Apps For Early Learners
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Apps List for District 15 Special Needs Students |
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Useful Apps for Many Purposes
Table Tots
VPP .99
ABC Magnetic Land
* Numbers
This category contains numerals from zero to twenty, and signs. * Capital Letters * Lower-case Letters * Shapes and Pictures In this category, there are ten shapes and some basic figures. Tip: this category in particularly works wonders with children's imagination as arranging the shapes can be used the same way as building kits with bricks. This building enhances powers of abstraction as a child has to find a suitable way of translating his or her notions of real-world objects to a 2D perspective. * Symbols Here you can find a total of 29 various symbols. * Fruits and vegetables Includes thirteen magnets. * Animals Forty wild and domestic animals included! VPP: .99 |
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DrawingPad
Use crayons, markers, paint brushes, colored pencils, stickers, roller pens and more to draw, sketch, illustrate, or create art work.
Concept Sketches – (different from concept maps) are sketches or diagrams that are concisely annotated with short statements that describe the processes, concepts, and interrelationships shown in the sketch. Having students generate their own concept sketches is a powerful way for students to process concepts and convey them to others. Concept sketches can be used as preparation for class, as an in-class activity, in the field or lab, or as an assessment tool. Image and Quote with Cooperative Poster - Groups of four are formed. Students read a selection. Each chooses a quote and an image that have impact for them. Groups come to consensus on favorite image and quote. Each student takes one colored pen. With all members participating, and each using their chosen color, they draw the group image and write the groups quote. Posters are shared with the class using the projector. VPP .99 |
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Art of Glow
This app is a cool drawing app that creates a neon effect creation. It's an interesting way for students to write their letters, words, or numbers.
Free |
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Apps for Literacy Support
Mobile Recorder HD
Fluency practice - students record oral reading
Oral storytelling or dramatization - create a podcast based on readers theater scripts, interviews, retelling non-fiction text This app allows students to send their finished projects to the teacher through Dropbox. Other free apps require the iPad to be synced to the computer or a small portion of the audio file can be emailed. VPP .49 |
Readit
Copy-Paste any content and the app will read it for you...
This app would be helpful to read back student’s writing as an effective way to proofread. This app will support students who need support to read content from the Internet. Free |
Phonics Apps
abc Pocket Phonics
This app is a best seller - Letter sounds. Handwriting. First words. PocketPhonics teaches all three.
Can be customized for students. VPP 1.49 |
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Word Magic
This app has been reviewed by our reading resource teachers and they believe it is valuable to enhance support for young children as they develp their literacy skills.
VPP .49 |
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ABC Magic Reading - Short Vowel Sounds
This is one of the apps from Preschool University. It provides an image and the letters for students to spell the words, working with proven strategies for phonemic awareness. Free ABC Spelling Magic - Blends & Syllables
This is the 3rd app in the series by Preschool University. Free |
Apps from Preschool University
Includes a great collection of phonics, spelling, and sentence building apps for both English and Spanish. These apps are developed by a teacher and seem to be very high quality.
Free |
Word Wizard
"Word Wizard is a unique app that lets kids hear the sounds of letters and words using a talking movable alphabet. Featuring advanced text to speech capabilities, the app can pronounce and spell-check an unlimited number of original words.
Word Wizard also provides spelling practice with a list of more than 1,400 questions and answers, and the best is that you can add your own words to create any spelling quiz." This app can be customized! VPP 1.49 |
Phonics Genius
Excellent app packed with content! From the website: "Over 6,000 unique words - this means you will never get tired of it since you always have new words to discover ✔ Words are intelligently grouped by phonics ✔ App supports 3 unique learning modes including (play audio automatically and proceed to next card on click or hear audio only on click and move back and forth one word at a time by swiping left or right) ✔ Multiple unique game (quiz) modes from easy (2 words only) to challenging (6 words per page) ✔ Phonic highlights accelerate learning - students can see the phoneme that is being emphasized in each lesson via highlights ✔ Ability to add your own cards - you can add an unlimited number of new words and record your own voice ✔ Add new lists - you can add and group flash cards into customizable lists which is ideal for learning ✔ Fun & engaging voice artist keeps kids engaged ✔ The application works both in portrait and landscape mode ✔ Fully customizable font size, font color, spelling (upper case, lower case, etc.) ✔ Unique continuous looping feature so you can go through hundreds of flashcards automatically ✔ Customizable speed - you decide how fast to go from flashcard to flashcard ✔ Infant mode - includes ability to select extra large font size and red font color (ideal for babies less than 12 months of age) ✔ Don't want to teach a given word? No problem, just delete the card ✔ Multi-sensory learning tool - combining audio, voice, and written words" Free |
Phonics Tic-Tac-Toe
Practicing vowel sounds, syllables, and more
Free |
ABC Alphabet Phonics
Photo Touch is an exciting educational game that helps your child rapidly learn the ABC by sight, sound, and touch. Can be customized with user's own voice. Free |
ABC Phonics
4 ways to learn Dolch sight words including flashcards and games
VPP .99 |
Beginning Sound Sorting
Kids match words that share the same beginning sound! Children just
“grab” fun picture balls and drop them into the correct spots on the
board.
