Lets Talk About Apps!

Hey All,

Today's Tip Tuesday is going to be all about Apps! Kindergarten.com offers a wide range of vocabulary flash card apps that are great for early elementary aged children! These apps focus on receptive language skills, word recognition, and cognitive development. The one that I am reviewing today is called the “Things You Eat” app. I use this with my students when targeting word retrieval goals, categorizing goals, and increasing vocabulary. This app is set up as a traditional flash card game: a picture is shown and you are expected to name the item.

The graphics are clear and authentic (not in a cartoon form) and distraction-free with a white background. The meal items that are depicted range from breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner, and dessert.  There are also “stand alone” pictures of vegetables, fruits, and dairy products.

I really like that this app includes a built-in reward system! After five attempts, the player is rewarded with a musical break. The break lasts about 10 seconds long.

When you go into settings, you have the ability to shuffle the cards, turn on/off voice audio and the chime sound, or turn on/off the music reinforcement.

I also really appreciate the fact that Kindergarten.com has a diverse selection of flash cards (sports, vehicles, alphabet, music, clothing, toys, and actions).

Improvements: This app is ideal for younger children who are not able to read yet. However, I do have a few children on the spectrum who have started reading at age 4! So, when using this app with them, they are able to read the words instead of identifying the pictures. Having the ability to turn on/off the words would be a great addition to this app! Also, I would love to have the opportunity to monitor and save my students’ progress within this app, so that I can distinguish between incorrect and correct vocabulary items.

Overall, I think this is an easy and quick tool to use when targeting vocabulary with younger elementary school aged kiddos! I also think that this app is very user friendly and would be an excellent carryover activity for parents or teachers in the classroom or home! This app is currently free (another great feature), so check it out!