2nd Grade:
From Ms. Brauer:
Sight Words Hangman
I think it was free… Great app for your struggling readers or ELL students. It has 2 versions. In the Hangman version, there are 40 lists plus holiday categories. You can select the specific list or use random mode. There are 2 levels (easy or hard). The harder level is probably better for 2nd graders. The computer says a sight word and the student must choose the correct word. There are 4 choices (usually all beginning with the same letter). The game keeps track of the lists played and whether or not the student was successful. You can see what word they
picked as well. In the other mode, flashcard, students can see the words as the computer reads it to them. You can then go into “quiz” mode and it flashes a card for the student to read. This part could be great with a parent volunteer to check their accuracy. Students can also say the word, and then click on the word to check their answer as well.
I think it was free… Great app for your struggling readers or ELL students. It has 2 versions. In the Hangman version, there are 40 lists plus holiday categories. You can select the specific list or use random mode. There are 2 levels (easy or hard). The harder level is probably better for 2nd graders. The computer says a sight word and the student must choose the correct word. There are 4 choices (usually all beginning with the same letter). The game keeps track of the lists played and whether or not the student was successful. You can see what word they
picked as well. In the other mode, flashcard, students can see the words as the computer reads it to them. You can then go into “quiz” mode and it flashes a card for the student to read. This part could be great with a parent volunteer to check their accuracy. Students can also say the word, and then click on the word to check their answer as well.
From Ms. Beckmann:
imovie - cost $4.99
imovie has a lot of built in features that help create really nice looking video. It allows you to shoot a movie or insert existing video and pictures or both as you create your movie. This app provides many choices for sound effects and background music that you can add to your movie. You can edit frames and stretch a sequence. You can record sound over the top of your
existing video and you can add some visual effects such as a title or fade to black.
imovie also has a trailer feature that allows you to create a trailer for the movie using the following themes: Bollywood, Expedition, Fairy Tale, Narrative, Retro, Romance, Scary, Superhero, and Swashbuckler. Once you make a movie you can share it directly from the app to itunes, youtube or Facebook.
From Ms. Buck:
Vocabulary Spelling City: Free
This app allows students to choose from a variety of word lists to practice their spelling. It also provides variety of lists from all grade levels. Students can practice their word lists using a variety of games and activities such as Unscramble, Hangman, Alphabetical Order, Missing letter, audio playback of the words, as well as quizzes. I love that there are a variety of activities to choose from so students can remain engaged and move from activity to activity.What I also found awesome about the app. was that teachers can upload their word lists from their spelling curriculum so students can practice those specific words. Teachers can join the free membership so they can create their own lists for students to access. Parents as well as students can access these lists just by searching for their specific school and by teacher name. By becoming a premium member, you can get access to additional spelling games and activities. Teachers can also track student growth and record activity as well as provided specific lists for differentiated groups as well as individual students.
From Mrs. Roach:
Arithme Tick - math flash cards / There is a free version and a $0.99 version.
The object of the game is to solve as many addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division facts as possible before the time runs out. You may choose the difficulty of the facts as well as what type of problems are to be tested.
From Ms. Finney:
My ipad app is called Rocket Speller. A little alien guy flies along in his spaceship stopping to spell words that go with pictures. The letters are there but they are scrambled. The student needs to touch and drag the letters into the correct order to spell the word for the picture. As
the alien moves through the levels, he gets to blast off into the next level earning points along the way. My students really like this app.
From Ms. Comer:
3D Interactive Pop-up Books (StoryToys Entertainment Limited) $4.99 each but has been on Apps Gone Free, so watch for them to "pop-up" again!
These are interactive boks Grimm fairy tales. Students can read the stories, have it read to them, interact with each page's setting, answer questions, and play games to all help them understand the different features of these fairy tales. Not only is it an interactive and attention-grabbing way to get into these classic stories, it also hits one of our core genres that we try to expose the students to in 2nd grade.
3rd Grade:
From Ms. Rappana:
Running Record Calculator is an app that makes collecting reading data faster and more accurate. The app is capable of recording a student's oral reading and at the push of a few buttons, calculates words per minute, accuracy rate, and the self-correction ratio. After completing the running record, the app allows the user to play back the entire passage. The teacher is able to "flag" specific portions of the oral reading for play back. All info can then be converted to an email to share the results! This app is $4.99, but a "lite" version is available for free. The lite version does not include the recording/play back feature.
From Ms. Rich:
Educreation is an amazing new way to share your ideas and knowledge with friends, colleagues, and students .You can show your students how to solve problems, have them write books and research reports, add images, and record everything! Once you are finished, you
can share your video lesson/book with anyone, even if they do not have an iPad.
