Category Archives: apps for kids

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Shadow Puppet

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Shadow Puppet

FREE for a limited time – Shadow Puppet, a photography app that was featured by Apple as one of the “Best New Apps” for 4 weeks in a row! Using this app, it’s easy to create “puppets” – recorded explanations of your photos. First you choose your photos and put them in the order. Then you talk about your pictures. Everything is recorded. Finished “puppets” can be shared via email, SMS, Facebook and/or Twitter. There are so many ways for everyone to use Shadow Puppet: to teach something new, to share adventures with friends, to record children talking about their experiences, to tell the story behind old family photos, etc.

And… the classroom uses for this app are only limited by your imagination: Take pictures of a child’s work and have him/her explain it to parents. Send pictures and voice recordings of the class field trip. Have kids give a step-by-step explanation of what happened in a science experiment. Draw & sequence pictures to retell a story. Make a “talking timeline” by sequencing photos of historical events. Have kids use it to present mini reports on any subject. Have virtual “pet day” – kids bring in pictures/recordings of their pets. Because you can use anything saved to your photo library, you can explain photos from the web, artwork created in other apps, and so much more. The possibilities for using this educational app are endless. What a fabulous resource!!

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/shadow-puppet/id700902833?mt=8&uo=4

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Bugs and Buttons 2

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FREE and just named App of the Week on the iTunes Store – Buttons and Bugs 2, an educational app for preschoolers. Bugs and buttons are featured in 18 visually appealing activities. Kids count them, sort them, match them, etc. in a variety of ways. As they do so, they are learning about colors, shapes, letters, numbers, and more. The activities integrate learning into a collection of activities – a fun way to play with bugs!

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bugs-and-buttons-2/id686968315?mt=8&uo=4

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Bluster

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Bluster is a FREE app for the iPad developed by McGraw-Hill. It was designed to teach vocabulary and word development to students in grades 2 – 4. Topics covered are rhyming, prefixes & suffixes, word roots, synonyms, homophones, and adjectives. There are 3 modes of play – single, team, and versus. Team mode permits collaboration with a friend. Versus mode allows head-to-head play with the ability to disrupt your opponent by causing weather related attacks. Kids start by choosing their mode of play, grade level, and word match type. They then swipe through the list to match 3 words with the same meaning, rhyme, prefix, suffix, or word root. There are 10 groups of 3 to match in each round of play. What a fun way to present over 800 vocabulary words!

Common Core Standards met:

  • 2.L.4 – Determine the meaning of the new word formed when a known prefix is added to a known word (e.g., happy/unhappy, tell/retell). Use a known root word as a clue to the meaning of an unknown word with the same root (e.g., addition, additional).
  • 3.L.4 – Determine the meaning of the new word formed when a known affix is added to a known word (e.g., agreeable/disagreeable, comfortable/uncomfortable, care/careless, heat/preheat). Use a known root word as a clue to the meaning of an unknown word with the same root (e.g., company, companion).
  • 4.L.4 –  Use common, grade-appropriate Greek and Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g., telegraph, photograph, autograph).
  • 4.L.5. Demonstrate understanding of words by relating them to their opposites (antonyms) and to words with similar but not identical meanings (synonyms).

Recommended!

Bluster! - McGraw-Hill School Education Group

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Tellagami

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Telegami

Currently FREE, Tellagami (rhymes with origami) is a unique storytelling app. Short stories called gamis are easy to create. First you select and customize a character by choosing his/her skin tone, eye color, hair color, and clothing. Then you choose an emotion – happy, sad, surprised, angry, scared, silly. Next you choose a background from the app, from your photo library, or create one by using your camera. You are now ready to create your gami. You can record your gami in you own voice or choose the text button to type in what your character will say  – the limit is 450 characters. Gamis can be shared via email, messaging, Facebook, or Twitter.

This educational app is fabulous!! Its uses are only limited by your imagination!! Kids can use gamis to introduce themselves at the beginning of the year. They can customize gamis to look like themselves and be reporters, scientists, teachers, etc. They can create the character (and setting) from a book they are reading. They can message or email a parent to explain what they are learning in class. Teachers could use gamis as interactive exit slips. The list is endless. Kids will LOVE creating gamis!

Tellagami ™ - Tellagami Inc.

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Spelling City

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Spelling City  – a FREE educational app for the iPhone/iPad! I LOVE Spelling City. It is a phenomenal website where teachers can input their weekly spelling lists so kids can go online to practice their spelling in so many fun ways – hang mouse, match it, which word, sentence unscramble, etc. I used Spelling City in my classroom for the last several years and the kids & parents loved it. The app has several preloaded lists and the best part…..kids can access the their teacher’s list (providing that he/she uses Spelling City, of course) by using their zip code, school name, and teacher’s name. Practice spelling in the car on a way to a soccer game or while waiting in the dentist’s office. AWESOME!!

