Julie Brannon

ReadAskChat is an excellent children’s book app library that has embedded conversation starters for parents. It’s for very young children (0-5) and helps parents engage in dialogic reading (reading, asking and chatting) which is shown to improve outcomes for children in many areas. The simple short selections of fiction, nonfiction and poetry are beautifully illustrated and the conversation prompts and questions are spot on for the selected stories and the ages that they target. The best thing about the app is that it helps parents share the joy of reading and learning with their kids from an early age.

This is a fantastic new interactive textbook with text as well as engaging intuitive free-play simulations. It’s very effective in teaching all ages about plate tectonics, erosion, volcanoes, glaciers, the water cycle and more. It also has a sand box mode.

Great book for teens about a shy princess who must overcome her fears and give a speech. (After you read it and before you teach it, be sure to check out the author’s extensive author notes on the “more” page.)

This multi-layered book with beautiful illustrations is a great conversation starter: What’s it really like to be a celebrity? How important is privacy? Are teen girls oversold on the princess culture? Why do some people steal? Does the language of advertising match reality? That is just the beginning:

From iTunes:
From the creators of The Artifacts and Midnight Feast, Hilda Bewildered is a brand new illustrated short story for deep-thinking adolescent readers.

Somewhere in a non-specified European country, Princess Hilda comes of age. She must deliver a prepared speech at midnight tonight, charged with the task of ‘opening winter’. Unfortunately for Hilda, she is terrified of speaking in front of a live audience.

Put on your close-reading hats for this one. Prepare a cup of peppermint tea, find the coldest time of day, then plug in some headphones to fully appreciate the beautiful soundtrack.

HILDA BEWILDERED THEMES AND IDEAS:

• The nature of celebrity
• Constant surveillance/Imaginary Audience Syndrome
• Social invisibility
• The stochastic nature of birthright
• Beauty and self-image
• ‘Grass is greener’ feelings
• The language of advertising
• Fear of public speaking
• Finding inner strength
• Loneliness among crowds

This is a helpful tool for teaching math from basic to more advanced levels. It helps make sure that students master the basics before moving on to more complex ideas.

The Land of Venn is a fun and addictive app game that is great for teaching geometry. Students love it.

This engaging app teaches students how to build ships. Students can design the ship, choose construction materials, fuel, etc and then check to see if the ship will float.

This is a great elements and chemistry app for early education — pre-k through early-elementary. Students can explore each of the elements and interact with a centrifuge, a Bunsen burner, a cooling agent, an oscilloscope, and test tubes. It’s fun and engaging for kids. Like most Toca apps, there is no vocabulary. This is a great intro to the elements for young kids to get them interested in the subject.

Older kids will graduate into more advanced apps such as Go React by Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago or The Elements: A Visual Exploration by Touch Press.

This is a great assessment tool for preschoolers to help teachers and parents gauge kindergarten readiness. It is also a learning app to help teach preschool skills and prepare young children for kindergarten.

This is a touching story about a girl who lives in an orphanage and is bullied by the other children. The story shows students the repercussions of bullying and it ends on a note of hope. It’s a great conversation starter about bullying and compassion.

The Amazing Digestive Journey is a challenging adventure game that teaches students about the human digestive system while they play. It also has drills and reference material that are helpful in reinforcing the learning. After playing this game, students will know the parts of the digestive system and how it works.