There are also MANY lessons already on the sight that you can share with your class when teaching a concept! TOO COOL!!
From Ms. Demings:
Skitch / Great tool to use draw out explanantions in math, highlight vocabulary words, and /or make a quiz over chapter. You can import pictures from the web take a picture or use your own photos. Get your point across with fewer words using annotation, shapes and sketches, so that your ideas become reality faster.
Factorama / Is a fun game from HeyMath!, is designed for kids in the age group of 8-12. The game tests the concept of factors and multiple involving numbers 2-13 through a board game setting. Kids learn to identify the relation between factors and multiples. Helps kids memorize factors of numbers. The game scenario motivates the child to score higher & higher challenging themselves, thereby promoting learning. It is addicting!
From Ms. Johnson:
Math VS Zombie / $.99 but FREE for a limited time!
Save yourself from a Zombie attack using Math as your weapon. Four worlds
with 28 levels help sharpen your addition, subtraction, multiplication
and division skills. Questions are generated in an adaptive way with an
appropriate difficulty level. PERFECT for a guided math center.
Ms. Louthain:
Nearpod is a free app that allows teachers to send presentations to student tablets. It also allows teachers to create questions and collect student responses. This could be a great app to use for reviewing material and giving quick assessments during center or small group instruction.
Geography Drive USA is a $4.99 app. In the app students can
drive a customized car across the country. As they do the app gives them
information on landmarks, historical events, capitals, and other state features.
Questions also appear for students to
answer as they travel along. Although this app costs money, I feel it could be
a fun and interactive way for children to explore geography.
From Ms. Reiser:
Kid's Timer--Lickety Split for $0.99
This is a timer app that uses encouragement and the power of music to motivate children as they transition through the day. For "Beat the Timer", the goal is to finish the task and hit the "I did it!" button before the timer runs out. There is also a count down timer that could be
used to count down to the 100th day of school. There are custom timers that you can set the task to be completed and set the length of time.
From Ms. Reiser:
Kid's Timer--Lickety Split for $0.99
This is a timer app that uses encouragement and the power of music to motivate children as they transition through the day. For "Beat the Timer", the goal is to finish the task and hit the "I did it!" button before the timer runs out. There is also a count down timer that could be
used to count down to the 100th day of school. There are custom timers that you can set the task to be completed and set the length of time.
Specials
From Ms. Moore:
"Young Music Genius"
Good stuff about this app: Where to start? I can’t believe this app is FREE. It’s really quite neato. First good thing is that right when you open the app you are immediately greeted by the London Philharmonic performing Mozart right to you! (Marriage of Figaro)
I know this app appears to be geared towards a younger crowd, but where was this when I was in my first music classes in college? The practice/tests you can take questioning which musical masterpiece goes with which composer is invaluable. I really could have used this game back then.
The choice to “learn” or “play” is given and you can get right to it. There are a few different “games” within this app including one where you simply have to choose which classical instrument you are hearing. Also, (my favorite) you listen to the masterpiece being played and you get to try and guess the correct composer. I love this! The progress page is pretty in depth and shows you how many times you have visited certain pages, etc. The memory game is just as fun, and is quite interactive with the classical sounds of each card.
I give 5 stars out of 4 for this one!!
From Ms. Hale:
The cost of the app is $4.99
The iPad is exciting for PE because of it’s built in camera, which is why IMovie is a very useful app. Using IMovie, the students or I can record them participating in a variety of skills, and then they can instantly see their performance. Using this app, the students can slow down or speed up the video and watch it frame by frame. In the future using the IMovie app can be used for a variety of assessments either in the form of self, peer, or teacher related assessment.
From Ms. Castillo:
My new ESL students have been working with Kids Learn Sight Words by Teacher Created Materials. They can hear and see the sight words at the same time. Then they can record the word and listen to their recording. It also allows the students to write the word with their finger. The app has other games like hangman and word matching. There is a YouTube video you can watch.
From Ms. Baker
Word Wonderland-Free
Great app from McGraw-Hill for word sorting. Students practice many types of word sorts as the friendly frog hops through the pond. Many different adventures as students practice sorting and reading words. Recommended for K-2 grades, but this app would also benefit 3rd grade
struggling readers.
Special Education
From Ms. Campbell:
Free fall time-$ 1.99
A fun way to learn how to tell time. It’s for quick thinking and provides 4 different time telling modes. The app alternates activities to provide balance of entertainment and skill building. Students can practice setting the clock using the hour and minute hands, quickly choose the correct time as they fall from the sky and they get an interactive fish tank reward for doing a good job.
