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Free App: Common Core Standards & Common Core Aligned App Giveaways

Common Core Standards App

We have introduced several common core standard aligned apps, such as SplashMath, iTooch Elementary and Middle School, Math on Video.  The other day, I saw the FREE Common Core Standards app on App Store.  I found it very handy for teachers and parents to have.

In the app, you will see three sections under Standards: Math – Traditional, Math – Integrated, and Language Arts.   According to corestandards.org, Math – Traditional is typical for schools in the US, while Integrated Math is typically seen international. 

Under each section, you will see the skills the students are expected to master at each grade level, from grade K to high school graduate.  I think this is especially helpful for parents to understand how the skills are broken down for each area.  For example, for grade 1, under Operations and Algebraic Thinking, there are 8 areas, starting with “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”, ending with “Determine the unknown whole number in an addition or subtraction equation relating three wholeCommon Core Standard Free App numbers”.  It also gives examples: 8+__=11. 

For 4th grade reading, kids need “know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words”, and “read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension”, which includes: “Read grade-level text with purpose and understanding; Read grade level prose and poetry orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression; use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding, rereading as necessary”. 

I don’t expect anyone would read it through as a regular book.  Instead, it is a great reference app for parents to check out what the kids are expected to know, what expectations are age appropriate, or even ideas on what exercises kids can do at home.

Common Core Standards works on iPhone, iPod, and iPAD.  It is FREE on App Store.
  
If you would like to check it out or purchase it, please use the App Store link provided below. The cost is the same to you, but iGameMom gets a small percentage. Thanks for your support! Note: The link works for all countries.
Common Core Standards - MasteryConnect

It is also available for Android on Google Play, and for Windows phone

Giveaway:

After reading parts of the Common Core Standards, I became more appreciative of the apps designed around the common core standards.  It is hard for parents keep track of all these detailed criteria to find the right materials for kids.  Two of my most favorite apps designed around Common Core are iTooch and SplashMath.  While SplashMath is only on Math (Grade 1 – 5), iTooch includes Math, Language Arts, and Science (Grade 3 to 5). 

Today iGameMom has a great giveaway thanks to iTooch developer EduPad.  We will pick 3 winners, each one will win three apps for a grade level – one for 3rd grade Math, Language Arts, and Science; one for 4th grade Math, Language Art, and Science; one for 5th grade Math, Language Art, and Science.  That is $15 worth of apps for each winner.  If you want to learn more about iTooch for elementary school, you can visit iGameMom’s review

How to win the apps?  To win the apps, please leave a comment at this post, telling us what is your biggest challenge in getting kids to do academic practices at home, and what have been your solutions?  On your comment, please also indicate which grade level you are interested in.  Academic practice includes: math, reading, writing, social studies, and science. 

Any comments entered before March 24 are eligible to win.  The winners will be announced on Mar.25 at this post. 

The Winners are: Debra Smith, Erika, and Erica.  Congratulations!

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{ 21 comments… add one }
  • Jefferson

    This paragraph will assist the students to learn.

  • Lionel

    Heya! I’m at work browsing your blog from my new iphone 3gs! Just wanted to say I love reading your blog and look forward to all your posts! Carry on the superb work!

  • Reagan

    Hey just wanted to give you a quick heads up. The words in your content seem to be running off the screen in Ie. I’m not sure if this is a format issue or something to do with browser compatibility but I thought I’d post to let you know. The layout look great though! Hope you get the problem resolved soon. Cheers

  • Rahie

    Undoubtedly you understand the subject you’re writing.

  • Debra Smith

    The greatest challenge for my children and my student s is to get them to focus and do things in the areas that they don’t like or struggle doing. Learning perseverance is tough. They can focus for hours on fun things but hate hard, challenging ones. Adding technology is an incentive but takes away from the perseverance aspect. But it certainly helps those night when you are knocking heads and your child has to write a story and you let them use your computer. The key is finding what clicks and motivates- it just may take a while to do this :).

    • I totally agree! On one hand we want to make the learning interesting and fun for the kids, on the other hand we have to train them to be able to learn things that is not necessary fun. It is a tough fine balance…

  • Siegrid Pregartner

    So far the greatest challenge I have had is getting my kids to do what they don’t want to. Since they are just going into kindergarten I have let them have a lot of choices in their preschool work but that wasn’t making much progress in getting my oldest to read. So we worked together and created an alphabet dragon and a level chart. Everytime he defeated a letter (ID’ed it, sounded it out and then gave me a word that it began with) he would glue a sword on to it and then earn a point. For every ten points he earns a small prize from the prize bucket. He also earns points for reading words to me from books, playing certain Ipad apps, doing worksheets with me and just pretending to read a book and making up the story in his head.
    So far he is a level 67 warrior and we have been working on his dragon steadily since December. He has gone from knowing the alphabet to reading Hop on Pop. I don’t expect my kid to be a super genius but as long as we both work together every day then slow and steady wins the race.
    I truly believe incentives are the way to go for education, especially boys. Everyone needs some sort of satisfaction from the things that they do and telling them that “It is good for you” is usually not what they are looking for. I know that I wouldn’t go to work at a job that I didn’t like if I wasn’t getting paid. Next we will make language dragons and start practicing our Spanish (which I am ok at) and our Chinese (which I am not so ok at).
    If we won the kiddos would love the elementary curriculum.

    • Great job! Kids this age love stickers. I think they like the visual reminder on how great they are! 🙂

  • Eric YE

    As a father of a 4th grade student, my greatest challenge is to get him interested in learning activities, these apps seem to do wonders to my son, he is having fun learning this way.

    • Many apps have the effect on kids. They speak to kids better than us, apparently. 🙂

  • Erika

    As an ESL teacher, my greatest challenge for students continuing their academic studies at home is their language barrier. Native English speaking students have more support at home (or at least the opportunity for it) because their parents speak the language of the assignment. To encourage my students to continue their studies at home, I provide lots of scaffolded questions throughout their assignments and reward them with “tech time” on Fridays or during opportunities throughout the week for completed and attempted homework assignments.

    • It is challenge with ESL students. It is not just language, there are cultual barriers too. English is my second language, I can really relate to it. You students are lucky to have you!

  • Siegrid Pregartner

    Honestly home schooling is so much easier with electronics. I do a lot with them at the kitchen table but I could never get the results that games like Endless Alphabet do with my 2 year old.

    • Love Endless Alphabet. It is a great app. You are right, if used right, apps are great in motivating kids learn more …

  • Erica

    Looks like a great addition to my homeschool prep work. My kids love learning apps. I love iGameMom’s informative and timely reviews and information. I’ve got my kids on ABCMouse and smartyants. I’ve recently gotten the 3rd grade Common Core workbook. Now I need something for 4th for our collection!!

    • Glad you find the information helpful! If you want to win the app, please share your challenge and your solution for the challenge. Thanks!

      • Erica

        My biggest challenge is getting my child to focus on reading. I’ve decided that sticking with the same book for too long becomes boring and the pages are just memorized. What is working is reading each night the same book for one week switching books the following week then going back to the original book. We have just recently switched back to the original book and it’s familiar but not just mindless repetition. We are also really loving Reading Eggs, lots of fun games that actually challenge!

        • My son loved reading the same book again and again. Many books he can memorize the lines. 🙂 Seems they just like to doing that. I think repetition is part of learning.

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