FREE for a limited time – Love You Back, a touching story about the love between a grandmother and her granddaughter. The app has three modes: read to me, read myself, or autoplay. The app can be personalized by recording the story in your own voice. Sweet!
Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/love-you-back!/id451554889?mt=8&uo=4
Calling all teachers… Here are 9 apps that will help YOU in a variety of ways: grade student work, keep in contact with parents, establish class discipline/routines, help students be organized, track student progress with ePortfolios, organize presentations, and create tutorial videos. And most of them are FREE – wow!
1. Socrative
Still FREE and getting better with every upgrade – Socrative, an app that turns any device with a web browser into a student response clicker. I have been a fan of Socrative since I first discovered it two years ago. It’s one of those apps that I wish had been around when I was still in the classroom. Last July, Socrative added two additional quiz features. # 1 – Teachers can now add images to their questions. #2 – The system can now grade short answer questions. Teachers just input the acceptable answers and the system does the rest. 🙂
The Socrative website and app are unbelievably cool – they turn any device with a web browser (iPhone, iPad, laptops) into a student response clicker. If a teacher has access to any kind of wireless lab, he/she can engage the entire class in a game or quiz and watch the results in real-time. Teachers begin by using their teacher app or logging into t.socrative.com with their email and password. Once logged in, teachers are assigned a room number to share with their students. Students log in using their student app or at m.socrative.com and enter the “virtual room number” provided by the teacher. Teachers initiate an activity and students respond on their devices. Multiple choice and short answer quizzes are easy to create – types of questions can be mixed. Teachers can also choose to run the quiz as a Space Race game. The students’ responses are visible to the teacher in real-time. Teachers can see what each child answered individually as well as what the group answered collectively. And the best part is… the app grades, graphs the results, and generates a report as an Excel spreadsheet or an email.
What a powerful tool for teachers – a short quiz at the end of a lesson can pinpoint what students understand and what needs to be reviewed. Hours of grading and analyzing test results are done immediately. Every student is involved – wow!
Link to new user guide: http://www.socrative.com/materials/SocrativeUserGuide.pdf
Teacher app 
Student app
2. Remind: Safe Classroom Communication
Used by over 700,000 teachers…
Remind: Safe Classroom Communication is a FREE iPhone/iPad app that provides a safe way for teacher to text or email parents/students. To start, a teacher goes to the Remind 101 website to add his/her class list. A unique code is generated and the teacher shares that code with parents/students. The parent or student then sends a text message with the code to subscribe to the teacher’s class. From that point on, the parent/student will receive any message that the teacher sends from Remind 101. Teachers can text or email their entire class in minutes – homework assignments, field trip reminders, etc. All phone numbers remain private – students never see the teacher’s phone # and the teachers never see the students’ numbers. This app has been written about by NBC, NPR, Huffington Post, Edutopia, and Edweek. Wow – what a great tool for improving communications but maintaining your privacy!
3. Class Dojo
Class Dojo is constantly improving. It now includes FREE messaging! A teacher can now send “direct” messages to individuals and/or “broadcast” messages. This great FREE app just got better!!
ClassDojo is a FREE & fabulous tool that helps improve classroom behaviors. Rewarding good behavior in real-time is easy – all it takes is a click. To use ClassDojo, you only need one device (computer, smart phone, a laptop, or a tablet) and an internet connection. It is very easy to set up. Each student on your class list is assigned a cute, monster-like avatar. Kids earn points for positive behaviors and lose points for negative behaviors. ClassDojo is also fully customizable so you can delete behaviors from the original list and/or add your own behaviors. As you use it, it automatically logs any data that you input. This data can be used to generate behavior reports to share with parents and administrators. How awesome is that? You can go into a meeting/conference with reports in hand! And now, parents can check online to see what kind of day their child is having.
If I were still in the classroom, I would enter my class list twice – once for data on work/study habits and the other for data on behaviors. I would make my habits/behaviors match exactly what was on my report cards. Then as I used the app, I would also be gathering data for my report cards. At the end of the grading period, I would just print out the date and enter it on the report cards – how easy! I would also have the data (in a printed report) to be able to back up any grade on the card. “As you can see Mrs. Doe, Jane only turned in her homework 56% of the time.” Instant data would also be available for the RTI process, IEPs or any other team meeting on a child. What a powerful tool for teachers! An educational app that has the ability to positively impact the learning environment – LOVE it!!
