App Reviews for the Classroom

ELA Reading

App Title: LeVar Burton Kids Skybrary

Subject Area: Mainly ELA; Can also be used in other subject areas
App Price: Free; In app purchases ranging from $6.49-$52.99
Languages: English

Rationale:
Based on the TV show, Reading Rainbow, hosted by Levar Burton. An app that encourages kids
to read with a huge inventory of books and videos. A balloon game allows kids to travel and
discover new islands/worlds, each with their own unique theme/subject area. Great for teachers
wanting to integrate reading beyond the standard ELA curriculum requirements. Great for
parents that want to extend their child’s literacy levels beyond the classroom.

ISTE Standard for Students

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

ISTE Standard for Teachers

 7a: Provide alternative ways for students to demonstrate competency and reflect on
their learning using technology.

NY State K-12 Common Core Standards

4. Gr.2 RS/FS: Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension
a) Read grade-level text with purpose and understanding.
b) Read grade-level text orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression on
successive readings.
c) Use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding, rereading as
necessary.

Ontario Curriculum Expectations

 Reading Fluency & Familiar Words Grade 2 - 3.1 Automatically read and understand
many high-frequency words, some words with common spelling patterns, and words of
personal interest or significance, in a variety of reading contexts (e.g., the same word in
different graphic representations such as: on charts or posters; in shared-, guided-, and
 independentreading texts; in shared- and interactivewriting texts; in personal writing
and the writing of their peers)

ELL Students

App Title: Duolingo

Subject Area: ELA for ELL Students
App Price: Free, in app plus prices range from $3.99-$12.99
Languages: English, Arabic, Czech, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Hindi,
Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese,
Romanian, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Thai, Traditional Chinese,
Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese

Rationale:

A great app for today’s multicultural classroom. Creates more inclusivity, integration and
comprehension for ELL students in the classroom. A large inventory of languages available for
students; contains a variety of games and activities incorporating a social element that allows
students to work together and stay on task.

ISTE Standard for Students

 6c: Students choose the appropriate platforms and tools for meeting the desired
objectives of their creation or communication.

ISTE Standard for Teachers

 5b: Design authentic learning activities that align with content areas standards and use
digital tools and resources to maximize active, deep learning.

NY State K-12 Common Core Standards

Speaking and Listening Standards Grade 2.1

 Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 2 topics and
texts with peers and adults in small and larger group
d) Seek to understand and communicate with individuals from different cultural
backgrounds

Ontario Curriculum Expectations

  Extending Understanding Grade 2 1.6 Extend understanding of oral texts by connecting
the ideas in them to their own knowledge and experience; to other familiar texts,
including print and visual texts; and to the world around them (e.g., talk about their own
ideas and experiences related to the topic before listening; connect ideas from oral
presentations to related school and community events and/or to other texts with similar
topics or themes, including multicultural texts or texts in their own first language)

Math Content Area

App Title: Prodigy Math Game

Subject Area: Math
App Price: Free; Subscription Membership range: $11.99-$84.99
Languages: English

Rationale:

Free Math games designed to be used both at home and in the classroom. Paid for subscriptions
are available for optional game upgrades. For educators, this is one of the best apps around as it
strongly corresponds with curriculum standards across the globe. For instance, Grade 2 areas
include: data relationships, addition to 1000, mixed operations, 2D shapes, place value,
comparing numbers and so much more!!

ISTE Standard for Students

 5a: Students formulate problem definitions for technology-assisted methods such as

data analysis, abstract models and algorithmic thinking in exploring and finding
solutions.

ISTE Standard for Teachers

 7a: Provide alternative ways for students to demonstrate competency and reflect on
their learning using technology.

NY State K-12 Common Core Standards

Grade 2
 Operations and Algebraic Thinking 2.OA
 Number and Operations in Base Ten 2.NBT
 Measurement and Data 2.MD
 Geometry 2.G

Ontario Curriculum Expectations

Grade 2
 Number Sense and Numeration
 Measurement
 Geometry and Spacial Sense
 Patterning and Analysis
 Data Management and Probability

NASA App

App Title: NASA

Subject Area: Sciences/Social Sciences
App Price: Free
Languages: English

Rationale:

An amazing science app that allows students to view over 15,000 images into space and of planet
Earth. Features up to date news stories and over 13,000 videos on demand. Great app to
incorporate in student’s learning of planet earth as seen from space! A great way to expand
student’s imagination into NASA projects such as, the possibility of going to Mars. A real eye
opener for a variety of learners!

ISTE Standard for Students

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

ISTE Standard for Teachers

 1c: Stay current with research that supports improved student learning outcomes,
including findings from the learning sciences.

