You can use the unit to prepare study lists and build them into games and flash cards, turning rote vocabulary lessons into fun. The KID-240 also pronounces all the words and their definitions. The appealing handwriting animation models penmanship in either manuscript or cursive writing styles.

The Franklin KID-240 Speaking Homework Wiz is portable and light, only 0.6 pounds (a little more with the four AAA batteries, not included). It's easy to take with you in the car for diversion on long drives. It provides four built-in word games, including the ever-popular Hangman, to enable the user to review a weekly word list. There is also an automatic shutdown to save battery life. Speaking Homework Wiz is a study tool designed after the idea that children who enjoy the learning process improve not only their test scores but their overall feeling about school.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

61 of 64 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Peace Maker, November 5, 2000

By 

Software Engineer (Hawaii) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Franklin KID240 Speaking Homework Wiz (Office Product)

My daughter's school suggested that I get this for my third grader. She consistently misspelled many words and had a hard time sounding words out. It looks so cool that she doesn't get teased about it. The volume control and headphone jack are great for classroom use. My daughter likes how it greets her personaly every time she turns it on (it initially asks for the child's name).

My daughter no longer struggles with learning new words. She doesn't have to come asking for help when she's reading an unfamiliar word. She can type the word in and it is pronounced correctly and defined. She catches a lot of her own spelling mistakes now. When she doesn't we can just circle the word and she'll go figure it out with the help of the speller. If it wasn't for the speaking feature, she would still be struggling.

The cursive writing button has been very helpful since she just started learning that at school. By watching how it writes, she can form her letters correctly now. It is a good reference if she ever forgets. Her classmates ask her to show them words that they can't do yet.

It is kid friendly in the fact that it does not allow inappropriate words. We tested this out beforehand and have been pleased. We all get a kick out of the Bong! sound that it produces instead. I do wish that it had a larger vocabulary so she could continue to use it until high school, but the benefits it provides currently are more than worth it's cost.

She really likes and occasionally plays the hangman game. She views this as a schoolwork companion/helper first and a game last. It is good for traveling. Otherwise she'll be on her computer playing games. She does store her spelling words in the list and quizzes herself. This has helped improved her scores on her spelling tests.

To sum it up, this product gave my daughter self-help skills and confidence in addition to improving her schoolwork. Sounding out words and spelling are no longer big battles between us all. Her teacher is as thankful as her parents. It has brought peace to schoolwork. We highly recommend this product to any child - especially those struggling with sound-symbol relationships and spelling.

41 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Absolutely Love It!, March 24, 2000

By 

Lynda Redendo (Scottsdale, AZ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Franklin KID240 Speaking Homework Wiz (Office Product)

I am an academic therapist working with six dyslexic students. I came across the Homework Wiz from one of my students and was absolutely delighted. This product is able to store a list of the "words of the week" and put them on electronic flash cards and on games. In addition, it will write each word in print and in cursive. It also gave the definition of each word being studied. The games, especially Hang-man, enabled the user to review the weekly words through "play". I plan to purchase one myself and use it with all my dyslexic students. What an amazing product!

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Possibly the best purchase you'll ever make..., July 4, 2001

By 

Judith S. Weiss "Doctor Judith" (Nashville, TN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Franklin KID240 Speaking Homework Wiz (Office Product)

...the Speaking Homework Wiz is a bargain. For beginning readers, language/learning disordered children, dyslexic adults and individuals learning English, the Speaking Homework Wiz is priceless. This handheld computer pronounces words and their definitions, corrects spelling, and demonstrates how to write the words in both manuscript and cursive. It is child friendly, free of undesirable words. It is even greets the owner with his or her first game when switched on and is programmable for spelling words. It is not all work and no play since it includes games such as Hangman. It can be used with an adapter or run off a battery; I don't think I have ever changed the battery in the Speaking Homework Wiz that I keep in my office to show patients and/or family members. It can be used with an ear-bud or head-phones when quiet is required, such as in libraries or classrooms. It opens the world of reading to preschoolers. It gives the pronunciation for those words that even good readers only see in print. This has to be the best teaching aid ever.