Category Archives: FREE apps (for a limited time)

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Fry Words

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Fry Words

FREE (for a limited time) app that teaches sight words from the Fry Word List. The Fry Instant Word List contains 1000 words arranged by their order of frequency in printed materials. In order to build reading fluency, it is important for early readers to recognize these words by sight. It is suggested that first graders learn the first 100 words, second graders learn the second 100 words, and third graders learn the third 100 words. The remaining words on the list should be mastered by the end of fifth grade.

The app presents the word in a manageable fashion – lists of 10 words. There is a learning mode and a quiz mode. In the learning mode, words are presented one at a time. In the quiz mode, kids have to choose the correct word from a list of 2 – 6 words. The app permits you or your child to pronounce/record the words in your own voice – a great option for kids working on articulation. This is a nice app for helping kids learn important sight words. If it only kept track of what was mastered – now THAT would be fabulous!

.Fry Words - Innovative Mobile Apps

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Phonics Genius

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Phonics Genius

Phonics Genius is a FREE app with over 6,000 words grouped into 200+ categories. There is a learning mode and a quiz mode. In the learning mode, words are presented and pronounced one at a time. The sound that is being emphasized is in red. In the quiz mode, kids have to choose the correct word from a list that can be set to include 2 – 6 words. The app permits you to pronounce/record the words in your own voice – a great option for kids working on articulation. The app also permits you to add/delete cards.You can also combine categories.

So, here are some things to consider:

The “ing” and “ed” sounds have 3 categories based on what happens to the base word when the “ing”  or “ed” is added. Does your lesson focus on the sound in the words or the structure of the words? If it’s about structure, use all 3 lists and have kids discover the rule. 🙂 Please note – skiing should be in “ing 2” since the root does not change.

Some of the categories contain more than one syllable – ary, ation, etion, ician, ible, ical, ician, ity, etc.

Some sounds (such as ff, ck, ll) are found in multiple categories only because they occupy different positions in the words. You can combine these categories if you wish.

The category “j sound of g” contains 3 words (hedgehog, gadget, garage) that also have the hard sound of g. I would delete these 3 words to avoid confusion.

The “h hat” category is labeled as “g beginning”.

The “o cvc” category has bow as the example card but the cards in the stack do follow the rule. Bow should be in the one of the “ow” categories depending on its pronunciation.

There are 2 “oi” categories – oi & oid. I would combine them since the sound is the same. I would also delete tortoise.

If you are trying to generate a list of words with specific sounds, this app could be a resource. I did not go through all 6000+ words in this app – there are probably additional tweaks that I would make depending on how I was going to use it. But, because it is customizable, you can add, delete, and combine categories to make this app work for you!

Phonics Genius - Innovative Mobile Apps

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Little Writer – The Tracing App for Kids

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FREE again – Little Writer is a letter writing app for the iPhone/iPad that is designed to teach 3 – 6 year olds how to write upper & lower case letters, numbers, shapes, and words. It starts by showing the shape of the letter and naming it. The child traces along lines to write the letter. Then the child is praised and told what letter, number, shape or word he/she has just written. When writing a word, the letters are presented one at a time with the full word shown in the upper right-hand corner. When the word is finished, a picture pops up with the child’s writing underneath it.

There are a lot of great things about this app. I like the size of the letters  – nice and big for little hands. I also like that there are subtle dotted lines on the page. But, the best part of this app is the ability to customize it. You can turn items on or off in order to introduce letters, numbers, etc. slowly. You can record your voice or your child’s voice pronouncing the names of the letters, numbers, etc. You can add in your own pictures & words so that your child can learn to write his/her own name and names of family members or whatever you wish! You can add additional letters for foreign words so that you can use it to teach simple words in another language. SO many possibilities……

Common Core Standards met:

  • K.RF.1 – Recognize and name all upper and lowercase letters of the alphabet.

Highly Recommended!

Little Writer - The Tracing App for Kids - Innovative Mobile Apps

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Miffy in the Garden

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Miffy in the Garden2

Miffy in the Garden for the iPhone/iPad is FREE for a limited time. Toddlers/preschoolers listen to the story based on the book Miffy’s Garden by Dick Bruna. As they listen, they learn what they can do to help Miffy the rabbit with her garden. They help her by raking, sowing seeds, and harvesting her carrots. The app also includes a game of counting carrots. This cute & simple app for little ones was developed in the Netherlands and can easily be switched from Dutch to English. It’s perfect for the spring season because it helps kids understand how to plant and care for vegetables!

Miffy in the garden - Sanoma Media Netherlands B.V.

