I recently discovered and fell in love with the Khan Academy Kids iPad app. This app is largely focused on emergent literacy skills with some basic math skills and logic. It is good for all Preschool to first grade students. Here are ten things I love about this app:
1. It's free
Khan Academy Kids is a high-quality, content-rich app that it totally free. Best of all there are no advertisements or in-app purchases. You can get the app on Apple's app store, Google Play, and even the Amazon appstore.
2. The Student Learning Path adapts to each student
Students can begin right away on the student learning path with no teacher setup required. The path will provide activities to the child based on how they interact with the app, letting them learn at their own pace.
3. It's great for targeted instruction and intervention
Separate from the Student Learning Path, teachers can assign specific activities to students based on their needs. This makes it a great choice for both introductory mini-lessons and digital intervention activities.
4. You can search for lessons by standard
Searching the library of activities by standard makes it easy to find activities to assign directly to your students. You can also browse through the topics: ABC, 123, Reading, Logic +, Books, and Videos. These are further organized by subcategory, which makes it easy to quickly see the large library of content you have at your fingertips.
5. You can review student progress
Khan Academy Kids gives you information on each student and their progress. You can see progress on assignments and independent learning. I especially love that each assignment shows the percentage accuracy.
6. Activities are available for hard to find standards
The activity library includes lessons on Reading Foundational Skills that are often excluded from other English Language Arts apps. Expect to find content to teach print concepts in addition to the more common phonological awareness and sight word activities. I even found lessons on environmental print!
I also loved the unique activities found under the Logic+ heading. The subcategories titled Focus, Memory, & Flexible Thinking, Social Emotional Development, Physical Development, and Healthy Habits in particular caught my attention.
7. There are beautiful books
All of the high-quality mini-readers begin with two options: Read to Me or Read by Myself. In Khan Academy Kids' library you will find a good mixture of beautifully illustrated fiction texts as well as non-fiction with stunning photographs.
8. There are materials that get kids moving
The content under the subcategory Physical Development gives students the opportunity to move their bodies. These can make great brain breaks or could even work as virtual physical education lessons.
9. The Video Library provides quality content for mini-lessons
Here you can find videos to introduce or review concepts in English Language Arts and Math. Fun, seasonal videos and songs are also included.
10. Khan Academy Kids offers printables
Visit the Help Center to grab copies of the printable packets. They work great in conjunction with the activities students will find in the app. I especially love the
Reading Bingo choice board in the Literacy packet and the writing activities in the Writing & Coloring packet that go along with specific books in the app.
Comments
Post a Comment