App Review for the Classroom

By: Rachel Cross and Jade McKinnon

ELA Writing

App Title: Grammaropolis

Subject Area: English Language Arts
App Price: Free download, in-app upgrades
Languages: English

Rationale: Grammaropolis is an app that simulates a fun city whose characters teach students the eight
parts of speech. Grammaropolis uses songs and videos to engage students, and make grammar fun. Each
character has a personality that is based on the role each part of speech plays in a sentence. The free
download includes access to the noun neighborhood. The curriculum maps includes songs, books, videos
and over 400 quiz questions which is led by Nelson the noun. Students follow the map to earn their
badge. In-app upgrades include access to the other seven parts of speech: verbs, adjectives, adverbs,
pronouns, conjunctions, prepositions, and interjections. This app is designed to address students varied
learning styles. This app also manages to keep kids engaged while learning grammar. The characters
bring each part of speech to life in a way that gives meaning to its purpose.
Standards

ISTE Standard for Educators

6b. Facilitator: Manage the use of technology and student learning strategies in digital platforms, virtual
environments, hands-on makerspaces or in the field.

ISTE Standards for Students

1c. Empowered Learner: students use technology to seek feedback that informs and improves their
practice and to demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways.

NY State P-12 Common Core Standards

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.2.8
Recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.2.1
Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or
speaking.
SWD App

App Title: Stop, Breathe & Think Kids

Subject Area: Physical Education (Health & Fitness)
App Price: Free download, in-app upgrades
Languages: English

Rationale: Stop, Breathe and Think is designed specifically for kids ages 5-10. The app features guided
meditation videos called “missions”. Students can access the missions in two ways: by reflecting and
reporting how they fell using emoji’s, or by browsing a list of missions and picking the one that matches
the way they feel. The missions are grouped into seven categories: quiet, focus, caring & connecting,
energizing, meltdown, open minded and sleep. Stickers reward students’ progress which help to keep
students engaged. This app is useful in calming students down, developing positive relationships, and
having peaceful moments. This app is a wonderful tool to help students learn to identify and manage their
emotions. Students learn good habits of self-awareness and self-reflection. This app also promotes
conversation about feelings and how to cope with them.

Standards

ISTE Standard for Educators

5a. Designer: Use technology to create, adapt and personalize learning experiences that foster
independent learning and accommodate learner differences and needs.

ISTE Standards for Students

3d. Knowledge Constructor: students build knowledge by actively exploring real-world issues and
problems, developing ideas and theories and pursuing answers and solutions.

NY State P-12 Common Core Standards

Standard 2 - A Safe and Healthy Environment Students will acquire the knowledge and ability necessary
to create and maintain a safe and healthy environment.
Content Area App #1

App Title: Park Math

Subject Area: Mathematics
App Price: Free download
Languages: English

Rationale: Early math concepts which include numbers, counting, addition, subtraction, sorting, patterns
and much more are taught in the Park Math app. Students swipe the blue bear to make him skate forward
or backward to navigate to the different activities. Students also have the option to simply touch the kite
to select an activity. The activities can be played in three levels of difficulty. To make the experience even
more exciting there are tons of hidden animations for students to find and activate. This app is great for
students because they get to use virtual objects to help them comprehend the math concepts. Another
benefit of this app is that it grows with the students as they learn the beginning math concepts. Parents or
teachers can easily adjust the difficulty level by tapping on the onscreen “Level” button.