From Ms. Young:
Book Creator for iPad / By Red Jumper Studio / http://vimeo.com/redjumper/bookcreator
Book Creator is a fantastic tool for students to use to create short stories. Students create their own books using images, text, videos, and audio recordings. They can arrange their books in three different formats; portrait, square, or landscape. Each page in their book can include pictures and videos from your iPad’s camera roll and or from your iTunes library. Students can narrate their books by tapping the record button to add their voices to each page of their book. Completed books can be sent directly to your iBooks library or shared to a service like Dropbox.
I also make copies of guided reading books and have students record them
reading them. It's a great way to build fluency in a motivated way.
From Ms. Bray:
Creative Book Builder, $3.99 from Tiger Ng and Book Creator for iPad by Red Jumper Studio, $4.99.
I have found the kids I work with who have trouble organizing ideas for writing get excited and love writing on the iPad. In our small groups for speech we are able to brainstorm ideas, organize and put in pictures to make writing come alive for them!
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App Study Round I
Parent Contributions
From Ms. Hill:
I want to share the app "Stick Pick" this app can be found in the App Store, but you must
switch to iPhone apps. The icon is blue with a can and popsicle sticks. This app works as a random student select but with a twist. It allows you to label each stick with a student's name but then also assign a thinking level to that student. So if you know a student is working at the knowledge level - you assign that level, so when the app selects that student you will automatically get question prompts at the thinking level.
I have played with it and really liked it. This will help to support a form of simultaneity as well as asking leveled questions of our students in accordance with MCP. As a MCP facilitator, I found that most of the teachers, (me included), found that asking questions with cognitive verbs was an area to work on.
Media Center - Ms. Stephens
7 little words for kids - It can be purchased for $2.99 and does not contain ads.
This app is a word game that is fun and challenging for kids. They discover 7 colorful worlds as they solve these word puzzles. Clues are given for seven words that can be formed using given word parts (groups of 2-3 letters). If students get stuck they may choose a hint. Reinforces vocabulary building and spelling. This would be great to use in pairs for students who need additional vocabulary activities or as a whole class activity when you have just a few minutes to fill. I enjoy the adult version on iPad, which is free. 7 little words sends you a free daily puzzle. There is an option to purchase others. But beware: limited free hints in this version. There is an option to purchase more hints.
2nd Grade
From Mrs Hart:
Little Bird Tales - Easy Digital Stories For Kids/$2.99
Little Bird Tales is a fabulous way for kids to share and publish their own stories. It provides step-by-step instructions for users to follow, which makes this tool very simple and easy to use. Students can use digital images of their own illustrations or scenes and upload them. Then, they are then able to record their own voice as they tell their own story. The end result is a slideshow format ebook that can be instantly shared with the world or just select individuals, such as, teachers, friends, or family. Overall, this app is very user friendly, and it is also available for free online through www.littlebirdtales.com. There are many product samples available through the app and website for you to see the many potential opportunities it provides.
From Ms. Beckmann:
Solar Walk $4.99
This app allows students to take a 3D tour of the solar system. You can jump from one space object to the next by clicking on any object you see rotate space objects, and see multiple views of different space objects.
Users can view facts and figures about each object, view details about different space missions and watch videos about space phenomenon such as a solar eclipse.
The 3D images of all the space objects are very enticing and moving around from object to object gives you a better understanding of geographic relationships and
scale within the solar system.
From Ms. Brauer:
TeachMe Series (Preschool-3rd Grade) $1.99
This app can be set up for the entire class. Second Grade app includes addition, subtraction, spelling, and sight words. Third Grade app includes multiplication, division, spelling, and sight words. The students really enjoy this app because they earn coins to buy different rewards. The students are also able to take pictures and decorate the photos. In order to earn coins, the students have to answer questions in different subjects. If a student is unsure of the question, he/she can appeal for help and the program will do a mini-lesson for the child. The teacher can control how often the student is rewarded, the topics the student will be quizzed on, and how many times the question must be answered correctly to be marked as “learned”. The teacher can also view the students’ progress and answers for the different topics. Each student’s profile can be differentiated as well.
Short video of Ms. Brauer demonstrating TeachMe: Link
From Ms. Comer:
Brain Pop Featured Movie (free)
I first off, love that this app is FREE and you can download two versions of it: English AND Spanish! Which is great for our diverse classrooms. Both versions have the same materials so kids are doing the same skills in either language.
