How SpellCrush Works

AI-powered adaptive spelling practice with gamification and parental controls. Covering Pre-K through 12th grade with 4,000+ words across 10 difficulty levels.

Adaptive Difficulty

SpellCrush rates every word on a 1–10 difficulty scale and automatically selects words based on the child's age and past performance. Children aged 4–6 see levels 1–3, ages 7–8 see levels 1–5, ages 9–10 see levels 3–7, ages 11–12 see levels 5–9, and ages 13+ see levels 7–10. Words the child struggles with reappear more frequently; mastered words (5 correct out of 7+ attempts) rotate out.

  • 10 difficulty levels covering Pre-K through 12th grade
  • Age-based difficulty scoping assigned automatically
  • Struggled words prioritized in word selection
  • Mastered words excluded from regular rotation

AI Audio Pronunciation

SpellCrush generates studio-quality audio for every word, definition, and hint using AI text-to-speech. Audio is pre-generated and cached server-side, so playback is instant with no client-side synthesis artifacts. Children hear the word spoken clearly before typing their attempt.

  • AI-generated audio for words, definitions, and hints
  • Server-side generation with caching for instant playback
  • Natural voice quality, not robotic browser TTS
  • Available to all users including free plan
Premium

AI Spelling Hints

When a child struggles with a word, SpellCrush calls Anthropic's Claude models to generate an age-appropriate mnemonic device. The hint is tailored to the child's age, the specific word, and their past mistakes. Hints are cached after first generation to avoid repeat API calls and load instantly on subsequent encounters.

  • Powered by Anthropic Claude Haiku
  • Personalized to child's age and mistake patterns
  • Cached after first generation for instant loading
  • Age-appropriate language and complexity
Premium

AI Visual Memory Aids

For every practice word, SpellCrush generates a unique AI image designed to create a vivid visual association with the word's meaning. These child-appropriate, colorful scenes help children remember both meaning and spelling. Images are prefetched during practice so there is zero wait time.

  • Unique AI-generated image per word
  • Child-appropriate colorful scenes
  • Prefetched during practice for zero wait time
  • Visual association aids long-term retention

Gamification System

SpellCrush awards XP for every correct answer: 10 base XP plus 5 for first-try bonus, with a 1.5x streak multiplier and +50 for daily goal completion. There are 10 levels from 'Beginner Speller' (100 XP) to 'Word Wizard' (12,000 XP), 15 unlockable achievement badges across 5 categories, and daily streak tracking. XP, levels, and achievements are permanent and never reset.

  • 10 levels with exponential XP thresholds (100 to 12,000)
  • 15 achievements: word milestones, streaks, XP, accuracy, special
  • Daily streak tracking with longest streak recorded
  • XP and levels are permanent, never reset

Learning Support

An optional per-child setting that adds two practice aids for children who benefit from extra structure. Focus Mode fades the session header and action buttons while the child is actively typing, reducing visual distractions at the moment of peak cognitive effort. Difficulty check-ins appear every 6 correct words — a one-tap card asking the child how tricky the word felt. Check-in answers drive future word prioritisation.

  • Focus Mode: distractions fade while typing, reappear on feedback
  • Child can toggle Focus Mode on or off mid-session
  • Difficulty check-ins every 6 correct words (Hard / OK / Easy)
  • Check-in answers feed into spaced repetition scheduling

Parent-Controlled Reward Store

Separate from the gamification system, parents set up a virtual reward store. Parents choose between money mode (virtual cents displayed as dollars) or points mode (star points). Parents create custom reward items with names, emojis, and costs. Children browse the store and redeem their earnings. Reward balances can be reset by parents at any time without affecting XP or levels.

  • Money mode (dollars/cents) or points mode (star points)
  • Custom reward items created by parents
  • Children browse and redeem independently
  • Balances resettable without affecting gamification

Progress Analytics

The parent dashboard displays per-child analytics powered by Recharts: accuracy over time, difficulty level distribution, word category breakdown, practice frequency heatmap, words mastered count, and achievement history. Data updates after every practice session.

  • Accuracy trends over time
  • Difficulty distribution visualization
  • Category breakdown (Science, Math, etc.)
  • Practice frequency and session history
Premium

AI Weekly Progress Reports

Every Sunday, SpellCrush generates and emails parents an AI-written narrative report for each child. The report covers the past week's accuracy, words attempted and mastered, streak status, achievements unlocked, category strengths and weaknesses, and a specific recommendation for the week ahead. Reports are generated by Claude AI and cached in the database.

  • Automated email every Sunday
  • AI narrative written by Claude, tailored to each child
  • Week-over-week comparison of key metrics
  • Specific actionable recommendation included
Premium

Custom Word Lists

Premium subscribers create word lists from scratch or import via CSV and Excel files. Each word can include a custom definition, difficulty rating, category, and hint. Lists are assignable to specific children — when assigned, practice sessions pull exclusively from that list instead of the built-in 4,000+ word database.

  • Create from scratch or import CSV/Excel
  • Custom definitions, difficulty, category, and hints
  • Assign specific lists to specific children
  • Exclusive practice mode when list is assigned
Premium

Multi-Child Family Accounts

One parent account supports unlimited children on the Premium plan (1 child on free). Each child has their own progress tracking, reward balance, achievement history, and 4-digit PIN login. A unique family URL lets children bookmark their login page and access it without the parent's email.

  • Unlimited children on Premium (1 on free)
  • Separate progress, rewards, and achievements per child
  • Individual 4-digit PIN login per child
  • Unique family URL for direct kid access

How SpellCrush Uses AI for Spelling Practice

SpellCrush integrates Anthropic's Claude models into three areas of the spelling practice experience. AI spelling hints generate personalized mnemonic devices based on each child's age, the target word, and their history of mistakes with that word. AI visual memory aids produce unique images for every practice word, creating vivid visual associations that aid long-term retention. AI weekly progress reports analyze each child's practice data and generate narrative summaries with specific recommendations, delivered to parents by email every Sunday.

The adaptive difficulty system does not use AI — it is an algorithmic system that maps difficulty levels to child age ranges and adjusts word selection based on per-word attempt and mastery data. This keeps each child practicing at their optimal difficulty without manual configuration by parents.

Try SpellCrush Free

Free plan includes adaptive difficulty, AI audio, gamification, and 500+ words. No credit card required.