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100 Diggers and Excavators

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The e-book, 100 Diggers & Excavators, is FREE for a limited time for the iPhone/iPad. This book is easy to use and features over 100 HD pictures of diggers in action with sound clips! There is text on every page describing a digger or excavator, its location, or the job that it is doing. The list in the upper right hand corner can be used to preview/access individual pages in the app. The book does have not to be read in order since it is not telling a story. It is simply describing the machines pictured on each page. Also included is a video clip of a digger in action. If you have a lover of heavy machinery in your life – you may want to check out this book 🙂

100 Diggers and Excavators - Whyse ApS

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DoReMi 1-2-3: Music for Kids

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Do Re Mi

FREE again for a limited time – the FULL version of DoReMi 1-2-3: Music for Kids. Cute characters teach kids learn how to play familiar tunes. Kids learn by listening and repeating what they hear. There are two modes in this app – song mode and free mode. In song mode, kids can choose to play one of 6 different songs. In free mode, kids can create their own recordings. Very cute app with great auditory training!

DoReMi 1-2-3: Music for kids - Creativity Inc.

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Three Little Pigs – A Play

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FREE again – Three Little Pigs – A Play for the iPhone/iPad for kids 4+. An updated version of the 3 Little Pigs is presented as a play starring Mitch, Clara, Ran, and Clarence Bear. The book is brightly illustrated and the characters respond when they are tapped. The background music and narration are nicely done. The book can also be read alone. The story generally follows the traditional tale – the first pig builds a house from straw, the second pig builds a house of sticks, and the third pig builds a house of bricks. All of the pigs get away (rather than the first 2 being eaten) and wolf runs away yelping in pain. The first 2 pigs learn the lesson: Take your time and do your best. The story ends with the first 2 pigs starting to rebuild their houses in the spring – this time with bricks, of course!

In my classroom I used different versions of the same fairy tale/folk tale for studying story elements as well as comparing & contrasting. This would be a good version to compare with the traditional tale since its setting is in modern times. Kids can look for evidence to prove that the story takes place in current times. They could also use Venn diagrams to compare the traditional tale to this version or other versions that they have read. Lots of possibilities to extend the use of this book as you get comprehension strategies.

Recommended!

Three Little Pigs - A Play HD - C&B Unlimited

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Montessori ABC for Kids HD: Learn and Trace Alphabet Letters

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Montessori 2Montessori ABC for Kids HD

FREE for a limited time – Montessori ABC for Kids HD: Learn and Trace Alphabet Letters. This app has two sections: animated flashcards (to teach kids the letters/sounds) and traceable worksheets (to teach kids how to write the letters). The flashcard section has cute animations to teach kids letters & sounds in a fun way. The writing section has two modes (right-handed and left-handed) to teach upper and lower case letters. The app is designed to have multiple users and parents can track their children’s progress. Nicely done!!

This developer also did ABC Games – Montessori Phonics-enabled Alphabet which I reviewed on November 2, 2012.

Common Core Standards met:

  • K.RF.1 – Demonstrate understanding of the organization and basic features of print. Recognize and name all upper and lowercase letters of the alphabet.

Montessori ABC for Kids HD: Learn and Trace Alphabet Letters - Kids Academy Company

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iLuv Drawing Dinosaurs HD – Learn how to draw dinosaurs step by step

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iLuv Drawing Dinosaurs

FREE for a limited time  – iLuv Drawing Dinosaurs HD. Kids learn to draw 19 dinosaurs by tracing over step by step templates. After finishing the drawing, your child can color it, add a background, stickers, etc. The editing tools (eraser, undo, redo, start over) make this app easy to use! There are also blank pages so that your child can create his/her own drawings. Finished works can be saved, printed, or shared via email. Drawings saved into the drawing book can be edited later. Use this app to have your child create cards, greetings for loved ones!

iLuv Drawing Dinosaurs HD - Learn how to draw dinosaurs step by step - MyVijan LLC

 

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Teach Me Toddler

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Teach Me Toddler

FREE today – Teach Me Toddler, a fabulous app for teaching your little one letters, numbers, shapes, colors, phonics (letter sounds), and counting. The app includes parental controls so that parents/teachers can choose which areas they want their child/children to work on. Up to 40 players can be entered and the topics for each player can vary – it’s fully customizable by individual! And… the app keeps track of each child’s performance – perfect for a preschool or kindergarten classroom. Teachers could start by assigning general practice for all then reset the players and customize it to meet individual kids’ needs  – AWESOME!!

Kids are rewarded for correct answers with stickers or coins. Sticker scenes include the beach, reef, pirate cove, city, farm, and playground. Parents/teachers can set the number of correct responses needed for getting a sticker from 1 – 9. Completed scenes can be exported to share. 🙂

One of the BEST thing about this app is the appropriateness of the topics. It teaches numbers to 20, counting to 10, upper and lower case letters, 11 colors, 9 shapes, and letter sounds. I was so excited that it taught the hard and soft sound of c!! Download this one today – it is rarely FREE!

TeachMe: Toddler - 24x7digital LLC