Category Archives: FREE apps (for a limited time)

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Language Adventure Quiz Game Show/ Math Quiz Game Show

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language adventure

Math Quiz

FREE until March 11, 4 new apps from Lakeshore – Language Adventure Quiz game Show 1 – 3, Language Adventure Quiz game Show 4 – 6, Math Quiz Game Show 1 – 3, and Math Quiz Game Show 4 – 6. All four of these games are presented in a “Jeopardy-like” format. You begin by choosing the number of teams that will be playing. Then you choose 4 categories of questions that you would like on the board. Just like on Jeopardy, the player gets to choose the category and value of the question he/she will answer. The app even has its own game show host and game show music – cute! Kids love playing these sorts of games. I would suggest downloading them now (while they are FREE) then decide how you might use them. They could work for a one iPad classroom or for small independent groups when the teacher is working with others. Kids may even like using this app during indoor recess!

Language Adventure Quiz game Show 1 – 3   Language Adventures Quiz Game Show - Gr. 1-3 - Lakeshore Learning Materials

Language Adventure Quiz game Show 4 – 6   Language Adventures Quiz Game Show - Gr. 4-6 - Lakeshore Learning Materials

Math Quiz Game Show 1 – 3   Math Quiz Game Show - Gr. 1-3 - Lakeshore Learning Materials

Math Quiz Game Show 4 – 6   Math Quiz Game Show - Gr. 4-6 - Lakeshore Learning Materials

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Rain Dots

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rain dots

FREE today only!! Rain Dots is a color matching game. The dots at the bottom of the screen show kids what color/how many dots to tap as colored dots rain from the sky. The app is visually appealing with fun popping sounds. The settings permit you to adjust the rate & speed of the dots and the bordering around the dots. This app is simple to use and great for promoting visual tracking, eye hand coordination, color matching, etc.  A nicely done app –  I will definitely be looking at other apps from this developer!

Rain Dots - Ellie's Games, LLC

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Jungle Picnic

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Jungle Picnic

FREE for a limited time – Jungle Picnic, a cute story with embedded learning games for 2 – 4 year olds. Charlie the Monkey and his friends, Alice the Zebra & Ralph the Giraffe, are planning a picnic. Charlie’s silliness causes some problems along the way and kids are enlisted to help save the picnic. As they help the animals, kids are working on early math skills – matching, sorting, and one-to-one correspondence.  Literacy is also embedded in this app  – the words are highlighted as the text is narrated. Words can also be touched individually to hear them read aloud. Jungle Picnic is a perfect blend of story & learning skills – fantastic fun for little ones!

Recommended!

Jungle Picnic - Shiny Things

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Trixie & Jinx

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Trixie & Jinx

FREE for a limited time – Trixie and Jinx, a story for kids by New York Times bestselling author Dean Koontz. Trixie, the main character of the book, is Dean Koontz’s much-loved golden retriever. In the story, Trixie and Jinx the dachshund are best friends. Jinx goes on vacation with his family and Trixie discovers that no one can take his place. This story is wonderful – the perfect blend of a fun story with a great message about the importance of friendship.

The book can be read in 3 modes: read myself, read to me, or autoplay. Another very unique feature of this e-book is the ability to personalize it. Kids can edit the illustrations (repaint background & character), the narration (record it being read by a parent or a child), and Jinx’s name (add their dog to the story). The app also includes an “extras” section featuring an introduction to Dean Koontz, a tutorial on how to use the app, a photo gallery with pictures of the real-life Trixie, and a link to an organization called Canine Companions which provides assistance dogs for children & adults with disabilities.

This app could be incorporated into a reading unit centering around friendship stories or animal stories. It could also be used as a springboard for all sorts of creative writing – write about your dog, your dog’s best friend, your best friend, etc. There are so many possibilities for using this wonderful app in a classroom. And the most obvious reason to use it …. it’s a fun, GREAT story!

Highly recommended!!

Trixie and Jinx is an interactive story book app for kids that describes all the wonderful things that two best friends enjoy; written by the bestselling author Dean Koontz, illustrated by Janet Cleland. (iPad Lite Version; by Auryn Apps) - Auryn Inc.