This is definitely not an app I would start kids off with at the beginning of the year in 2nd grade. It contains some higher level vocabulary and more in depth comprehension questions that they would struggle with independently early on in the year. However, as the year progresses and various comprehension strategies are addressed in the classroom, this is great reinforcement of the skills!
How it works: Students pick a subject area (ie: math, history, science, technology, etc) and choose a video to watch. The video has pictures, animation, and narration that is chalk-full of information. (Great connection to 2nd grade Biography book reports too!) Topics are non-fiction, and also include many of the text features we teach in class. After watching the video, students are able to take a quiz on the information they saw/heard. The quizes ask questions about main idea, character analysis, inferences, fact and opinion, and much more! Students can then keep a "high score board" with their names and topics they worked on already for the teacher to monitor their activity.
There also is a Brain Pop Jr. Movie of the Week (also free)
This is set up the same way, but EASILY adaptable for the beginning of the year. Only down side, is that there are not as many choices for videos. The topics are still non-fiction and instead of information it usually teaches life lessons (ie: taking care of the earth, saving money, etc) Kids can also take a quiz, and read a short comic strip about the topic.
From Ms. Finney:
I asked my students what their favorite apps were on our ipad and they
couldn't choose just one. So, the top three apps I have, which are all
free, are: PopWords!, Hungry Fish, and Math Zombie.
From Ms. Roach:
iLearn Solar System HP by KIDS ($1.99) Easy to understand and use! This game has fantastic visuals of planets. You can click on any planet and learn numerous facts about it. There are also great explanations and pictures about the vocabulary words related to the Solar System (rotations, revolutions, satellites, galaxies). The information is read to you and you can read along by following the printed test. This app also has a quiz section that lets the student test his knowledge. This app is cheaper and less involved than Solar Walk, but works well for young elementary students.
3rd Grade
From Ms. Louthain (Student Teacher):
Story Kit is a free app that allows students to create their own story books or edit classic story tales. This app has several positive reviews. According to reviews, children are able to add text, use their own pictures, or draw their own illustrations. Children can also record themselves reading their story. I feel this app would be a fun and interactive way for children to practice reading and writing skills, but to also build confidence. A tutorial can be found on YouTube at the following link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSWQkUS4kXk . This tutorial is detailed and gives a good overview on how to use this app.
From Ms Reiser:
Interactive Telling Time App By Giggle Up Kids $2.99 This app earned a 2012 Parent's Choice Silver Award. It offers a tutorial mode and 5 games. This is great for teaching and reinforcing the concepts of time. You can change the difficulty of
levels(5) and the settings. It has a scoreboard for the child to view how they did. It also offers
clocks with Roman Numerals!
From Ms. Demmings:
Jungle Journey helps children practice sequencing as well as cause and effect skills using a fun single or multi-player board game format. It is part of a series of apps designed to help upper elementary students practice higher-order reading comprehension skills. $4.99 This app is expensive but worth it! Love the cause and effect and sequencing. Kids can’t stop playing it. The music is a little irritating- headphones or ear buds.
Interactive Telling Time Free - Learning to tell time is fun - The free version is a little too easy for third grade, but
the upgraded app at $2.99 is excellent because you can adjust the degree of
difficulty.
From Ms. Johnson:
Skitch-Free APP / Skitch a collaboration tool used for annotating.
Perfect for Daily Running Records. Simply take a picture of the text your student will read and use the PEN tool to make notes directly on the text picture. When finished, e-mail the picture to yourself and print out the Running Record. Keep each record in a student file. (Thanks Kristen
Engel!)
From Ms. Rappana:
Tiny Tap is a free app produced by Tiny Tap Ltd. it allows teachers
and students to play and create simple educational games, simply by
using their own photos and recording questions. Tiny Tap makes playing
and learning engaging and personal! It's free and resources made using
the app can be shared to multiple devices and with the wider community
of Tiny Tap users.
See the example below Topic 10, A review of solid figures, angles, shapes, and triangles. Handmade with TinyTap - Free iPhone/iPad App
From Ms. Rich:
Pocket Tangrams by Absolutist.com / Game features: Unlock full version, 100+ fun jigsaw levels, Family-friendly puzzle game, Multiplayer mode, Multilingual interface, Pocket Tangrams, Find dozens of colorful layouts in this exciting Puzzle!
Fill in the inlay with shining jewels of various shapes and try to outstrip your rival in multiplayer mode. This puzzle game is free to download, yet more fabulous patterns are waiting for you in full version. Master your logic skills with Pocket Tangrams, a free puzzle based on the ancient Chinese board game. Fill in the outline with variously shaped puzzle pieces. Remember that the figures must not overlap each other. Unlock full version and meet new great patterns every level. Compete online in multiplayer mode and reach the top of the global leaderboard. Pocket Tangrams is also a good educational game for children as it improves their imagination and creative thinking.