Check out the website for more information: www.classdojo.com
4. Homework+
Currently $.99 – Homework+, a simple to use homework/test planner. This educational app is geared towards older students who are taking multiple classes. It could also be used with younger kids as an electronic assignment book. It’s never too early to teach kids how to be organized. 🙂
To set up the app, first edit the subject list & category lists to reflect what you are studying. After that, it is very easy to add assignments to the calendar – just give the assignment a title, choose the subject & category, put in the due date, choose a level of priority, and save. As you finish an assignment, mark it as complete and the app moves it to the finished list. App badges show you how many assignments you have and how many you have finished. Notifications can be set (1 or 2 days before) to remind you of an upcoming assignment. The app also keeps track of overdue assignments. Very slick and intuitive – great for teaching kids to be organized!!
5. Too Noisy
Too Noisy Lite is a FREE noise meter for iPhone/iPad. It measures the level of noise in a room and graphically displays whether it is at an acceptable level or not. If the level is acceptable, a smiling face is displayed. If the noise level increases beyond a level of acceptability, the graphic changes to indicate that the noise level is NOT acceptable. In the settings, a teacher/adult can adjust the sensitivity of the meter to go with the activity. A testing situation could be set at a 99% sensitivity level and group work could be set at a much lower sensitivity level. The meter worked when I tried it but, I was not in a large room with a group of kids. I would think that the FREE version is worth a try to see if it works for your situation. There is also a PRO version available for $.99. By using an Apple Digital AV adapter or a VGA adapter, Too Noisy can be projected on a TV or monitor so kids can learn what noise level is acceptable – cool idea! Another great FREE educational app!
6. Easy Portfolio
Currently $1.99 – Easy Portfolio – ePortfolio Tool for Students & Teachers. Download this educational app today to start getting organized for the upcoming school year. Easy Portfolio makes it simple for teachers to create ePortfolios for individuals, groups, or subjects. Individual student portfolios can be used to track student progress, highlight student achievement, monitor classroom behavior/work habits, and more. Subject portfolios can be used to organize teacher resources – videos, websites, images, etc. Imagine having everything you need to teach a unit or to make a presentation in one portfolio. The possibilities for using Easy Portfolio are endless.
Easy Portfolio is very simple to use. Just name your portfolios to begin. Then it’s easy to add videos, images, audio recordings or music, notes, URLs and digital documents. Added files are stored by type and can be sorted by date or ABC order. Files can also be shared via email or Dropbox. How wonderful it would be to have a digital portfolio for every student in your class. It would make getting ready for parent-teacher conferences or a IEP meeting a breeze! Capture and share your students’ learning this year with Easy Portfolio. 🙂
Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/easy-portfolio-eportfolio/id516212900?mt=8&uo=4
7. Educreations
Educreations is great FREE app that turns your iPad into a recordable whiteboard. You can create tutorial videos for a variety of purposes: teach a lesson, create example math problems, explain a diagram, add commentary to your photos, etc. This educational app records & replays your voice, handwriting and/or drawings. Educreations is simple to use and permits you to build lessons with multiple pages. The editing tools allow you to: add text to any page, add photos, resize and move images, easily erase drawing mistakes, create “animated playback” by dragging objects as you record, and more.
But the best thing about this app is the ability to share your work. Free accounts are available at http://www.educreations.com where you can share your work as well as look at lessons created by others. Students can be given online access to the lessons that you have created there. Or, you can embed your lessons on your class blog/website. Students can watch a lesson before class or review a lesson after class. Absent students can watch from home. You can post information to help students with their homework. You can tutor someone online. Parents can log in to find out what is going on in class so they can help their children. What a powerful tool!! This app is being used at all levels of education including the college level. The features of Educreations make it a standout among the recordable whiteboard apps!
