App for That #10: The Land of Me

App: The Land of Me for the iPad

Cost: Free

Grade Level:Kindergarten to Grade 2

What it does:    This app was one I saw recommend on Jen Deyenberg's blog.  It is in the same vein as a choose your own adventure story, where the reader chooses several elements of the story, such as who the main character is, what the story is about and what type of ending it has.  Then with simple chalk like animations and words, Grandmother Olive, the turtle, narrates the story. 

How's the App: This is a really good app for early elementary students.  Each story has a rhyming rhythm to it that children love.  They are in control of parts of the story, and the fact that they can be changed means the reader can read the story multiple times and have it be fresh each time.  The animations are cute and the text is underneath so students can follow along.  The possible draw back of this app is that all the characters voices have British accents so it may be difficult for some students to understand the story, though in a world where many students have already watched one or more Harry Potter movies, this might not be a challenge at all.  The stories are fairly short, so this app may not hold the readers attention for very long.

What it could be used for: This app allows students to listen to a story being read to them.  It can also help students begin to understand how details can change a story.  A teacher could ask them to try the same story with three different endings and see what changes.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5