App Review
App Review
App Review
ELA Reading
Subject Area: English Language Arts: Reading
App Title: Reading Rainbow Skybrary
App Price: Free
Languages: English
Rationale: This app makes reading exciting and stimulates different learning styles by
presenting a story in different ways. This app offers access to over 500 story books with
matching trips that allow children to interact with the setting and characters like they never could
in a standard storybook. This innovative medium of storytelling will encourage children to read
as well as offer a better understanding of the elements of the story.
Standards:
ISTE Standards for Students
3b. Research and information fluency: Locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize,
and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media.
ISTE Standards for Teachers
2a. Design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessments: Design or
adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to
promote student learning and creativity.
New York State P-12 Common Core Standards
Standard Strand: Reading Standards for Literature K-5
o Grade: 1
o Topic: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
o Item Number and Statement: 7. Use illustrations and details in a story to
describe its characters, setting, or events.
Standard Strand: Reading Standards: Foundational Skills K-5
o Grade: 1
o Topic: Fluency
o Item Number and Statement: 4. Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to
support comprehension. 4c. Use context to confirm or self-correct word
recognition and understanding, rereading as necessary.
Ontario Curriculum Expectations
Standard Strand: Reading
o Grade: 1
o Topic: 2. Understanding Form and Style
o Item Number and Statement: 2. recognize a variety of text forms, text features,
and stylistic elements and demonstrate understanding of how they help
communicate meaning 2.1 identify and describe the characteristics of a few
simple text forms, with a focus on literary texts such as a simple fictional story
Standard Strand: Oral Communication
o Grade: 1
o Topic: 3. Reading with Fluency
o Item Number and Statement: 3. use knowledge of words and cueing systems to
read fluently 3.2 predict the meaning of and solve unfamiliar words using
different types of cues
3. ENL App
Subject Area: English Language Arts: Language Standards
App Title: Phrasal Verb Machine
App Price: Free
Languages: English, Czech, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese,
Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Swedish,
Traditional Chinese, Turkish
Rationale: This app was created to help non-native English speakers understand phrasal verbs
and show their uses in regular speech. With the help of simple and easy to understand visuals,
this app makes learning fun and much more memorable than studying from a textbook. This app
is helpful because if a sentence is still not understood, the app can translate the phrase into the
other available languages to assist with comprehension.
Standards:
ISTE Standards for Students
2b. Communication and collaboration: Communicate information and ideas effectively
to multiple audiences using a variety of digital environments and media.
ISTE Standards for Teachers
2c. Design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessments: Customize and
personalize learning activities to address students diverse learning styles, working
strategies and abilities using digital tools and resources.
New York State P-12 Common Core Standards
Standard Strand: Language Standards K-5
o Grade: 2
o Topic: Conventions of Standard English
o Item Number and Statement: 4. Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown
and multiplemeaning words and phrases based on grade 2 reading and content,
choosing flexibly from an array of strategies. A) Use sentence-level context as a
clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
Standard Strand: Language Standards K-5
o Grade: 2
o Topic: Conventions of Standard English
o Item Number and Statement: 5. Demonstrate understanding of word
relationships and nuances in word meanings. B) Distinguish shades of meaning
among closely related verbs.
Ontario Curriculum Expectations
Standard Strand: Oral Communication
o Grade: 2
o Topic: 2. Speaking to Communicate
o Item Number and Statement: 2. use speaking skills and strategies appropriately
to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes 2.4 choose a
variety of appropriate words and phrases to communicate their meaning
accurately and engage the interest of their audience
Standard Strand: Oral Communication
o Grade: 2
o Topic: 3. Applying Knowledge of Language Conventions and Presenting Written
Work Effectively
o Item Number and Statement: 3.5 use parts of speech appropriately to
communicate their meaning clearly, with a focus on the use of verbs in the simple
present and past tenses
4. SWD App
Subject Area: ELA
App Title: Sign Me a Story
App Price: $0.99
Languages: English
Rationale: This app teaches and introduces students to ASL (American Sign Language).
Children are provided with the opportunity to learn ASL signs through these interactive stories.
This app is based on a series. It is perfect for all children but especially gaged for those with
special needs and/or communication challenges. It provides a different outlook on
communications.