8. ZipGrade
FREE to try – ZipGrade, a slick app that grades multiple choice tests & quizzes instantly by using your device’s camera as a scanner. It’s very easy to use. First go to ZipGrade.com to download an answer sheet for any size test – 1 to 100 questions. Print as many as you need. A 100 scan demo is FREE with the download. Click new quiz and enter your answer key. Start scanning/grading. ZipGrade can scan up to 20 tests per minute. The app can be set up to use student ID numbers or student names. Results are organized for reporting/exporting via PDF and Excel. They can also be synced between devices. Students will love the instant feedback and teachers will love the item analysis. This app would be especially great for high school/college teachers who have overwhelming numbers of test/quizzes to grade. Check out the FREE version today! The full version of the app is $1.99 for 2 months or $6.99 for 1 year.
Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/zipgrade-grade-paper-tests/id635077270?mt=8&uo=4
9. Popboardz
FREE again for a limited time – Popboardz, a productivity tool that normally sells for $4.99. Popboardz makes it easy to organize, store, and present information. Each board is a grid with 16 spaces for content so that all of your PDFs, images, videos, websites, can be arranged on one screen. Unlike other presentation tools, Popboardz makes it easy to customize your presentation to meet the needs of your group. Just click on the grid space that contains the example, information, or link that you would like present next! It’s easy to skip around. This app would be fabulous to use in the classroom. A teacher could organize all his/her digital resources for a unit on one board. That board can be saved so it is always ready to present! It is also easy to edit and/or rearrange boards so that lessons can be tweaked as new resources become available. Students could also use Popboardz – to organize information, to present projects, to give reports, and more. What a great educational app!
Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/popboardz/id563989511?mt=8&uo=4
Planning a poetry unit? The International Reading Association has some apps that may help.
Here are three.
They are FREE. 🙂
Acrostic Poem helps kids learn about and write acrostic poetry. An acrostic poem uses a word as its subject. The word is written vertically so that each letter begins a line of the poem. All lines of the poem describe or relate to the subject word. The poem does not have to rhyme. Acrostic poems are easy to write and great for having kids introduce themselves, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, etc.
The app is perfect for a classroom where devices are shared because each student creates his/her own profile. The app explains an acrostic poem and gives an example. Then the student enters his/her topic word. The app advances to a brainstorming page where the student can enter ideas to help write the poem. Then the app advances to a “write your poem” page. The brainstormed words are displayed to help. Work can be saved in progress – reinforcing the elements of the writing process. Finished poems can be saved to the device’s camera roll or emailed. This app mirrors ReadWriteThink’s popular acrostic poem web-based interactive: http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/student-interactives/acrostic-poems-30045.html. Students can send their editable poems to an email address and then open them in the online tool!
Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/acrostic-poem/id724841119?mt=8&uo=4
Diamante Poem helps kids learn about and write diamante poetry. Diamante poems can be written about one central topic or two opposing topics such as day/night. A diamante poem has seven lines and is written in the shape of a diamond. The first and last lines are just one word – nouns. The second and sixth line are two words – adjectives. The third and fifth lines are three words – “ing” words. And the middle line has four+ words – nouns or prepositional phrases. Diamante poems are great for teaching parts of speech and synonyms/antonyms.
The app is perfect for a classroom where devices are shared because each student creates his/her own profile. The app explains a diamante poem and gives two examples – a synonym poem and an antonym poem. Then the student enters his/her beginning and ending topic words. The app advances to a “write your poem” page where the student enters his/her words. The app reminds students which kids of words should be used on each line. Work can be saved in progress – reinforcing the elements of the writing process. Finished poems can be saved to the device’s camera roll or emailed. This app mirrors ReadWriteThink’s popular diamante poem web-based interactive: http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/student-interactives/diamante-poems-30053.html. Students can send their editable poems to an email address and then open them in the online tool!
Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/diamante-poem/id724953313?mt=8&uo=4
Theme Poem helps kids learn about and write theme poetry. A theme poem is sometimes called a shape poem. It is written in the shape of what the poem is about. For example, the apple poem is written in the shape of an apple.
Again, this app is perfect for a classroom where devices are shared because each student creates his/her own profile. The app gives an example of a theme poem. Then the student selects one of 5 themed files – nature, school, sports, celebrations, shapes. Each themed file has 5 – 8 shapes for students to choose. Once a shape is chosen, the app advances to a “think of words” page for the student to brainstorm his/her ideas. Then the app advances to a “write your poem” page. The brainstormed words are displayed to help. Work can be saved in progress – reinforcing the elements of the writing process. Finished poems can be saved to the device’s camera roll or emailed. This app mirrors ReadWriteThink’s popular theme poem web-based interactive: http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/theme_poems/. Students can send their editable poems to an email address and then open them in the online tool!
Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/theme-poem/id724978211?mt=8&uo=4
Pat the Bunny goes digital and it’s on sale for $.99.
Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pat-the-bunny/id430902036?mt=8&uo=4
Let’s face it – getting kids to learn their math facts can be a challenge. But once they know them, they know them forever. The process of “doing math” becomes more efficient and less frustrating when kids know their facts. Luckily there are plenty of fun apps that can help kids become “math fact” proficient. All of these apps are FREE or were “FREE for a limited time” when I reviewed them. Check them out – they’re all great!
You can follow my blog appydazeblog | educational apps for kids and the adults in their lives to find out if/when they become FREE again. Enjoy!! 🙂
Sushi Monster is a FREE educational app for the iPhone/iPad developed by Scholastic. It helps kids practice, reinforce, and extend their knowledge of math facts. There are 12 levels of play – 7 addition levels and 5 multiplication levels. A chef places numbered plates of sushi on the counter. Kids have to combine the numbers on the plates to reach the target number (worn by the sushi monster). If the combination is correct, the monster gobbles up the sushi. If it is wrong, the monster throw a tantrum. Each round has 14 target numbers. Successfully completing one level unlocks the next. As kids progress through the levels they are expected to extend their thinking beyond the basic facts. At each level a strategy is provided to help kids succeed. This educational app provides a lot of practice and kids will love the silly sushi chef!
Common Core Standards met:
This app was FREE, now $.99. It helps kids practice their basic facts for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. First kids choose numbers (1-12) to work with, then the math operation/operations. The app generates practice in 2 modes: answer mode (enter the answers & get feedback) or flashcards mode (answer verbally then check). The game has no built-in sounds but there is positive reinforcement written at the top of the page. If a child misses a problem, it shows the correct answer. What I really like about this app is the ability to choose specific numbers to work on. Facts can be practiced in the order they are taught. I also like the ability to choose more than one operation to practice – it makes kids pay attention to the signs of operation and see the relationships between operations. This app is simple but effective – if you loaded this app on your iPhone, kids could easily practice flashcards on their way to after school activities. 🙂
Common Core Standards met:
Ahoy there!! Sail through Math from McGraw Hill is currently $1.99 but it “goes FREE” periodically. This educational app provides a fun way for students to practice their math facts/skills. There are 3 levels of play for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts. Other areas covered are addition equations. subtraction equations, multiplication equations, two-step equations, names for numbers, patterns/factors/multiples, and compare numbers. This app provides of great practice built around a pirate theme – complete with music and firing cannonballs! At the end of each game, the child can see what problems he/she missed as well as a percentage score. What a fun way to learn basic facts – in the classroom, at home, in the car on a way to an evening activity. I used to tell my students to practice during commercials – 10 to 15 minutes a day works wonders. This app provides a fun way to accomplish that goal 🙂
Common Core Standards met:
Was FREE for a limited time, currently $1.99 – Quick Math – Arithmetic & Times Tables, an educational app that encourages math fluency in addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, & mixed operations. Kids race against the clock to improve their scores. Handwriting recognition allows the players to write the answers directly on the screen – a very slick feature. There are 4 game levels: beginner, intermediate, advance, and extreme. This app features LOTS of great practice for multiple levels of math students. It can be shared among students and it tracks each student’s progress – perfect for the classroom. The math gets progressively harder as students improve their skills. I love how the app encourages self-improvement and legible writing! Teachers could assign 10 minutes of practice each day for their students. I am sure the results would be significant. What a fabulous tool for the classroom – perfect for a daily warm-up, at a math center, or for fluency practice after completing an assignment.
Common Core Standards met:
Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/quick-math-arithmetic-times/id537802071?mt=8&uo=4
Was FREE for limited time, currently $1.99 – Math Evolve, an app that combines math practice (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division) with an arcade-style game that kids will enjoy playing. Math Evolve has 12 levels, 19 different enemies, and 6 challenging bosses that can be played on 3 difficulty settings. The app has 2 modes: practice mode and story mode. In practice mode, a parent or teacher can choose which math facts to practice and monitor a child’s progress. In the story mode, kids embark on math adventure across three environments: microscopic, ocean, and space. The difficulty of the math and the difficulty of the game can be set independently which makes the game fun for all ages. The app supports up to 5 players. Statistics are kept in the player history section so parent/teachers can evaluate how kids are progressing. This app would be great for independent practice in a classroom. It has customizable practice built into a fun game AND it collects statistical data – awesome!