NY State K-12 Common Core Standards

Standard 4: The Physical Setting

1.1a Natural cycles and patterns include:

 Earth spinning around once every 24 hours (rotation), resulting in day and night
 Earth moving in a path around the Sun (revolution), resulting in one Earth year
 the length of daylight and darkness varying with the seasons
 the appearance of the Moon changing as it moves in a path around Earth to complete a
single cycle
Ontario Curriculum Expectations

Understanding Earth and Space Systems

 2.7 use a variety of forms (e.g. oral, written, graphic. Multimedia) to communicate with
different audiences and for a variety of purposes

App Title: Social Skill Builder

Subject Area: SWD Listening and Speaking
App Price:10.99 **LITE version 19.99
Languages: English

Rationale:

The Social Skill builder app has a tremendous use for all classrooms that might have students
with a form of disability. This app focuses on friendship, critical thinking, problem solving and
most importantly social interaction. The App gives you nineteen modules that include ‘My
school day’ situations that are in the classroom, on the playground, transition time,
recess(jungle) time, gym time, eating time, hall way time. In these modules they give you a
video situation and then ten questions after on what the student should have done, what to
recognize, what to let go etc. This can be used for a small group of students or it can be used
one on one with a councillor.

ISTE Standards for Students:

Knowledge Constructor
 3d- Students build knowledge by actively exploring real-world issues and problems,
developing ideas and theories and pursuing answers and solutions
ISTE Standards for Educators:
 6a - Foster a culture where students take ownership of their learning goals and
outcomes in both independent and group settings.

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

NY State K-12 Common Core Standards:

Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas

 SL.2.6 Produce complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation in order to
provide requested detail or clarification.

Ontario Curriculum Expectations

 Oral Communication-
 Interactive strategies 2.2 demonstrate an understanding of appropriate speaking
behaviour in a variety of situations, including paired sharing and small- and large-group
discussions (e.g., make connections to what other group members have said;
demonstrate an understanding of when to speak, when to listen, and how much to say)
 Metacognition 3.1 identify, initially with support and direction, a few strategies they
found helpful before, during, and after listening and speaking

App Name: Writing Wizard for Kids

Subject Area: Writing
App Price: Free
Languages: English

Rationale:
Writing wizard app for kid’s is a fantastic way to continue to have students practice their
writing. In a world that writing is going by the way side this interactive app will allow students
to have the opportunity to learn the correct writing style and letter formation. It is not only
letter, you can do numbers and for the more advanced you can create your own custom word
lists for each separate student, so the app is tailored to their learning level. The app allows for
you to give students reports on their progress throughout the lessons.

ISTE Standards for Students:

 1c - Students use technology to seek feedback that informs and improves their practice
and to demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways.

ISTE Standards for Educators:

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

NYS P-12 Common Core/ NYS Standards:

 W 2.6 With guidance and support from adults, use a variety of digital tools to produce
and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers

Ontario Curriculum Expectations:
 By the end of Grade 2, Students will: 1.1identify the topic, purpose, audience, and form
for writing (e.g., a fairy tale to entertain another class; the procedure for fiire drills to
inform the class; a poster to promote a favourite book or movie)

App Name: Push2Play

Subject Area: Physical Education
App Price: Free
Languages: English
Rationale:
There are so many apps on our screen that will restrict is to sitting down and not being active.
This app will turn your screen time into activity time as well! The push2play app is a fun and
interactive way for children to get up and be active throughout the day. It encourages in
physical activity through games and activities that will result in stars. The stars are to be
collected and used to create your own avatar. Shake the phone and it will randomly select a
different game for the kids to play. The app also modifies the games into a category between
ones with equipment or games without equipment
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.

ISTE Standards for Educators:

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

NY State K-12 Common Core Standards:

Standard 1: Personal Health and Fitness
 Students: participate in physical activities (games, sports, exercises) that provide conditioning for each fitness
area
 develop physical fitness skills through regular practice, effort, and perseverance
 demonstrate mastery of fundamental motor, nonlocomotory, and manipulative skills, and understand
fundamental principles of movement

Ontario Curriculum Expectations:

Health Education- B1.1
 perform a variety of static balances with and without equipment (e.g., balance on the
floor, on a line, on a bench; balance objects on different body parts), using different
body parts at different levels and making different body shapes (e.g.,low level perform a
V-sit: balance on buttocks with legs in the air, hold with muscles tight and legs together
and arms either supporting the body or held at their sides; medium level– perform a
standing scale:balance on one foot with the other leg stretched behind in the air, torso
bent forward, and arms out parallel to the floor for balance; high level perform a
standing balance: using a walker for balance, lift one foot or one hand)
App Name: ClassDojo
Subject Area: Classroom Management (Choice App)
App Price: Free
Language: Free

Rationale:

ClassDojo App is an app that gives the teacher and educator the ability to communicate with
the parents and make sure they know what is going on. This app gives the parents the option to
check in on their child during the work day and will allow them to follow along with the day and
keep in tune with their progress! The app encourages positive team work and has the ability to
take the classroom community and share it in every student’s home which will promote
learning in both vital locations.

ISTE Standards for Students:

 6d - Students publish or present content that customizes the message and medium for
their intended audiences

ISTE Standards for Educators:

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

NY State K-12 Common Core Standards:

 Speaking and Listening
 SL.2.1.a Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., gaining the floor in respectful
ways, listening to others with care, speaking one at a time about the topics and texts
under discussion)

Ontario Curriculum Expectations:

 Producing Media Texts 3.4 - produce media texts for specific purposes and audiences,
using a few simple media forms and appropriate conventions and techniques (e.g., a
sequence of pictures and/or photographs telling the story of a class event or celebration