Standards

ISTE Standard for Educators

7a. Analyst: Provide alternative ways for students to demonstrate competency and reflect on their learning
using technology.
ISTE Standards for Students
4a. Innovative Designer: Students know and use a deliberate design process for generating ideas, testing
theories, creating innovative artifacts or solving authentic problems.
NY State P-12 Common Core Standards
CCSS.Math.Content.1.OA.A.1
Use addition and subtraction within 20 to solve word problems involving situations of adding to, taking
from, putting together, taking apart, and comparing, with unknowns in all positions, e.g., by using objects,
drawings, and equations with a symbol for the unknown number to represent the problem.
CCSS.Math.Content.1.OA.C.6
Add and subtract within 20, demonstrating fluency for addition and subtraction within 10. Use strategies
such as counting on; making ten (e.g., 8 + 6 = 8 + 2 + 4 = 10 + 4 = 14); decomposing a number leading to
a ten (e.g., 13 - 4 = 13 - 3 - 1 = 10 - 1 = 9); using the relationship between addition and subtraction (e.g.,
knowing that 8 + 4 = 12, one knows 12 - 8 = 4); and creating equivalent but easier or known sums (e.g.,
adding 6 + 7 by creating the known equivalent 6 + 6 + 1 = 12 + 1 = 13).
Your Choice App #1

App Title: News-O-Matic

Subject Area: Reading & Social Studies
App Price: Free download, in-app upgrades
Languages: English, Spanish, French

Rationale: News-O-Matic is an interactive paid subscription based newspaper for student’s ages 7-10
years old. Although it is a paid subscription, students can start with a free-trial period. Subscriptions
include monthly, per semester, or yearly. The front page includes the five top stories of the day with
colorful pictures. There are also games, a news timeline quiz, a News Room and information features.
News-O-Matic is a wonderful news source for students in the classroom. Students can read about real-
world news such as politics, the economy, entertainment, celebrities and sports. The “Read to Me” feature
is beneficial for kids who have auditory processing issues or difficulty with verbal communication. The
“Read to Me” feature is also multilingual and can be used in English, Spanish and French. There are more
than 15 different features on the news app. Every article is offered in several reading levels. Professional
children’s writers are responsible for writing the articles and all the articles are reviewed by a child
psychologist before publication. This app not only captures the attention of students but makes them want
to learn and understand more.
Standards

ISTE Standard for Educators

3b. Citizen: Establish a learning culture that promotes curiosity and critical examination of online
resources and fosters digital literacy and media fluency.
ISTE Standards for Students
7d. Global Collaborator: students explore local and global issues and use collaborative technologies to
work with others to investigate solutions.
NY State P-12 Common Core Standards
2.6b Continuities and changes over time in communities can be examined by interpreting evidence such
as maps, population charts, photographs, newspapers, biographies, artifacts, and other historical materials.
ELA Reading App

App Title: Starfall Learn To Read

Subject Area: English Language Arts
App Price: Free download
Languages: English

Rationale: Starfall Learn to Read maximizes learning in a fun and creative way that keeps students
engaged in learning to read techniques and skills. Children are able to choose from a set of mini books
that feature different characters and the various vowel sounds. On every page the student is able to read a
sentence on their own, receive assistance on pronunciation and listen to the sentence read aloud. This app
is interactive as it sometimes requires the child to tap on various animated objects or characters. Each
book has different activities the student completes when they are finished the book. They might be asked
to fill in the blanks, play a matching game or watch a short video on print concepts. Students enjoy the
perfect mix of reading, songs, games and videos to help them learn to read.

Standards

ISTE Standard for Educators

6b. Facilitator: Manage the use of technology and student learning strategies in digital platforms, virtual
environments, hands-on makerspaces or in the field.

ISTE Standards for Students

1c. Empowered Learner: students use technology to seek feedback that informs and improves their
practice and to demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways.

NY State P-12 Common Core Standards

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.2.B
Orally produce single-syllable words by blending sounds (phonemes), including consonant blends.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.2.A
Distinguish long from short vowel sounds in spoken single-syllable words.