For more information go to http://mathevolve.com.
Common Core Standards met:
Was FREE for limited time, currently $.99 – Math Splat, a really fun mental math game. Kids are challenged to answer 21 math questions as fast as they can. A colorful paint splat covers each correct answer. Each game is timed and limited to 3 incorrect answers. Each incorrect answer adds a 3 second penalty to the final time. Kids will love trying to beat their best time! The student can choose between easy, medium, and hard questions which makes this game great for differentiating instruction. Have kids graph their scores so that they can see themselves improve and in the process they will also learn to collect data. This educational app is perfect for getting kids to practice their facts in a fun way!
Common Core Standards met:
Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/math-splat/id495477324?mt=8&uo=4
Was FREE for a limited time, currently $2.99 – Operation Math, a great educational app from Spinlight Studio. Kids will have fun practicing basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, & division tables in this interactive “spy” game. The object of the game is to stop Dr. Odd’s quest to eliminate the world’s even numbers. In order to do so, kids must complete 105 missions by solving equations. Missions can be selected based on a child’s skill level and/or the operation (+, -, +/-, x, ÷, x/÷ or +/-/x/÷). Of course, time is of the essence so kids have to answer problems in 60 seconds or less. By doing so, they lock doors along their escape routes. And as they complete missions, they earn the gear of a seasoned spy. What a great game – I love how the app integrates math practice into a really cool game for kids. I especially like the modes which permit kids to practice multiple operations at a time. It makes kids pay attention to operation signs and quickly switch their thinking. What a fun way for kids to practice facts and meet CCSS! No wonderOperation Math was given a 2012 Parents’ Choice Award. Get it today – kids will LOVE it!
Common Core State Standards met:
Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/operation-math/id487387270?mt=8&uo=4
Was FREE for a limited time, currently $2.99 – YodelOh™ Math Mountain. Kids will have fun learning basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division math tables with this game. The object of the game is to score enough points to keep Hans from falling off the cliff. In order to do so, kids have to answer problems quickly and avoid the crazy charging sheep. And as kids score points, the questions get harder. The app also includes high-score charts that track the best 15 games for all 5 modes. I especially like the mode which permits kids to practice all 4 operations at a time. It makes kids pay attention to operation signs and quickly switch their thinking. What a fun way for kids to practice facts and it meets CCSS! Get it today. 🙂
Common Core State Standards met:
Download math: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/yodeloh-math-mountain/id634946225?mt=8&uo=4
Was FREE for a limited time, currently $2.99 – Multiplications with Math Matthews, a great new app for studying multiplication facts. Kids join Math Mathews and his crew on a high seas adventure to find treasure and break the curse that turned him into an octopus. There are so many great things about this app that make it perfect for the classroom. The app includes a diary (ship’s log) that gives the back story to this adventure that kids are about to join. I envision teachers using this narrative as a group activity to get kids excited about joining the crew. Then the app is divided into 3 mini-games with each game using a different method of practice. Kids earn badges and collect gold as they practice facts. The app allows you to set which facts it will review. This feature makes this game particularly valuable in the classroom. Teachers can start with ones & twos, add fives, then three & fours – adapting their students’ practice to their teaching. And…the app can be used with 7 different players – perfect for small group practice, centers, etc. It keeps track of the progress for each individual – another plus for teachers. If I was still teaching, I would definitely use this educational app in my third grade classroom – it meet a CCSS for third grade multiplication. What a fabulous & fun learning tool for kids!!
Common Core State Standards met:
Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/multiplications-math-mathews/id611130011?mt=8&uo=4
Was FREE for a limited time, currently $4.99 – Math Racer, an educational app that times how fast kids can answer 10, 20, 50 or 100 problems in 7 different games: addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, add/subtract, multiply/divide, or all operations. I like kids being able to practice related operations together – it makes them pay attention to operational signs & see connections. The app keeps high scores for all areas. It shows which problems were missed and how long it took to answer each question (to the hundredth of a second). Teachers and parents can use this tracking system to document kids’ progress.
