Apps that my students used in class!

Not an exhaustive list, but a start…

Kids Count US Coins – This is just one of countless apps available for counting money. Students know how to identify money a lot when they come to third grade, but with weak addition skills they are behind at adding money quickly. This app allows students to practice this still-relevant skill in a fun, engaging way.

ABC Cursive Writing Free -Cursive may be dying out in primary grades with SOL instruction taking precedence  but higher grades still require students to use it. Introduce students to cursive letter formation with this app so that they are familiar with what the letters look like before they have to start writing them on their own with paper and pencil. Paid apps are available with more features.

Puppet Pals – Storytelling in the digital age. Students create characters (additional available for $) and record their voices with built-in microphones while moving them around with their fingers. So much fun. My students love story-writing now that they can turn their story into a movie that can be shared with the class.

eClicker – Personal response system to be used in conjunction with eClicker Host. Works over Wi-Fi network with student devices. Poll students during class in real-time. Save a fortune on personal response systems with this free app.

Grammar Jammers Primary – Fun songs about parts of speech. Elementary and middle school versions available for $3. Music is a great way to increase rote memorization. Kids can listen to them in class and sing them out loud  If you don’t want to buy it for every device, buy one and plug it into your speakers!

McGraw-Hill Everyday Mathematics Apps – Lots of fun games that students can play alone or against a partner. I downloaded a lot of them for free during teacher appreciation week, but I think they are worth the money. My students play them a lot during math groups for review or as a reward.

K12 Timed Reading Practice – Lets readers K-4 practice fluency with an app that features 25 fiction or non-fiction passages and times students reading. It doesn’t record them or check their fluency… just times them. Students who are more fluent can use this to increase their reading speeds, but be careful that they don’t start racing.

BrainPop Featured Movie – BrainPop.com offers mobile access to a featured movie of the day! You have no control of what movie they watch, but BrainPop does a good job of trying to make it relevant to that date in history. Students can learn an interesting fact.

MathTappers – Simple math games for elementary students! Includes games on number lines, addition, multiples, clocks, estimating fractions, and equivalents. My students particularly like to play the multiples games to practice their multiplication facts.

iBooks – There are a lot of books available for free if you search for them! Students can read books on their mobile devices and it’s a lot more fun than reading it on paper!

Integrated music player coupled with iTunes U and the iTunes store – There are millions of free podcasts available, from Sesame Street to Fairy Tales.