Standards:
ISTE Standards for Students
5c. Demonstrate personal responsibility for lifelong learning.
ISTE Standards for Teachers
4c. Promote and model digital etiquette and responsible social interaction related o the
use of technology and information.
New York State P-12 Common Core Standards
o Standard Strand: Language - Writing
o Grade: 2
o Topic: Vocabulary Acquisition
o Item Number and Statement: 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
Standard Strand: Oral Communication
o Grade: 2
o Topic: Speaking To Communicate
o Item Number and Statement: 2.6. identify some non-verbal cues, including
facial expression, gestures, and eye contact, and use them in oral communications,
appropriately and with sensitivity towards cultural differences, to help convey
their meaning.
Standard Strand: Applying Knowledge of Language Conventions and Presenting
Written Work Effectively.
o Grade: 2
o Topic: Responding to Evaluating Text
o Item Number and Statement: 1.8 express personal thoughts and feelings about
what has been read (e.g., by using visual art or music to communicate their
reaction)
7. Choice App #1
Subject Area: Science
App Title: BrainPOP Jr. Movie of the Week
App Price: $2.29
Languages: English
Rationale: BrainPOP is an interactive app that offers content in all different subject areas. This is
an amazing resource because it provides age appropriate content that engages students and is in
line with curriculum standards in several different areas. I think this format of interactive and
engaging clips is essential particularly for science because it makes the content interesting and
relevant for students.
Standards:
ISTE Standards for Students
2b. Communication and collaboration: Communicate information and ideas effectively
to multiple audiences using a variety of digital environments and media.
ISTE Standards for Teachers
2b. Design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessments: Develop
technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their
individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational
goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress.
New York State P-12 Common Core Standards
Standard Strand: Analysis, Inquiry, and Design
o Grade: 1
o Topic: Scientific Inquiry
o Item Number and Statement: S1.3 Develop relationships among observations to
construct descriptions of objects and events and to form their own tentative
explanations of what they have observed. S1.3a Clearly express a tentative
explanation or description which can be tested
Standard Strand: The Living Environment
o Grade: 1
o Topic: Living things are both similar to and different from each other and from
nonliving things
o Item Number and Statement: 1.1a Animals need air, water, and food in order to
live and thrive. 1.1b Plants require air, water, nutrients, and light in order to live
and thrive. 1.1c Nonliving things do not live and thrive. 1.1d Nonliving things can
be human-created or naturally occurring.
Ontario Curriculum Expectations
Standard Strand: Understanding Life Systems
o Grade: 1
o Topic: 2. Developing Investigation and Communication Skills
o Item Number and Statement: 2. . investigate needs and characteristics of plants
and animals, including humans 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
Standard Strand: Understanding Life Systems
o Grade: 1
o Topic: 3. Understanding Basic Concepts
o Item Number and Statement: 3. demonstrate an understanding of the basic
needs and characteristics of plants and animals, including humans 3.2 identify the
physical characteristics (e.g., size, shape, colour, common parts) of a variety of
plants and animals
8. Choice App #2
Subject Area: The Arts
App Title: MoMA Art Lab
App Price: Free
Languages: English
Rationale: This app offers diverse and easy to use art tools for students to create their own
masterpieces. The activities page offers many different templates that make different types of
creations easy and unique. The gallery feature allows children to save their work and access it
later on. This app encourages creative expression and experimentation within the artistic field.
Standards:
ISTE Standards for Students
1b. Creativity and innovation: Create original works as a means of personal or group
expression.
ISTE Standards for Teachers
2a. Design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessments: Design or
adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to
promote student learning and creativity.
New York State P-12 Common Core Standards
Standard Strand: Visual Arts
o Grade: 1
o Topic: Creating, Performing, and Participating in the Arts
o Item Number and Statement: 1.1. experiment and create art works, in a variety
of mediums (drawing, painting, sculpture, ceramics, printmaking, video, and
computer graphics), based on a range of individual and collective experiences
Standard Strand: Visual Arts
o Grade: 1
o Topic: Knowing and Using Arts Materials and Resources
o Item Number and Statement: 2.2 develop skills with electronic media as a
means of expressing visual ideas