Free |
Learning to Write Letters
Letter of the Day
"Kids explore the whole alphabet—from every angle! Animated lessons cover letter formation, letter sounds and more"
Free
Free
Spelling
Spell & Listen Cards
This app will help your child recognize, spell, pronounce and learn more about 550 everyday words to strengthen his/her vocabulary. VPP 2.49 |
Little Speller
This is a great app because it is fully customizable. "Little Speller is an exciting interactive game that helps your child rapidly learn to read, write, and spell words all with just the touch of their finger." VPP .49 |
Sight Words
Sight Words Pro
This app is fully customizable and according to the website, here are the features:
"• Over 1,600+ essential sight words • Upper and lower-case alphabet, numbers 0-100, colors, shapes, animals, months • Beautifully recorded American-English pronunciations for all words • Words organized by number of letters • Customizable word lists with copy/paste • Add your own words • Record your own pronunciations • Simple textual editing of word lists • Share your word list via Bump™ and email • Mark flash cards with stars or flags • Flash cards respond to swipes and taps • Shake to shuffle words" VPP .49 |
ABC & Me
ABC & Me gives you 3 different themed Alphabet sets and 3 different
Dolch Basic Word activities in one app.
1) Learn the Upper and Lowercase Alphabet with animating flashcards and audio 2) Uppercase Alphabet with animating Animal illustrations and audio 3) Lowercase Alphabet with animating Food illustrations and audio 4) More than 300 frequently used English Words with a speaking coach (words are based on the popular Dolch vocabulary lists) 5) Spelling game in which the first or last letter of the word is missing 6) Word Search game |
Dolch Site Words Pre Primer
This app teaches students to recognize the Pre-Primer set (40 words) of the 220 Dolch sight words through the use of our interactive flash card app.
VPP .99 |
Sight Words 1-100: Kids Learn
Created by reading experts such as Dr. Fry, Kids Learn Sight Words uses developmentally appropriate approaches to let the child
● hear the words ● practice writing the words ● recognize letters ● record the words with playback ● use the words in activities It combines fluency, vocabulary, spelling, and comprehension practice with entertaining, engaging graphics in a disguised-learning format. Children will want to play again and again and by doing so, will be learning up to 300 all-important sight words. Great for young learners and older children struggling with reading. |
Word Games
Boggle Boggle
“The original and ever-popular word search game is now even more fun on iPad.” Use as a warm up. Note: This app uses the Internet. Some teachers have complained that the app crashes as soon as it's opened. This might be due to the firewall settings in the district's network. Try it!
VPP .99 PopWords!
Alternative game to Boggle.
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Sparkle Fish
This game is much like a mad-libs game.
free |
Vocabulary and Word Work
Comic Touch Lite
Add balloon to give your subjects thoughts and words. Add captions to describe the scene of give the photo a title.
Use images from camera and other sources and enhance with captions, speech bubbles, or thought bubbles to demonstrate comprehension, inference, characteristics, making predictions. Students create a comic strip story using new vocabulary words that are being taught. Having students fill in talk or thought balloons for different cartoon characters also helps students practice conversation and language structure in a meaningful context. Free version has the Comic Touch logo on the finished picture. In addition the free version DOES NOT have the effects that are shown in this video. Free Perfect Captions
This is a great alternative to Comic Touch Lite. It allows the user to take photos within the app or use pictures from the Camera Roll, add various types of captions, text boxes, and call outs. After the project is complete, it's exported back to the Camera Roll, ready to email or transfer via Dropbox.
Free |
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Reading Comprehension
Storytelling Apps
StoryPatch
Add pictures and symbols to create sentences or stories.
VPP 1.49 |
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Story Kit
Users write text. and illustrate by drawing on the screen, taking a photograph of something you see, or drawing on paper and then photographing the paper, or attaching photos from your album. Sounds can be recorded for telling your story or as sound effects. Layout the elements of your story (text boxes, images, and sound clips) freely by dragging them or pinching to resize. Add, reorder, or delete pages from your book.
Free |
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Toontastic
Toontastic is as easy as putting on a puppet show or an animated cartoon - simply press the record button, move your characters onscreen, and tell your stories through play! Once you’re done, Toontastic will play back your animation and voice as a cartoon for you to share with others.
Free |
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Popplet Lite
Using text, images from picture gallery or hand drawn illustrations, this extremely flexible app can be used for the following:
- Exploring Ideas: Brainstorming, Mindmapping - Planning Projects: Diagrams, Process Charts - Recording Thoughts: Journals, Notes, Lists - Collecting Inspiration: Mood Boards, Scrapbook, Travel Plans - Creating Galleries: Photo albums, Portfolios, Presentations - Studying: School Projects, Class Notes Concept Definition Maps – Structured word webs used to explore more complex concepts. The center circle may be a broad concept such as “habitat” and spokes leading off the circle may be organized to respond to questions such as “What is it?”, “What are some examples?” and “Why is it important?” Free Version allows user to create one popplet at a time, saving each before creating the next. Free |
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SonicPics
SonicPics is an app that allows students to select photos from the iPad Photo Library and then record narration to create a simple video.
