Weekend App Attack: 3 Great Classroom Apps!

Guest blog post by Christina DeCarbo

Are you looking for some great new apps to try out with your students?  This weekend, I'm excited to share three apps you can use in the classroom with upper primary students.

Math Flight
The first app on my list is called Math Fight by Peaksel. You can download this app from the iTunes Store by clicking HERE. The first reason I love this app is because of the differentiation it provides.  The free version comes with two operations: addition and subtraction.  For $1.99, teachers can upgrade and get access to multiplication and division practice, as well.  However, even if you only use the free portion of the app, there are four difficulty levels that are included: Easy, Medium, Hard, and Expert. This provides you with plenty of material for the classroom. As a first grade teacher, my students are playing the Easy level, which involves one digit numbers. For third through fifth grade teachers, the Medium and Hard levels involve two digit numbers, and the Expert level involves three digit numbers.  You can even combine operations for an added challenge.

I also love this app because it allows two students to play the same game! This feature allows your iPad to service more students at once.  Give each player a partner and voila! You have four students engaged on one tablet. Any app that allows more students to take advantage of the tablets we have available in our classrooms is a bonus.

The Opposites
The second app on my list is called The Opposites by Mindshapes Limited. This free app is wonderful for vocabulary development.  Students play the word game by matching up pairs of opposing words. The game starts off with easy words but quickly becomes challenging for students.  It contains 10 levels and explains the meaning and the synonyms of the words.

AppsGoneFree
The final app on this weekend's list is called Appsgonefree. Download this "Daily Deal App Finder" from the iTunes store by clicking HERE. This is an app that connects you to TONS of FREE apps!  Many of them are educational and include anything from math to geography to camera apps for kids.  This app is not for student use but allows you take advantage of apps that developers make available to you for free.  You can then use the apps you decide to download in your classroom.  It is a great way to stay up-to-date on new educational apps to use with your students.

AppsGoneFree just might become your best friend over your spring break. I've already downloaded ten new apps I plan on introducing to my students throughout the next couple of months. It is a fabulous resource for educators!

Free Tablet Rules 
Classroom Posters
If you are looking for some posters to use with your tablets or iPads, I have free posters available for you. The posters would be a great visual reminder on how to take care of the tablets in your classroom. Download my Free Classroom Posters for Tablet Rules by clicking HERE.

More Weekend App Attacks
I hope you enjoyed this Weekend App Attack and learned about some new and interesting apps to take back to your students and your classroom. If you enjoyed this post, you might also enjoy my previous Weekend App Attack posts on my Sugar and Spice blog. Click HERE to find them all in one place.

Happy Learning, Christina DeCarbo

Christina DeCarbo is a first grade teacher from Northeast Ohio with a Master's Degree in Elementary Literacy.  She enjoys creating engaging resources for literacy intervention and has presented workshops on small group instruction for school districts in Ohio. You can follow her teaching blog, Sugar and Spice, for ideas, lessons, and resources for the K-3 teacher.