Ontario Curriculum Standards

Variety of Texts 1.1 read a few different types of literary texts, graphic texts and informational
Content Area App #2

App Title: Kids A-Z

Subject Area: Science
App Price: Free download of Kids A-Z but access to Science A-Z requires a yearly subscription. $89.99 is the price
for 1-9 classrooms. Free trial of 3 months.
Languages: English

Rationale: The Kids A-Z app holds much area content for students including Raz-Plus, Raz-Kids,and Science A-Z.
In Science A-Z students can access award winning curriculum that blends science into literacy for students in K-6.
Students can engage in science experiments, hands-on learning activities and many other collaborative learning
opportunities. Topics range from life science to earth and space science to physical science and engineering. This
app includes many multi-level informational texts. Science A-Z allows teachers and parents to customize and
differentiate instruction that satisfy both ELA and Science curriculum standards. As students complete tasks they
earn stars that they can redeem to level up and receive parts to build their spaceship. Teachers and students can both
document their growth and learning with this app.

Standards

ISTE Standard for Educators

7b. Use technology to design and implement a variety of formative and summative assessments that accommodate
learner needs, provide timely feedback to students and inform instruction.

ISTE Standards for Students

4a. Innovative Designer: Students know and use a deliberate design process for generating ideas, testing theories,
creating innovative artifacts or solving authentic problems.

NY State P-12 Common Core Standards

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.7
Use the illustrations and details in a text to describe its key ideas

Ontario Curriculum Standards

2.2 investigate and compare the basic needs of humans and other living things, including the need for air, water,
food, warmth, and space, using a variety of methods and resources (e.g., prior knowledge, personal experience,
discussion, books, videos/DVDs, CD-ROMs)
ELL/ENL App

App Title: Epic!

Subject Area: English Language Arts
App Price: Free for educators in schools in U.S. and Canada. For families it costs $7.99 a month with a 30 day free
trial. You can cancel anytime.
Languages: English, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Traditional Chinese

Rationale: Epic! Offers thousands of books on all subject areas and available in many languages. Students have
access to over 25,000 of the best children’s books and learning videos. Epic! Includes audio books, “read to me”
books, Spanish books, Chinese books and thousands of quizzes and learning videos to assess students learning and
progression. The app offers individual, personalized recommendations based on reading level and interests and also
keeps reading logs to track reading progress that can be emailed to student’s parents. Students are rewarded with
badges for reading progress.

Standards

ISTE Standard for Educators

2b. Advocate for equitable access to educational technology, digital content and learning opportunities to
meet the diverse needs of all students.

ISTE Standards for Students

1a. Students articulate and set personal learning goals, develop strategies leveraging technology to
achieve them and reflect on the learning process itself to improve learning outcomes.

NY State P-12 Common Core Standards

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.10

With prompting and support, read informational texts appropriately complex for grade 1.

Ontario Curriculum Standards

Variety of Texts 1.1 read a few different types of literary texts, graphic texts and informational
Your Choice #2

App Title: iOrnament

Subject Area: Math: geometry, patterns, shapes Arts: drawing
App Price: $3.99
Languages: English, German

Rationale: iOrnament is a drawing app that combines math, science and art concepts to create digital artistic
expressions. This app includes more than 50 tutorial clips and optional information on the history and mathematics
behind various designs. iOrnament engages students in creating simple or complex line designs, using patterns,
designs and symmetry. This is a wonderful app for encouraging creative expression, design and thought in young
learners.
Standards

ISTE Standard for Educators

6d. Model and nurture creativity and creative expression to communicate ideas, knowledge or connections.

ISTE Standards for Students

6b. Students create original works or responsibly repurpose or remix digital resources into new creations.

NY State P-12 Common Core Standards

Arts VA:Cr1.2.1

Use observation and exploration in preparation for making a work of art.

Math CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.1.G.A.1

Distinguish between defining attributes (e.g., triangles are closed and three-sided) versus non-defining attributes
(e.g., color, orientation, overall size); build and draw shapes to possess defining attributes.

Ontario Curriculum Standards

Arts D1.2 demonstrate an understanding of composition, using principles of design to create narrative art works or
art works on a theme or topic

Math Geometric Relationships - students will: – compose patterns, pictures, and designs, using common two-
dimensional shapes