New Language Arts Apps from edshelf

A lot of attention is given to STEM apps, and rightly so. But we shouldn’t forget about reading, writing, and the language arts. Let’s say you give your students a writing assignment. It could be a fictional story, a book summary, or, in our example below, a persuasive essay. Here are a series of mobile apps that your students can use for this assignment.

• Kidspiration Maps – Mind maps can be helpful devices for brainstorming and creating story outlines. Your students can start here to plan their essay.

• Poems by Heart from Pengiun Classics – Poems aren’t just artful assemblies of words. Some hold wedges of wisdom. Consider quoting a line or two.

• Rhyme Zone – Younger students will enjoy this tool for finding rhymes. Perhaps not useful in persuasive writing, their poems will sing like melodic chimes.

• English Thesaurus – When the right word is, um, not in your head, sometimes you need a thesaurus for that, uh, right word.

• Shake-a-Phrase – Students still stuck? This app can be used for writing prompts and vocabulary building. Better for silly stories than serious essays.

• Writing An Opinion – Learning how to write persuasively is not easy. This app walks students through the necessary steps to craft compelling compositions.

edshelf is a great place to share, categorize and apply educational apps, mobile or web. Sign up and join an active community of educators integrating technology into the classroom in meaningful and powerful ways!