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Super Readers – A Dolch Sight Words Based Story Book App That Will Help Turn Your Child Into a Super Reader!

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super readers

FREE for a limited time – Super Readers, an animated storybook app for early readers! This app uses the Dolch sight words in 10 vocabulary controlled stories at 5 different reading levels: kindergarten, beginning first, middle first, end of first, and beginning second. Kids can choose to have the stories read to them with automatic text highlighting or they can touch individual words to have them read. Another great feature  – kids can record themselves reading the book and then play it back. What a wonderful confidence builder for little ones trying to build their fluency!!

Common Core Standards met:

K.RF.3 – Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words. c. Read common high-frequency words by sight (e.g., the, of, to, you, she, my, is, are, do, does).

Recommended!

Super Readers - A Dolch Sight Words Based Story Book App That Will Help Turn Your Child Into a Super Reader! - Jorge Sanchez

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Dr. Seuss Camera – The Cat in the Hat Edition

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dr. seuss camera

Just in time for Dr. Seuss’s birthday/Read Across America Day on March 2 – Dr. Seuss Camera – The Cat in the Hat Edition is FREE and over 40 Dr. Seuss apps are on sale. Take a picture of your child with Cat in the Hat characters or turn your child into one of the characters using this app. There are 16 picture choices within the app. And… it is VERY easy to use. Just use the camera on your device or access photos from your library. Then add crazy borders, stamps, and Seussian text. Share the cards to your photos or email them!! FABULOUS resource for Read Across America Day!!

Dr. Seuss Camera - The Cat in the Hat Edition - Oceanhouse Media

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Cookie Next Door – Rainy Days

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cookie

WOW – here’s one you don’t want to miss!! FREE for a limited time –  Cookie Next Door-Rainy Days. This app was a choice in the “New & Noteworthy”  section of the app store earlier this month. Kids become storytellers in this animated adventure. Their speech, songs, and rhymes bring Cookie and his friends alive. The app includes a Creative Comic Book, a Voice Over Studio, and an Animated Stage Projector. Creative Comic Book utilizes storyboards to guide kids through the storytelling experience. In the Voice Over Studio, kids can change the pitch of the characters’ voices. As kids tell the story their speech, singing, etc. is transformed into the voices of the characters. Once the story is complete, the Animated Stage turns it into a play with dancing props! This app is very creative, very fun and it’s great for developing oral language skills. I am looking forward to more adventures of Cookie and friends!!

Cookie Next Door ~ Rainy Days - Sabodu LLC

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Juno’s Musical ABCs

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juno

FREE again for a limited time – Juno’s Musical ABCs. Narrated by Brooke Shields, this e-book for the iPhone/iPad was created by Emmy Award winning composer, Belinda Takahashi. Kids join Juno and her friends on a musical journey through the alphabet. The book, written in rhyme, teaches kids what instruments look & sound like as well as some musical terminology. It has 3 reading modes: read it to me, read it myself, or autoplay.
Kids will enjoy interacting with the characters (who talk & move when touched) in this cute, colorful book. Nicely done – what a great ABC book to share with a music class!

Juno's Musical ABCs HD - The Juno Company

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I Learn with Transportation

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ilearn

FREE for a limited time – I Learn with Transportation for the iPhone/iPad. This app for toddlers teaches word names, sounds, colors, shapes, numbers, and environments of different means of transportation. Colorful, happy vehicles travel through the pages of this interactive book. Kids tap the vehicles to learn more. I like that the developers set the app up so that kids can name the sound, color, shape, etc. on their own and then they tap to see if they are correct. The app is also bilingual – it can easily be switched to Spanish. Your little one will love exploring the 21 different means of transportation in this cute app. Recommended!

I learn with transportation - DADA Company

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The Opposites

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The Opposites is currently FREE for the iPhone/iPad. Designed for kids 7+, this 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:

  • 4.L.5 – Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings. c.Demonstrate understanding of words by relating them to their opposites (antonyms) and to words with similar but not identical meanings (synonyms).
  • 5.L.5 – Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings. c. Use the relationship between particular words (e.g., synonyms, antonyms, homographs) to better understand each of the words.

Recommended!

The Opposites - Mindshapes Limited