Category Archives: language arts apps

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SparkleFish

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SparkleFish is a FREE educational app for iPhone/iPad that works like a digital version of Mad Libs. Five stories are included in the app with others available as in-app purchases. Kids are asked to provide words from a specific category (animal, body part, etc.) or a specific part of speech (adjectives, nouns, adverbs, past tense verbs, etc.). If the child cannot think of a good word, he/she can get suggestions from SparkleFish by touching the word. Instead of writing the words, kids record their choices in their own voice. Their words are played back in the reading of the story. Kids can save their recordings and listen to them later. This app allows kids to practice parts of speech in a fun way. Kids love Mad Libs because the results can be hilarious. I am sure they will feel the same way about SparkleFish. 🙂

Recommended!

SparkleFish - Whosagoodboy Partners

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Find the Synonym

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FREE  – Find the Synonym is an app designed for the iPhone/iPad. It is listed as a game app 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. You 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 kids but it is educational. 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. 🙂

Recommended!

Find The Synonym - FreshLogo

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Spelling Millionaire 2

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Spleeling Millionaire

FREE for a limited time – Spelling Millionaire 2, a fun spelling game for the entire family. This educational app challenges players to spell check 15 rounds of words. The app’s look is similar to the TV show, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. It includes a host, an audience, a money board, fun graphics & animations, music, and sound effects. The words become increasingly difficult with each round. The more answers you get right, the higher you climb on the money panel. The app features: 4 game modes, more than 2,000 (British & American) words grouped by difficulty, definitions for every word, lifelines – ask the audience and extra time, and more. Kids can play to get a taste of what it would be like to be on a TV game show – a great educational app to make spelling fun for older kids!

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/spelling-millionaire-2/id681055403?mt=8&uo=4

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Wonderopolis

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Wonderopolis

FREE – Wonderopolis, the educational app. Now you can explore Wonderopolis (the website) from your mobile device.

Wonderopolis (Wonderopolis | Where the Wonders of Learning Never Cease) is a fantastic website that provides a daily Wonder of the Day®. An intriguing question is posed each day. There is a written explanation of the answer (which you can read on your own or listen to), vocabulary words (with a word challenge), a gallery of images & videos – all to inspire curiosity and learning about the day’s wonder. Other daily features include a “Try It Out” section which suggests activities based on the day’s question, a “Still Wondering” section which gives additional/related information. and a quiz. There is also a section for teachers/parents called the “Educator Sandbox” which has additional resources and opportunities to connect with the Wonderopolis community.

Using this app/website would be a fabulous addition to a daily classroom routine. Kids could read the daily Wonder of the Day® as part of their independent work time. They could journal about what they learned and/or are still wondering about. A class discussion could be scheduled for later. What a great way to encourage THINKING! Wonderopolis is a fabulous resource to ignite the natural curiosity and imagination of kids!

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/wonderopolis/id505247028?mt=8&uo=4

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Phonics Tic Tac Toe Interactive Game

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tic tac toe

FREE for a limited time – Phonics Tic Tac Toe for the iPhone/iPad. This game reviews letter sounds (vowels, vowel combinations, consonant, consonant combinations) and syllables in a tic, tac, toe format. There is a lot of great phonics practice in this educational app. I really like that the app varies the placement of the missing sounds – at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end of the word. I also like how the app uses words with the same letters making different sounds. Since there is no sound, kindergarten/first graders might need help reading the questions. However, it would be perfect for independent practice for most second/third graders. Teachers could use it in a learning center, as independent seatwork with a friend, for small group intervention, etc. I only wish it had the option of having the questions read aloud for younger students. That being said, this app is definitely worth downloading!!

Common Core Standards met:

  • K. RF.3 – Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words. Demonstrate basic knowledge of one-to-one letter-sound correspondences by producing the primary sound or many of the most frequent sounds for each consonant. Associate the short sounds with common spellings (graphemes) for the five major vowels.
  • 1.RF.3/2.RF.3/3.RF.3/4.RF.3/5.RF.3 – Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.

Phonics Tic-Tac-Toe Interactive Game - Lakeshore Learning Materials

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Toontastic, Toontastic Jr. Shrek, and Toontastic Jr. Pirates

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toontastic

If you haven’t tried the original Toontastic, do yourself a favor and check it out….
Parents and teachers love Toontastic and kids can’t stop creating! Named by the NY Times as one of Top Ten iPad educational apps of 2011, Toontastic is a fabulously creative FREE app for kids. This app allows kids to draw, animate and share their own cartoons AND it teaches them the elements of a story! Kids are able to use backgrounds and characters from the app or create their own with the drawing tools that are provided. The basic app is FREE but there are several in-app purchases available. Final creations can be shared online via ToonTube, Toontastic’s global storytelling network. Over 2 million cartoons have been created in over 150 countries. Unleash your child’s creativity with this great educational app!!