Specials
From Ms. Castillo:
Draw Stars! and Scribble Press (scribblespress.com)
From Ms. Moore:
“Note Works” – This very colorful note game begins on the Treble Clef Staff and reinforces the first 5 notes of the Treble Clef – Middle C,D,E,F,G. You can preset the game for beginners. Chloe Svoboda, (Demings), plays it when we sing patriotic songs that she cannot participate in. She loves it because it shows a piano keyboard and the notes on the staff which she has to guess. If she gets them right, they get eaten by a monster! If she misses, they burn up in a fire. When the fire hose puts them out, the missed notes get thrown on the staff again for another try. The game speeds up when it knows the player is getting too many right answers. Since it also has cogs and wheels to move the notes around it is purrrrrfect for Kingston School!! And to top it all off, it is free!!!
From Ms. Baker
Geography Drive USA $2.99
Winner of a Parent's Choice Gold Award Students have fun learning the shapes, capitals, nicknames, postal abbreviations, flags, key symbols and more for all 50 U.S. states. National rivers, mountains, parks and time zones, along with important trails, railroads, U.S. cities and other attractions. Important landmarks, movements and key historical events. Students have customizable cars and player garage signs. Over 750 state and national geography questions. In Geography Drive USA knowledge fuels your car on a coast to coast quest to learn about the fifty U.S. states. Hit the gas and head out for a fact packed cross-country adventure!
One Minute Reader FREE
One minute reader features interesting, nonfiction stories for students to develop fluency practice. Readers read along with a recording of a fluent reader to help them learn how to say the words and how to read in a natural voice. Then students practice reading each story several times until they know the words and can read accurately and expressively. One
minute reader includes audio-supported definitions for selected vocabulary words in stories. One of four comprehension questions at the end of each story focuses on vocabulary. A quiz step asks questions focusing on identifying the main idea, attending to details, vocabulary,
and making connections in text. Readers see graphs of their initial cold timing score and then of their final hot timing score, which shows improvement. One minute reader offers a range of books of reading levels so each reader can find stories that are a good fit! This is a research
based reading app by Read Naturally, Inc.
From Ms. Miller:
Here is an app. that I found helpful for Math RTI. Learn Money: Counting Coins and Bills ($4.99 for full version)-The content is broken up into 8 different topics, each with lessons and quizzes: 1. Identifying Coins-penny, nickel, dime. 2. Value of coins. 3. Counting coins. 4. Quarter and half dollar. 5. Money in dollars. 6. Making amounts. 7. Add/Subtract money. 8. Making change
From Mrs. Hale:
IMuscle is an app that helps you get the most out of your workout! Next year when using it with the students, it will be used to show were specific muscles are located and well as to show the action each muscle makes! One of the neat features of this app is that it will give several specific strength training exercises for each muscle and the students are able to watch a 3D body in action. It also talks about how to prepare for the exercise, how to properly execute the exercise, and gives some helpful tips! This app cost $1.99 and is well worth it!
Special Education
From Ms. Young:
ABA Receptive Identification. Regular Cost is $1.99, but for the month of April it is free in honor of Autism Awareness month. It teaches foundational language concepts to early learners or for students with language needs. The app displays four images at a time and requires the child to find the target noun. This app offers over 300 beautiful photos, optional timer and can be manually select your own target.
From Ms. Campbell:
Educreations- Free. Educreations can turn your iPad into a recordable whiteboard that captures your voice and handwriting to produce amazing video lessons that you can share
online. Students and colleagues can replay the lessons in any web browser. Check out www.educations.com or the iPad app to view some great lessons that other teachers have created with Educreations.
Creative Book Builder, $3.99 from Tiger Ng and Book Creator for iPad by Red Jumper Studio, $4.99. I have found the kids I work with who have trouble organizing ideas for writing get excited and love writing on the iPad. In our small groups for speech we are able to brainstorm ideas, organize and put in pictures to make writing come alive for them!
ESP Staff
All Others
Office
Pages $9.99 / Docs to Go $16.99 / Docs to go Open Free
Two of these are pay to buy apps. Each has strengths and weaknesses. They allow an iPad's use to be expanded to include true word processing. Docs to Go also includes other PC activities such as Excel. While there may be other choices out there that are better, these two are effective. For word processing alone in a Mac based world, I would choose Pages. For more recognition and switching between Apple and PC formats, Docs to Go may work better.
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