App Reviews

SALLY BUREL

Third Grade Math Standard

3.OA.7 FLUENTLY MULTIPLY AND DIVIDE
WITHIN 100, USING STRATEGIES SUCH
AS THE
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
MULTIPLICATION AND
DIVISION (E.G., KNOWING THAT 8 5 =
40,
ONE KNOWS 40 5 = 8) OR PROPERTIES
OF
OPERATIONS. BY THE END OF GRADE 3,
KNOW FROM MEMORY ALL PRODUCTS OF
TWO
ONE-DIGIT NUMBERS.

Splash Math - 3rd Grade

Thisappallowsuserstopracticemath
conceptsthatarebasedonCommon
CoreStandards.
Studentscouldusethisonindividualtabletsinthe
classroomfordrillspracticingtheir
multiplicationoftwoon-digitnumbers.
Pros:
Thisappworksonmultiple
areasof
math,anditcanbe
configuredto
workwithanygradelevel.

Cons:
Thereseemtohavebeen
alotofreported"bugs"
intheoperatingsystem,
but
theyshouldbefixedsoon!

Times Tables Quiz!

Thisappisusefulforthirdgradersto
practicetheirmultiplicationoftwosingledigitnumbers
Studentscouldusethisappinclassto
practicequizzingthemselvesontheir
timestables.

Pros:
Thisisaverysimpleappthat
iseasyforstudentsto
navigate

Cons:
Comparedtotheother
mathapp,thisonedoesn't
haveasmuchcoloror
"fun"kindsoftraitsthat
may
keepstudentsinterested
longer.

Third Grade Science Standard

3.L.2Understandhowplantssurvive
intheirenvironments.

Happy Little Farmer

Thisappallowsstudentstolearnhowa
plantlives,andtopracticeraisingtheir
ownplantsinvariousenvironments.
Studentscouldusethisinsideoroutsideof
theclassroomtopracticeraisingtheirown
plantsaftertheyhavelearnedwhataplant
needstosurviveandhoweachpartworks.

Pros:
Thisgameishighlyinteractiveandwould
keeptheappropriateagetarget
interested.

Cons:
It'stechnicallyonlyratedforkidsupto8
yearsold,whichmeansthatmoremature
thirdgradersmaygetboredwithiteasily.

NAMOO - Wonders of Plant Life

Thisappisaninteractiveexplorationofplantsand
alloftheirfunctioningparts.
Studentscouldusethisappwhenlearningabout
individualsectionsofplants(leaves,roots,etc.),to
explorethewaythatthatparticularpartofthe
plantworks.Theappgoesintoquiteabitofdetail
foreachpartoftheplant.
Pros:
Thisappismorerealisticthanother
cartoonapps,andastechnology
insidetheclassroomadvances,it
evenhasvirtualrealitycapabilities.

Cons:
Thisappmaybealittlebitmore
advancedanddifficulttonavigatefor
somestudents.

Third Grade ELA Common Core

Standard

1.Demonstratecommandoftheconventionsofstandard
Englishgrammarandusagewhenwritingorspeaking.
a.Explainthefunctionofnouns,pronouns,verbs,
adjectives,andadverbsingeneralandtheirfunctions
inparticularsentences.

Grammaropolis
Thisappteachesthefunctionofeverypartofspeech(noun,pronoun,
etc),anditteachesthemthroughvideos,activities,andquizzes.
Studentscouldusethisinsidetheclassroomtopracticeorreviewthe
partsofspeechafterwehavelearnedthem.Thequestionsandquizzes
letthemself-assesstheirlevelofknowledge.
Pros:
Thisappisafunandinteractivewaytokeep
studentsinterestedinthetopicathand,anditlets
them
moveforwardattheirownpace.
Cons:
Thesectionwithnounsisfree,buttherest
ofthe
partsofspeechrequirein-apppurchases.

Grammar Fun Free

Thisappallowsstudentstomatchthepartof
speechtoeachwordinagivensentence.Itisa
greatpracticetool

Studentscouldusethisappforreviewingparts
ofspeechaftertheyhadallbeentaught.

Pros:
Thisappissimpleandeasyto
navigate.Italsohavefun
backgroundstokeepstudents
interested.Italsousessimple
sentences,makingitgoodfor
ELLstudentsaswell.