VPP 1.49 |
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Storyrobe
Storyrobe is an user-friendly application that enables you to create a digital story (maximum 3 minutes) in 3 steps. The first step is to select the images. It gives the option to choose a picture from your album, use your iPad to take new ones or record a video, After the images are put in the right order, it is time to press record and start the narration. There is also one control to select the next image, therefore they will go along with your narration perfectly. After recording, there is the option to edit your story or publish for others users to see. It saves a video in the Camera Roll or can be sent via email.
VPP .49 |
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StoryBuddy
Draw directly on the iPad's screen with your finger and create a picture book page by page. Add text with the built-in keyboard. Import images from your photo album. Publish your story and flip through its pages like a real book.
Digital Storytelling -
Communicate information and ideas using text, images, illustrations in a professional looking book format, tailored to the learning objectives of the class.
VPP 2.99
Digital Storytelling -
Communicate information and ideas using text, images, illustrations in a professional looking book format, tailored to the learning objectives of the class.
VPP 2.99
PuppetPals HD
Record your voice as you move puppets to create digital stories.
Using animation and dialogue, create a Puppet Pals show to demonstrate comprehension and factual knowledge. Can also demonstrate understanding of significant people in history, characters in a book, explain scientific process Puppet Pals How To VPP Director's Pass allows students to use a "green screen" effect with their own images and more choices in characters and backgrounds 1.49 Sock Puppets
Add Puppets, props, scenery, and backgrounds and start creating. Hit the record button and the puppets automatically lip-synch to your voice. Finished projects are viewed on the iPad. There is no other way to share as students will not upload to Facebook or YouTube.
Cooperative Dialogue - Students work in pairs. Following the timeline from text that was previously read each pair writes a dialogue between two characters in the passage. Pairs are selected to present dialogues in chronological order to the class. Activity is designed to be a text "re-presentation." Free |
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Video and Screencast Apps
Show Me
Users use this app create short tutorials and share these with others. Creates a screencast that includes drawing and voice recording.
Acting Out a Problem -- Students can act out mathematical, scientific, or social problems to improve their comprehension. Educreations Interactive Whiteboard
This extremely versatile app can be used to create a tutorial. The
finished video can be uploaded to a website or emailed. The features
include adding a photo from DropBox as well as the camera and photo
gallery.
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Electronic Books (eBooks and ePub)
ICDL Books for Children
Free
Science and Social Studies
iLearn Solar System
This app helps students learn about the solar system with limited text and engaging images and animations.
VPP .99 |
Science 360
The National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Science360 for iPad provides easy access to engaging science and engineering images and video from around the globe and a news feed featuring breaking news from NSF-funded institutions.
Activate students’ prior knowledge, but also build background for those who have these gaps in their understandings of various Science topics. Free BrainPop Featured Movie
“Learn something different each day with the free BrainPOP Featured Movie App for the iPad. Watch BrainPOP’s daily animated movie, then test your new knowledge with an interactive quiz.”
Access non-fiction text and media and demonstrate comprehension through interactive activity Free |
Math
A Ladybug Tree - Bug Catching and Counting Game
Another Lakeshore app - Fine motor skill development - Counting skills (counting goes up to 20) - Counting by 2's - Number recognition Free |
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Catch and Count
"In this educational game, your baby will move the little red truck with his /her finger to catch the colorful Easter eggs that a bird drops from the sky.
The caught egg number is spoken in the language you choose (*Your Voice*, English, Spanish, Hindi) and is shown just behind the truck and moves with the truck. Your kid would love the cute sound when the bird drops the egg." |
Monkey Math Sunshine School
Features include:
"★9 interactive games that teach kids about sequencing, patterning, counting, adding and subtracting. ★With very little interface, your child presses one button to immediately launch into uninterrupted play. ★Uses Knack Technology to instinctively adjust the challenge levels to each individual player. ★Irresistibly cute monkey guides the child through game play with animated celebrations for correct answers and gentle redirection for incorrect ones. ★Kids collect prizes to fill their very own INTERACTIVE AQUARIUM." VPP .49 |
Whiteboard Pro
Whiteboard is a collaborative drawing app for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Experience better doodling with Whiteboard's smooth, fluid markers.
Circular Check- Students in groups are given a problem with a definite answer (good for math & science). First students completes first step without contribution from others in-group and passes it to the next student. Second student corrects any mistakes and completes next step, again with out input from the group. Problem gets passed to next student and the process continues until the group has the correct answer. Response Boards - for group responses and can be erased easily for next answer. |
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