Add free-type spell checker for students

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

package-lock.json

@@ -9,9 +9,11 @@
       "version": "1.0.0",
       "license": "ISC",
       "dependencies": {
+        "dictionary-en": "^4.0.0",
         "express": "^5.1.0",
         "mammoth": "^1.12.0",
-        "multer": "^2.2.0"
+        "multer": "^2.2.0",
+        "nspell": "^2.1.5"
       },
       "engines": {
         "node": ">=24"
@@ -273,6 +275,16 @@
         "node": ">= 0.8"
       }
     },
+    "node_modules/dictionary-en": {
+      "version": "4.0.0",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/dictionary-en/-/dictionary-en-4.0.0.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-3NHnE1uq33ZE/CIwaZ6gqxa4BnglHnxeAcTM0GJ7cmtRGcvX9InMK/IqLtYcUMFCUpUNgybH+DzkqdgAo3F1zg==",
+      "license": "(MIT AND BSD)",
+      "funding": {
+        "type": "github",
+        "url": "https://github.com/sponsors/wooorm"
+      }
+    },
     "node_modules/dingbat-to-unicode": {
       "version": "1.0.1",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/dingbat-to-unicode/-/dingbat-to-unicode-1.0.1.tgz",
@@ -583,6 +595,29 @@
         "node": ">= 0.10"
       }
     },
+    "node_modules/is-buffer": {
+      "version": "2.0.5",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/is-buffer/-/is-buffer-2.0.5.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-i2R6zNFDwgEHJyQUtJEk0XFi1i0dPFn/oqjK3/vPCcDeJvW5NQ83V8QbicfF1SupOaB0h8ntgBC2YiE7dfyctQ==",
+      "funding": [
+        {
+          "type": "github",
+          "url": "https://github.com/sponsors/feross"
+        },
+        {
+          "type": "patreon",
+          "url": "https://www.patreon.com/feross"
+        },
+        {
+          "type": "consulting",
+          "url": "https://feross.org/support"
+        }
+      ],
+      "license": "MIT",
+      "engines": {
+        "node": ">=4"
+      }
+    },
     "node_modules/is-promise": {
       "version": "4.0.0",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/is-promise/-/is-promise-4.0.0.tgz",
@@ -783,6 +818,15 @@
         "node": ">= 0.6"
       }
     },
+    "node_modules/nspell": {
+      "version": "2.1.5",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/nspell/-/nspell-2.1.5.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-PSStyugKMiD9mHmqI/CR5xXrSIGejUXPlo88FBRq5Og1kO5QwQ5Ilu8D8O5I/SHpoS+mibpw6uKA8rd3vXd2Sg==",
+      "license": "MIT",
+      "dependencies": {
+        "is-buffer": "^2.0.0"
+      }
+    },
     "node_modules/object-inspect": {
       "version": "1.13.4",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/object-inspect/-/object-inspect-1.13.4.tgz",

package.json

@@ -11,9 +11,11 @@
   "author": "NateEmmert",
   "license": "ISC",
   "dependencies": {
+    "dictionary-en": "^4.0.0",
     "express": "^5.1.0",
     "mammoth": "^1.12.0",
-    "multer": "^2.2.0"
+    "multer": "^2.2.0",
+    "nspell": "^2.1.5"
   },
   "engines": {
     "node": ">=24"

public/app.js

@@ -2519,6 +2519,37 @@ $('#btn-test').addEventListener('click', () => {
   startTest();
 });
 
+$('#btn-freetype').addEventListener('click', () => {
+  backTarget = () => openKid(currentStudent.id, 'spelling');
+  $('#freetype-feedback').innerHTML = '';
+  $('#freetype-input').value = '';
+  show('freetype');
+  $('#freetype-input').focus();
+});
+
+$('#freetype-form').addEventListener('submit', async (e) => {
+  e.preventDefault();
+  const input = $('#freetype-input');
+  const typed = input.value.trim();
+  if (!typed) return;
+  const fb = $('#freetype-feedback');
+  try {
+    const r = await api(`/api/spellcheck?word=${encodeURIComponent(typed)}`);
+    if (r.correct) {
+      fb.innerHTML = `<div class="banner good">✅ "${esc(r.word)}" is spelled correctly!</div>`;
+    } else {
+      const tips = r.suggestions.length
+        ? ` Did you mean: ${r.suggestions.map((x) => `<strong>${esc(x)}</strong>`).join(', ')}?`
+        : '';
+      fb.innerHTML = `<div class="banner bad">❌ "${esc(r.word)}" is not spelled correctly.${tips}</div>`;
+      alert(`"${r.word}" is spelled wrong. Try again!`);
+    }
+  } catch (err) {
+    fb.innerHTML = `<div class="banner bad">${esc(err.message)}</div>`;
+  }
+  input.select();
+});
+
 // ---------- docs (OnlyOffice) ----------
 
 let docsEditorInstance = null;

public/index.html

@@ -99,6 +99,7 @@
       <div class="big-actions">
         <button id="btn-practice" class="big-btn practice">✏️ Practice</button>
         <button id="btn-test" class="big-btn test">⭐ Friday Test</button>
+        <button id="btn-freetype" class="big-btn print-list">🔍 Check any word</button>
         <button id="btn-print-list" class="big-btn print-list">🖨 Print my words</button>
       </div>
       <div id="kid-test-history"></div>
@@ -273,6 +274,20 @@
     </div>
   </section>
 
+  <!-- Free-type spell check -->
+  <section id="view-freetype" class="view" hidden>
+    <button class="back-btn" data-back="freetype">← Back</button>
+    <div class="word-card">
+      <p class="prompt">Type any word and I'll tell you if it's spelled right:</p>
+      <div id="freetype-feedback" class="feedback"></div>
+      <form id="freetype-form" autocomplete="off">
+        <input id="freetype-input" class="spell-input" type="text" autocomplete="off"
+               autocapitalize="off" autocorrect="off" spellcheck="false" aria-label="Type a word" enterkeyhint="go">
+        <p class="hint">Press Enter to check</p>
+      </form>
+    </div>
+  </section>
+
   <!-- Practice (spelling) -->
   <section id="view-practice" class="view" hidden>
     <button class="back-btn" data-back="practice">← Back</button>

server.js

@@ -7,6 +7,8 @@ import { readFile, writeFile, unlink } from 'node:fs/promises';
 import { createHash, createHmac, randomUUID } from 'node:crypto';
 import mammoth from 'mammoth';
 import multer from 'multer';
+import nspell from 'nspell';
+import dictionaryEn from 'dictionary-en';
 import { db, sha256 } from './db.js';
 
 const ROOT = dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url));
@@ -435,6 +437,16 @@ app.get('/api/state/:studentId', (req, res) => {
   res.json({ student: { ...student, isBirthdayWeek: isBirthdayWeek(student.birthday) }, assignment, listProgress });
 });
 
+// Free-type spell check: any word, checked against a bundled English dictionary
+const speller = nspell(dictionaryEn);
+app.get('/api/spellcheck', (req, res) => {
+  const word = String(req.query.word || '').trim();
+  if (!/^[A-Za-z'’-]{1,60}$/.test(word)) return res.status(400).json({ error: 'Type a single word using letters only.' });
+  const clean = word.replace(/’/g, "'");
+  const correct = speller.correct(clean) || speller.correct(clean.toLowerCase());
+  res.json({ word, correct, suggestions: correct ? [] : speller.suggest(clean).slice(0, 4) });
+});
+
 // Build a practice session: the target list's unmastered words only.
 // listId overrides the student's pinned weekly assignment (used when launched from a course item).
 app.get('/api/session/:studentId', (req, res) => {