Common Core Standards met:

  • K.RF.3  – Distinguish between similarly spelled words by identifying the sounds of the letters that differ.
  • 1.RF.3 – Recognize and read grade-appropriate irregularly spelled words.
  • 2.RF.3 – Identify words with inconsistent but common spelling-sound correspondences. AND Recognize and read grade-appropriate irregularly spelled words.
  • 3.RF.3 – Read grade-appropriate irregularly spelled words.
  • 4.RF.3 – Use combined knowledge of all letter-sound correspondences, syllabication patterns, and morphology (e.g., roots and affixes) to read accurately unfamiliar multisyllabic words in context and out of context.
  • 5.RF.3 – Use combined knowledge of all letter-sound correspondences, syllabication patterns, and morphology (e.g., roots and affixes) to read accurately unfamiliar multisyllabic words in context and out of context.

Highly recommended!

SpellingCity - SpellingCity

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Happi and the Pirates

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Pirates

FREE for  limited time – Happi and the Pirates, an educational app from Happi Pappi. Kids use their spelling skills to solve word puzzles. They are presented with picture clues and a grid printed on a piece of treasure map. Kids have to use their knowledge of word structure & word building to spell the words and place them in the correctly on the grid. When they complete the puzzle, they earn keys to treasure chests. The more accurately and quickly they complete the puzzle, the more keys they earn. As they game progresses, they earn the tools and map pieces that lead them to the pirates’ treasure. While this app is primarily a word game, it also requires kids to use logic and deductive reasoning. I love the way this app is designed – it’s appealing to kids but it requires them to think. 🙂 The timer can be disabled for younger students to give them more “think time” and/or to allow teachers to use the app for a lesson on problem solving. This educational app has been featured by Apple in New & Noteworthy in USA, UK, Ireland. It was awarded the Editor’s Choice Award by the Children’s Technology Review in 2013.

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/happi-pirates-spelling-math/id622075576?mt=8&uo=4

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ABC Farm

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ABC farm

FREE for a limited time – ABC Farm. This educational app introduces your toddler (3 – 5) to over 50 farm words through sight, sound, and touch. The app opens to a grid arranged in ABC order. Kids can tap on a letter to find objects that begin with that letter or they can tap on a specific object to learn about it. As an object’s photo appears, a child’s voice says the initial letter then reads the name of the object (which appears in writing at the bottom of the screen). A little cartoon person drops down on the left hand side of the screen with a link to a video clip or an interactive scene. The child can scroll to the left for additional pictures and videos about each object. The app also contains “Read To Me” Fun Facts about each farm word featured. The app can be used in English only, Spanish only, or in dual language mode – great for ESL students. 

This app needs an internet connection to work because the 100+ videos are actually links from You Tube. They are chosen by Peapod Labs and checked to be interesting and safe for kids. Kids cannot link from this app into other You Tube content. This app is nicely done  – great for building vocabulary and beginning to read/spell words.

Also check out my reviews of ABC Wildlife, ABC House, ABC Music, and ABC Aquarium by the same developers. :)

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/abc-farm/id615898597?mt=8&uo=4

 
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Super Duper Idioms

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Super Duper 2

Super Duper

Newly released educational app – Super Duper Idioms helps kids (and adults) understand 500 common English idioms. Try the first 50 for FREE. You may purchase additional packs of 50 for $2.99 per pack. The app is cutely illustrated and features 4 fun games: multiple choice, super-duper secret decoder, fill in the blank, and search & circle. The questions are written but there is also audio support for students who have difficulty reading. The level of difficulty can be adjusted by choosing to have  2, 3, or 4 choice answers. The app can be set to read the correct answer after incorrect and/or correct response which is helpful to students who are learning the meanings. An unlimited number of players are permitted – making this app perfect for use in the classroom. And the best part…. it keeps track of data so teachers and parents can see student progress over time. The app uses graphs which can be emailed, printed, and/or shared – awesome!  This app would be great for kids as well as adult ESL students who are learning English idioms – nicely done!

Common Core Standards met:

  • 4.L.5b and 5.L.5b Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings. b. Recognize and explain the meaning of common idioms, adages, and proverbs.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/super-duper-idioms/id657415898?mt=8&uo=4

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Will & Kate

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Will & Kate

FREE again for a limited time  –  Will & Kate, a royal fairy tale. This e-book tells the story of a young prince named William (who lived in England) and a young girl named Kate. They meet, become best friends, go on adventures together, and decide to marry. Sound familiar?? Kids join the fun as the royal couple as they take a hot air balloon ride, set off fireworks to celebrate their engagement, help Kate choose her wedding dress, and attend the wedding. The story has 2 reading modes: read it myself or read it to me. The story is full of fun interactivity and is cutely done!

Will & Kate - Ink Robin, Inc

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The Hippo, the Rhino, the Elephant and Me

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Hippo

FREE yesterday (but $1.99 today) – The Hippo, the Rhino, the Elephant and Me, an adorable story about a little girl and her 3 best friends. Told in rhyme and full of interactivity, the story follows the characters through a week of fun. Kids join the fun as the characters play hide & seek, make music in a band, color, pretend to be monsters, race through the house, go to the park, and last but not least – clean up their mess (an ending that parents are sure to appreciate.) The story has 2 reading modes: read it myself or read it to me. The Hippo, the Rhino, the Elephant and Me is beautifully illustrated by British artist Lisa Hunt  – a cute story that your kids are sure to enjoy!