Cons:
Thisappmaygetabitrepetitive
overtime,causingstudentswhoneed
more
engagingactivitiestobecomeboredwith
it.

Kindergarten Math Standard

K.CC.3Writenumbersfrom0to20.
Representanumberofobjectswitha
writtennumeral020(with0
representingacountofnoobjects).

Animals Counting Writing Game Free

Lite HD
Thisappallowsstudentstolearnhowtocount,
trace,read,andwritetheirnumbers.
Kindergartenerscouldusethisappinclasson
iPadstolearnhowtowriteandcounttheir
numbers.

Pros:
Thisappissimpleenoughfor
Kindergartenersto
successfully
navigatemostlyontheirown.

Cons:
Althoughgoodpractice,
usingtheappdoesn'tprovidethe
pencil-in-handexperiencethat
pencilandpaperdo.

Write Numbers: Tracing 123

Thisappallowsstudentstocountand
tracenumbers.Ifastudentwrites
thenumbercorrectly,heorsheis
rewardedwiththreestars.Ifa
mistakeismade,thestudentcanuse
theeraser.
Kindergartenerscanusethisin
reviewinghowtowritenumbersfrom
1totwenty.
Pros:
Thisappissimpleenoughfora
kindergartenertonavigateonhis
orherown.

Cons:
Therearepop-upadsthatplay
between
manyofthecompletednumbers.

Kindergarten Language Standard

1. Demonstrate command of the conventions of

standard
English grammar and usage when writing or
speaking.
a. Print many upper- and lowercase letters.

Little Writer - The

Tracing App for Kids
Thisappallowsstudentstotracethelettersand
thenattempttowritethemontheirown
Thisappwouldbeusedintheclassroomwhen
teachingkidstowritetheirletters.
Pros:
Thisappissimpleandeffective.
Cons:
Somereviewsclaimthatsomeofthelettersare
formedimproperly.

ABC Circus
Thisappteachesstudentshowtowriteeach
letter,anditplaysthephoneticsoundofeach
letterasitisbeingtraced.
Studentscouldusethisapptopracticewriting
lettersaswellastolearntoassociatethe
phoneticswitheachletter.Iftheyhearitinthe
appenough,theywillstarttoassociateitwiththe
lettereverytimetheyseeitelsewhere.
Pros:
Thisappissimpleandentertainingfor
kids,anditteachesthemthesoundof
eachletteralongwiththeshape.

Cons:
Theapponlyhasonephoneticsoundfor
eachletter,sothereareno"long"sounds
associatedwiththem,only"short"sounds.

Pappas,C.(2014,June04).11FreeiPadAppsfor
TeachingGrammar.RetrievedOctober19,2016,from
https://elearningindustry.com/11freeipadappsfor
teachinggrammar

References

ByCategoryAnimals&NatureAppsArt,Craft&Creativity
AppsAstronomyAppsFreeAppsGameAppsHealthAppsMusic
AppsParentingAppsPottyTrainingAppsReligion&
SpiritualitySpecialEducationApps.(2016,August24).2016
Edition:BestAppsforBacktoSchool5thGradeBestApps
ForKids.RetrievedOctober19,2016,from
http://www.bestappsforkids.com/2016/2016editionbestapps
backschool5thgrade/

ITunes.(n.d.).RetrievedOctober19,2016,from
https://itunes.apple.com/us/genre/ioseducation/id6017?
mt=8

NCProfessionalTeachingStandards:
Standard4TeachersFacilitateLearningforTheirStudents
Thisstandardwouldbemetbytheintegrationand
utilizationoftechnologyinthelessonsusingtheseapps.

Standards
Met

NETST:
Standard1Facilitateandinspirestudentlearning
andcreativity
Thisstandardwouldbemetbytheteacher's
useoffun,creativeappstoinspirestudents
tolearn.

NETSS:
Standard4Criticalthinking,decisionmaking,andproblemsolving
Thisstandardwouldbemetbystudentsengaginginthelearning
processwithintheapps.Inordertobesuccessfulwithintheapps,
studentswouldhavetoengageinthatsortofhigherthinking.
Standard6Technologyoperationsandconcepts
Thisstandardwouldbemetbythestudentsastheyusedtabletsor
computerstonavigatetheirwaysthroughtheapps.