This app provides a simple but fun way for kids to practice their facts. I can’t imagine that they won’t love racing the clock to improve their scores. If it is loaded on an iPhone, kids could easily practice their facts in the car on their way to after-school lessons. 🙂
Common Core Standards met:
Was FREE for a limited time, currently $2.99 – Math Duel-2 Player Mathematical Game.This educational app pits two players against each other on the same device which makes it perfect for sharing iPads in the classroom. The app has a split screen interface – students sit facing each other on either end of the iPad. As kids answer math equations, the app keeps separate scores for each student. The best thing about this app is that it is fully customizable (on both sides) which makes it a fabulous tool for individualizing instruction for a wide range of students. Equations can be set with 1 – 5 terms. Largest numbers possible can be from 1 – 100. Negative numbers can be turned on/off. Kids can practice addition, subtraction, multiplication, division or any combination of these operations. Fabulous and fun for daily classroom math practice in multiple grades!
Common Core Standards met:
Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/math-duel-2-player-mathematical/id495077699?mt=8&uo=4
Was FREE for a limited time, currently $1.99 – Bubbling Math, an educational app for the iPad helps students in grades 1 – 4 become proficient in basic math skills – addition, subtraction, multiplication, division. In the Task Configuration section of the app, parents/teachers choose the operations & the levels of difficulty (easy, medium, hard, expert). Descriptions tell specifically what kinds of problems are included in each level. The ability to customize what a child needs to practice makes this app very powerful. Another plus is that the levels can be set differently for each operation. The other powerful section of this app is the “parents section” where a child’s progress is reported by the date, the operations and levels practiced, the number right & wrong, the specific problems missed, and percent correct.
As for the actual game – there are 9 levels that unlock as the child makes progress. There are trophies awarded for doing well. The graphics and music are nicely done. The speed of the game can be adjusted – slow, normal, fast. But…what makes this app stand out is the ability to truly personalize it. Unfortunately, I don’t think the app tracks more than one child’s data. The data can be reset but the results for the first child would be lost. Regardless, this app is great!
Common Core Standards met:
FREE for a limited time – Walter’s Flying Bus, a story inspired by the real-life dreams of Walter and his friends (orphaned, special needs children in Uganda.) Walter finds an abandoned bus. With his friends and a little work, the engine soon roars to life! This e-book is inspirational – a celebration of the talents & beauty of every child. It is narrated in English, Spanish and Luganda (a primary language of Uganda). The educational app also includes mini-documentaries of the real-life children featured in the book. According to the developer – “ONE HUNDRED PERCENT of after-tax profits from App sales go to efforts helping orphans with special needs, including advocacy, care, and adoption assistance grants.” Nice story with a great message!
FREE today – Pixel and Parker, an educational app that puts a new spin on storytelling – literally! Parker and Pixel (his cat) are best friends. One day Pixel is missing so Parker sets out to find him. Kids use a game spinner to determine the order of the story’s events in this cute tale. The story is never the same twice. The app also features 30+ activities that engage readers while advancing the plot of the story. This app would be great for a lesson on the elements of story. The characters, setting, problem, and conclusion are the same but the order of events can be changed! Cute colorful illustrations also add to the appeal of this story. Pixel and Parker is the first in a planned series of adventures. 🙂 Great idea!
Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pixel-and-parker/id548751986?mt=8&uo=4
FREE & fabulous – World’s Worst Pet-Vocabulary, an educational app for kids in grades 4 – 8. Snargg, a cute blue pet needs kids to use their vocabulary skills to get him out of trouble. The app’s four games teach context, word sorts, synonyms, & antonyms as they expose kids to over 1000 words across 5 levels: grades 4 – 8. Words are taught in sets – 10 conceptually related words per set. Kids are encouraged to replay each word set to improve their scores. Other features of the app include: clearly explained definitions with examples of how the word is used, multiple exposures to words, writing prompts, and… a really fun narrative with rewards. The app allows multiple players which makes it perfect for the classroom. Teachers can use it to differentiate instruction, as part of a center, for individual or group assignments, as homework, etc. There are so many great things about this app – meaningful content, a fun interface, and it meets CCSS. It’s fantastic, wonderful, remarkable, tremendous, amazing … 🙂
Common Core Standards met:
Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/worlds-worst-pet-vocabulary/id730540095?mt=8&uo=4
Recently updated for iOS 7, Bluster is a FREE app for the iPad developed by McGraw-Hill. This educational app 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. Bluster presents 800+ vocabulary words in a fun way!