Here is a link to more information: Toontastic: Play, Create, Learn on the iPad!.

Not only are the possibilities for using this app are endless but a child’s work can be shared with parents, grandparents, other classes, etc.

Toontastic - Launchpad Toys

Shrek

Toontastic Jr. Shrek is FREE again for a limited time. This storytelling app, from the creators of Toontastic, has kids creating their own Shrek cartoons. They start by choosing a beginning, middle, and ending. Then they animate the story by moving the characters and recording their voices at the same time. The educational app features 12 classic Shrek scenes and a cast of characters to get kids started. If kids would like to create a story with friends or family, they can utilize StoryShare, a new feature in Toontastic Jr. which is very cool! It enables kids to talk & create stories with friends or family anywhere in the world!

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/toontastic-jr.-shrek/id632359329?mt=8&uo=4

Toontastic Jr. PiratesToontastic Jr. Pirates is also FREE again for a limited time. This storytelling app, from the creators of Toontastic, has kids creating their own pirate cartoons. They start by choosing a beginning, middle, and ending. Then they animate the story by moving the characters and recording their voices at the same time. The educational app features 12 story starter videos and a cast of characters to get kids started. If kids would like to create a story with friends or family, they can utilize StoryShare, a new feature in Toontastic Jr. which is very cool! It enables kids to talk & create stories with friends or family anywhere in the world! Yo ho ho – how fun is that??

Toontastic Jr. Pirates - for iPad - Launchpad Toys

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ABC Spy HD

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ABC Spy for the iPhone/iPad is currently FREE. It challenges kids to create their own ABC book with photos of items that start with each letter. Children can take their own pictures, use pictures from the app’s library, or use photos from their own library. After the child has the photo, he/she chooses a frame for it then types in the text to go with the framed picture. When the book is finished, it can be turned into a movie and saved or shared via email, text message, or You Tube.

Kids can create ABC books of almost anything – animals, a vacation, their town, etc. Since this educational app allows you to pull things from your photo library, kids can create their own artwork in another app and pull it into this one. VERY cool with loads of potential!

Highly Recommended!

ABC Spy HD - Stealth Education

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Mad Libs

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Over 120,000,000 Mad Libs have been sold to date. MadLibs.com gets 50,000 visitors per month. And now, Mad Libs is a FREE educational app for the iPhone/iPad with over 3.7 million downloads. Mad Libs are stories with words left out. 21 stories are included with this app. A reader selects a story but doesn’t tell what it is about. Writers (the other players) give words to fill in the blanks in the story. The reader calls out the type of word needed for the blank  –  adjective, noun, collective noun, verb, verb ending with ing, etc. Once all the blanks in the story have been filled, the reader reads the story aloud. The result is usually a silly, funny story. Kids love Mad Libs and in order to play, they have to know parts of speech. Mad Libs are a great classroom activity when you have 10 minutes before lunch, at the end of the day, waiting for a guest, etc. Who knew learning parts of speech could be so much fun!?!

Mad Libs - Penguin Group USA

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Wubbzy’s Dance Party

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Wubbzy

FREE today – Wubbzy’s Dance Party, a storybook app featuring Wonder Wubbzy and Flower Power Daizy. This educational app was developed by Cupcake Digital in partnership with the producers of the Emmy® Award-winning Nick Jr. TV series Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!®.

 Kids dance and read along with Wubbzy and his pals as they plan the most Wubbtastic Dance Party ever! Along the way kids will discover animations & interactivity on every page! The app also has educational games and sing-along music videos. The Grown Up’s Corner has 2 sets of questions about the story. The questions address literal understanding of the story (thin questions) as well as extended meaning (fat questions). Also included in the Grown-Up Corner is information about the Common Core Standards addressed by this app which are predominately kindergarten standards. Print-outs and activities to supplement the story are available online at cupcakedigital.com. What is not to love about this educational app? – Cute story packed with interactivity, educational games, sing-along videos, standards-based, and a guide for adults!

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/wubbzys-dance-party/id635871029?mt=8&uo=4

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FriendStrip Kids Pro

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Friendstrip

FREE for a limited time – FriendStrip Kids Pro, a cool photography app that turns your child into the star of his/her own comic strip! This educational app is easy to use. First kids pick one of the app’s 85 scenarios (created by true comic book artists) from categories such as fairy tales, space, stuffed animals, dinosaurs, and more. Frame by frame they set up a scene, strike a pose, and snap the picture. Before you know it, your child is the start of his/her own comic strip! Fully customizable texts give the app even greater flexibility. Final creations can be shared via email or Facebook – there are parental controls for this option.

This app would be so much fun to use in a classroom! It would help kids understand the elements of a story (setting, characters, problem, sequence of events, and conclusion) in a simple and fun way. And kids would LOVE presenting their comic strips to their peers. Super cute!!

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/friendstrip-kids-pro/id687451368?mt=8&uo=4