App review by Amanda Bindel, Common Sense Education | Updated November 2013
Animals ! Life Sciences Educational Games For Kids In Preschool And Kindergarten By I Learn With

Animals ! Life Sciences Educational Games For Kids In Preschool And Kindergarten By I Learn With

Hide-and-seek fun and basic animal facts can get repetitive after a bit of play

Learning rating
Editorial review by Common Sense Education
Community rating
Based on 2 reviews
Privacy rating
Not yet rated Expert evaluation by Common Sense
Grades
Pre-K–1 This grade range is based on learning appropriateness and doesn't take into account privacy. It's determined by Common Sense Education, not the product's publisher.
Subjects & Skills
Science
Price:  $1.99
Platforms:  Android, iPad, Kindle Fire
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Take a look inside

4 images
Choose from animal traits, habitats, or living habits.
Touch the picture of the animal that answers the verbal question.
Incorrect choices fade out and kids get another chance.
Detailed progress reports show how kids' performance compares to others.

Pros: Learning about animals is fun, as is playing hide-and-seek, so kids will enjoy it initially.

Cons: No definitions or descriptions of terms are provided.

Bottom Line: Cute animal theme teaches more about observing and listening than about science facts.

How Can I Teach with This Tool?

Use Animals ! Life sciences educational games for kids in Preschool and Kindergarten by i Learn With as a hook activity before starting a unit on animals. You'll be able to access what kids already know and get them excited about learning more (and you'll be able to go into more depth than the app offers). Work with kids in small groups to practice listening and observing skills as well. Though kids can easily manipulate the game on their own, for a meaningful learning experience, they'll need a teacher supplementing the information or guiding them.

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Standards:

The premise of the game is for kids to play hide-and-seek with an animal, answering questions about some other creatures the hiding animal sees along the way. Appearance deals with animal traits, such as claws, fur, and skin. Habitat deals with where animals live and spend their time. Living Habits delves more deeply into habitat information, additionally asking about classifications of animals (mammal, lays eggs, etc.) or what kinds of food animals eat. Three levels of difficulty are included in each category. Incorrect answers are corrected with a gentle beep, as the incorrect option turns gray, so if kids don't know the answers, the app will guide them. Baba, the Meerkat, repeats the questions and offers help as needed. The detailed progress reports show what kids have worked on and how many questions they've answered correctly, and compares their scores to the average.

Though Animals ! Life sciences educational games for kids in Preschool and Kindergarten by i Learn With is offered as a free app, the learning games require a $1.99 in-app purchase. Additionally, other educational games (billed as "prizes" when the rocket ship is tapped) are included in the progress reports.

Kids can learn about animals, their traits, habitats, and living habits, and develop listening skills as they follow verbal instructions. Baba, the Meerkat, is always available to help and repeat clues as needed. Kids will hear words like mammal, savannah, and jungle, but they're expected to already know what the words mean as Baba's clues don't define them. Kids will become familiar with simple maps as they follow the trail left by Bruce, Wanda, and Wendell. After a few rounds, the traits and questions get repetitive, however. The actual life science information isn't very deep, but kids will strengthen their listening and observing skills through play, which can build better readers.

Overall Rating
Engagement Would it motivate students and hold their interest? Is it visually appealing? Would it inspire teachers to try something new or change their instruction?

Combining animals with a game of hide-and-seek will appeal to the preschool and kinder set, but the format varies little from game-to-game and level-to-level, so kids may become bored before playing all levels.

Pedagogy Does the tool help teachers promote a more student-centered experience? Will students gain conceptual understanding or think critically? Does it deepen teachers’ pedagogical thinking?

Each level gets progressively more challenging and the content gets deeper, moving from animal traits to habitats to living habits. Kids will easily remember facts about each animal.

Support Can students and teachers get assistance when they need it? Is it created with people of different abilities and backgrounds in mind? Is learning reinforced and extended beyond the digital experience?

Progress reports show what kids have worked on as well as how they compare to others in their age group. All instructions are delivered verbally, and Baba, the Meerkat, repeats instructions and offers tips.

Common Sense reviewer
Amanda Bindel Classroom teacher
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Key Standards Supported

Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity

  • 2-LS4-1

    Make observations of plants and animals to compare the diversity of life in different habitats.

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Community Rating

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Featured review by
Jennifer K. , Other
Other
Newark City Schools
Newark, United States
Listening and Following Directions with Animals
I think this App is more of a PreK - K App unless you are working with low functioning first graders. PreK and K student I think would enjoy this App more than my students did. I could see you making this into a center to working on following directions and listening skills. Using animals make the app more appealing to students but there is not much science content to the App.
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