Common Core Standards met:
Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bluster!/id416160693?mt=8&uo=4
Words to Learn By by McGraw Hill has 300 words to study. It was offered for FREE when I downloaded it but it is currently $.99. The words are grouped into 3 levels – building, expanding and advancing. Each word includes a definition, an audio pronunciation, and a synonym. There are 4 options in the quiz mode – flashcards, definitions, fill-in-the-blanks (GREAT for teaching context clues), and a synonym shuffle game. This app is not too difficult and could be used with upper elementary and junior high students.
Word a Day was offered for FREE when I downloaded it but it is currently $1.99. This app takes a fun approach to expanding your vocabulary – one day/one word at a time! This app features a new word every day – each word has a humorous illustration and a narrated audio which pronounces the word, defines it, and uses it in context. If you feature a vocabulary word of the day in your classroom, you may want to look at this app – it’s a cute one!
Vocabology – Word of the Day was offered FREE the day I downloaded it but is currently $.99. It offers words of the day from several sources on the internet: foreign language words (Spanish, Portuguese, German, Italian, French, Latin), Dictionary.com, Wiktionary, Merriam-Webster, TheFreeDictionary.com, Yahoo Education, Common SAT words, Urban Dictionary, and WordSmith.org. The app also includes a quizzes. In-app purchases are available for SAT words, Latin words, and more. BEWARE – some of the words from the urban dictionary are explicit and NOT suitable for the classroom. You have the option of disabling this word source within the app. You need to do so before you put this app in the hands of kids! I appreciate that the developer has included this option.
Currently $.99 – Cultiwords, an educational app for systematically building your vocabulary. The app comes with a 40-words set which includes definitions, anecdotes, and review questions. There are 3 additional sets of words available as in-app purchases. The app introduces each new word by posing a multiple-choice question with 3 possible answers. After you answer, it tells you if you were correct, gives the word’s definition, and provides additional clarifying information about that word. Words are then added to your personal dictionary. The review mode quizzes you on words in your dictionary. Review questions test a deeper understanding of the word – synonyms/antonyms, contextual settings, etc. Once you answer 3/3 questions about a word correctly, that word moves to the Acquired List. Well-organized and simple to use – this app would be great for kids in upper elementary and beyond. My only wish is that it had more words!!
Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cultiwords/id585437267?mt=8&uo=4
Was FREE but now $3.99 – 3rd Grade Vocabulary Prep, an educational app designed to improve children’s vocabulary. Teachers enter an administrative password before entering their students’ names. This administrative feature permits teachers to review their students’ scores and track individual student improvement. The app also generates a “most difficult words for this student” list so teachers can see where individuals are having difficulty. Once the students’ names have been entered, kids can begin to study. There are 10 words to study at each level. Kids click on each word to hear its pronunciation, meaning, and a sample sentence. I love that the words are used in context! They can go through the lesson as often as needed to learn the words. There are 2 quizzes to take to make sure that students are making progress. If a student misses a word on one of the practice quizzes, the word goes back in the deck for further review. A test must be passed (90%) in order to move to the next level. Teachers can send emails to parents that provide specific test results or that recap the child’s progress to date. Nicely done!
FREE – Find the Synonym, an app designed for the iPhone/iPad. This app is listed as a game rather than an educational app but it would be great for kids in upper elementary school/junior high. A word is shown with its part of speech and definition. Kids are challenged to create a 4 – 7 letter synonym of that word using the letters provided. Points are awarded based on the length of the word, the time involved, whether clues are used, and/or if any mistakes are made. Badges are earned as the game is played. It’s simply designed – not a lot of bell & whistles but it is heavy on content. There are a total of 1600 synonyms in the app. After you find 250 of them, the antonyms are unlocked. There are 700 antonyms in the app.
