iPads in the Classroom: App Recommendations Galore! Good, extensive list...

Next month, I am receiving an iPad 2 for Christmas. It has been on the top of my want list for over a year, and now I am finally going to be able to have this incredible tool  for A) generating my own excitement, and B) to enhance my teaching when I work with small groups of students in the classroom.

For a while, I have been looking at which apps that may benefit my students the very most. Here are several I think will be beneficial (in addition to GarageBand and iMovie, of course...)...

BrainPop Featured Movie: 
I have been a fan of BrainPop for at least five years. Knowing they have an excellent app like this excites me. I am grateful the featured movies are free- and I hope they correlate from time to time with what I have taught so I can bring a small group of students aside to explore. Check out this app here. 

Ansel and Clair's Adventures in Africa: 
I love virtual vacations, and this is no exception! The interface is vibrant, sparking your adventurous spirit. Here is an entire blog post dedicated to this app. 

My Bird World: 
Kids test their knowledge to "win" up to 24 different kinds of exotic birds, place them in one of six habitats, and play four fun games to keep them well-nourished. You can learn about birds like the American avocet, hummingbird, and yellow warbler.

Motion Math: 
This $1.99 app is appropriate for ages 7-8+ and is WONDERFUL for reviewing number sense. It reviews concepts like number lines, fractions, percentages, pie graphs, and decimals, which are important for any 3rd-5th grade student to learn. There are wonderful encouraging sounds to keep kids engaged while they play this game as well.

Slice It!
Divide various shapes into equal parts. This colorful $1.99 app is great for all elementary-aged children, giving their brains a geometry-related workout!

MathBoard: 
The images below impress me in itself! Any app that practices longer multiplication and division is worthwhile, in my book.

MadMath Lite Multiplication: 

This will be a nice application for students practicing basic multiplication facts to use. There are either options to practice addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division, without or with decimals, so you can go quite advanced, apparently. It is a free application; check it out here. 

K12 Timed Reading Practice: 

This $1.99 purchase can track 1-minute fluency readings for you. I believe the photos below explain all...

National Park Maps HD from National Geographic: 

These maps seem great for reviewing text features with your students. Click here to learn more about this $1.99 app. 

Multiplication and Division Flash Action: 

This is an awesome $4.99 app that reviews multiplication and division, recommended for ages 8+, though younger students can use it as well. Very colorful.

Britannica Kids: Volcanoes: 

Not only do I love geology, this app is fascinating and can interest anyone who is studying volcanoes!

Middle School Math: 

This $3.99 app from Interactive Elementary has some elements that are quite appropriate for the upper elementary audience. See below for a few neat screen shots. 

Candy Factory: 

Who doesn't like solving real-world math problems? Honestly, problems should have real-world applications. Here is Candy Factory, a fractions game. The best part is that it is FREE. 

How to Make Origami:

It is important to review chronological order and the author's purpose of explaining, so this free app can be a great resource to brighten your reading curriculum a tad. The folding for each animal is explained step-by-step.

English Idioms, Illustrated: 

English Idioms, Illustrated seems like an AMAZING free app that works well for reading and writing classes. We must all cover figurative language in our reading curriculums, so this seems like a worthy download as well. 

Great Migrations HD:

This free National Geographic app seems VERY impressive and can be a great tool to teach science. 

Strip Designer:

Digital Storytelling is amazing, so Strip Designer is worth $2.99, in my opinion. You choose a layout, upload photos, and then insert captions. 

Toontastic: 

I can hardly believe this app is free, but it is. It seems easy to navigate as well. 

NASA App HD: 

IMPRESSIVE is all I can say. This free app is worth the download! Engage your future astronomers. 

Apps that will be on my iPad not for my classroom, but as a tool for younger students: 

Sometimes I come in contact with younger students, and I know some of my readers here, too, teach grades K-2. 

Splash Math: 

This has over 200 questions for students in grades 1-3. There is an app for each grade level. Though I obviously do not teach those grades, I know this will come in handy sometime. The interface is colorful and impressive. It enables students to respond to questions at their own pace. The questions include wonderful graphics as well. I will probably purchase the third grade application. Here is the official website. 

Note from July 2012: Please continue on to my second apps for iPad post! Seeing how many have read this first post, you will likely enjoy the second post, too!