I realize that this app was not necessarily designed for students but it could easily be used for educational purposes. More flexibility in the settings would make it more suitable for classroom use. I could not find a way to restart the game. The game picks up where it left off & points are cumulative, so only one person can play. Also, having access to both synonyms and antonyms would be a plus. Regardless, I am sure that teachers will come up with creative ways to use this resource. 🙂
FREE again – The Opposites for the iPhone/iPad. Designed for kids 7+, this educational app requires the matching of increasingly difficult pairs of opposite words. There are two sections of the app: dictionary and play. In the dictionary section, words are listed next to their opposites. To learn the meaning, students just tap on the word and a definition appears. There are 10 levels with 100+ words per level. In the play section, words are pronounced by a boy or a girl as they appear in bubbles and float towards the top of the screen Kids are to tap pairs of opposites as they appear – which makes the words turn a color then pop. The goal is to match 12 sets of opposites – which completes the level. A bonus round then appears in which the student has 20 seconds to match up an entire board full of opposites. This app starts off simply but becomes quite challenging in the later levels. It could be used for differentiating a lesson and/or for helping students grow their understanding of antonyms.
Common Core Standards met:
Same Meaning Magic – The day I downloaded this iPhone/ iPad app it was FREE. It is now $.99. In this word game, kids help two young magicians named Leo & Luna by choosing a synonym for the bolded word in the sentence. Kids earn coins for choosing the correct answers. At the end of each level, you are shown the number of questions answered, the amount of money collected, and a percentage score for that level. There are 5 levels of play from very easy to very hard. Although I found some overlap in the earlier levels, the difficulty of the sentences definitely increased. Lots of good practice… This game could be used in a one iPad classroom to teach using context clues. The app could also be used as an independent or buddy activity. Also available is Same Meaning Magic Part II for an additional $.99.
Common Core Standards met:
FREE (with in-app purchase to complete) – Quizzitive, a vocabulary game that helps you master “1000 Words Worth Knowing” – chosen by Merriam-Webster editors. The app has ten levels of difficulty. The first two levels (100 words each) are free. An in-app purchase of $1.99 unlocks the full game. The game features four kinds of vocabulary quizzes: Speed Drill, Name That Thing, Tunnel Vision, and Hidden Letters. After playing each game, there is the option to review your answers. You can replay each level as many times as you want – without resetting the game. The app tracks your achievements as you master the words and try to beat your personal best. It also compares your scores to other players’ scores. Try the FREE levels to see if this app is for you. 🙂
Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/quizzitive-merriam-webster/id645814720?mt=8&uo=4
Vocabulicious Kinder for the iPhone/iPad is a flashcard app designed to help preschoolers and kindergartners increase their vocabulary. The FREE version includes 4 categories: animals, more animals, fruit, and plants. 14 additional categories are available as in-app purchases. Children earn stars by correctly tapping on the named/written object. The images on the flashcards are high quality photographs. There is an option to show either 2 or 4 cards at a time which permits adults to adjust the level to meet their child’s needs. There is also an option to set the type to be all caps or lowercase letters. The settings permit you to have up to 4 players. This app could be used with toddlers, students with language delays, or ESL students. Check out the FREE version if your child needs to work on vocabulary development.
FREE for a limited time – Write Right, a fabulous tool for writers of all ages. Write Right jazzes up your writing by suggesting replacement synonyms, antonyms, or phrases for the words/phrases in your writing. The app makes “smart” replacements – preserving the proper conjugation, gender, and number. This app would be fabulous to use with students! Download now, brainstorm later!!
Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/writeright-enjoy-writing/id671844532?mt=8&uo=4
FREE for a limited time – RefMe, an app that creates citations, bibliographies, and reference lists. Before you can use RefMe, you must register for an account using your email address. Once you’re registered, you are ready to begin. Name your project and choose a formatting style for it. The app has a search option for 6500+ styles or you can choose one of the thirteen most popular styles with a simple click. Once you choose your style, you can start referencing. There are three ways to add your sources: use the device’s camera to scan a book’s barcode, type in the website’s URL, or add the resource manually. The app can reference thirty-five different types of resources such as blog posts, maps, musical scores, pamphlets, etc. It synces and saves all of your information to http://www.refMe.com. You can export your citations into a Word, Bib Tex, and more. Or, you can email them to yourself then copy and paste them into your document. Bibliographies become simple using refMe!
Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/refme/id553222694?mt=8&uo=4
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