Review by Amanda Bindel, Common Sense Education | Updated October 2014
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Curious About Me

Get it now
  • Download from App Store

Kids co-star with Curious George in their own easy-to-make movies

Subjects & skills
Subjects
  • English Language Arts
Skills
  • Creativity
  • Character & SEL
  • Communication & Collaboration
Grades This grade range is a recommendation by Common Sense Education and not the developer/publisher.
Pre-K–1
Great for:
Common Sense says (See details)
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Not yet reviewed
Price:  $3.99
Platforms:  iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch

Take a look inside

5 images
Movies are saved in-app and can be edited.
Kids take selfies and enter facts about themselves.
Kids record audio to include in the stories.
Family pets can be part of the story, too.
Kids' creations make an appearance in the movie.

Pros: Multiple student profiles make this a great choice for one- or few-iPad classrooms.

Cons: Following the steps to create a movie is time-consuming.

Bottom Line: Offers a fun way for kids to learn about themselves and develop language skills while being creative.

How Can I Teach with This Tool?

Creating movies about themselves to show their classmates could make an excellent beginning-of-year project for kids. Alternatively, teachers could have a "student of the week" who creates a movie to show the class. Older kids or students needing more of a challenge could create a Curious About Me movie about a character from a piece of literature.

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Standards:

Curious About Me features kids' favorite monkey in stories they help create. To make a movie, kids choose from two story options: "Curious About Me with Curious George" or "A Day at the Zoo with Curious George." They then follow verbal instructions to take photos of themselves, their family, friends, and pets; record audio and video; and/or create their own art. The movie seamlessly incorporates kids' contributions into the stories, which are automatically saved in-app and can be opened to make changes or saved to the camera roll. The Man in the Yellow Hat narrates, letting kids know that "George is so curious to find out all about you."

Curious About Me lets kids create stories with a beloved character about the person they know best -- themselves! Multiple kids can create movies, and several movies can be saved in-app, so it works wonderfully in a one- or few-iPad classroom. Alhough only two story theme options are provided, kids can change their responses to the prompts to change the stories. Verbal instructions are easy to follow, so emerging readers can set out to snap pictures, shoot video, color, and more with minimal adult intervention (athough they may need help locating where they live on the map). Movies play impressively well, with kids' contributions fitting in seamlessly, although they do take up quite a bit of storage space on a device, especially as more kids add movies. Kids personalize it all -- taking pictures of their family and home -- and as the Man with the Yellow Hat interjects, "every family is different." It'd be nice to have a few more story themes, but what's included will delight kids as they produce movies they'll be proud to share.

Overall Rating
Engagement Is the product stimulating, entertaining, and engrossing? Will kids want to return?

What do kids love more than movies featuring favorite characters? Movies about themselves! Step-by-step instructions walk kids through the process as they seamlessly add their contributions.

Pedagogy Is learning content seamlessly baked-in, and do kids build conceptual understanding? Is the product adaptable and empowering? Will skills transfer?

As kids follow each step of the creation process, they'll think critically and creatively and see their ideas come to life in the story -- from the butterflies they color to pictures of their family and of favorite things to do.

Support Does the product take into account learners of varying abilities, skill levels, and learning styles? Does it address both struggling and advanced students?

Kids can create as many stories as they'd like, and multiple users can set up their own profiles. Since instructions are given verbally, non-readers can easily make movies.

Common Sense Reviewer
Amanda Bindel Classroom teacher
About our ratings and privacy evaluation.

Key Standards Supported

Speaking & Listening

  • SL.K.4

    Describe familiar people, places, things, and events and, with prompting and support, provide additional detail.

  • SL.K.5

    Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions as desired to provide additional detail.

  • SL.K.6

    Speak audibly and express thoughts, feelings, and ideas clearly.

  • SL.1.4

    Describe people, places, things, and events with relevant details, expressing ideas and feelings clearly.

  • SL.1.5

    Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings.

  • SL.1.6

    Produce complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation.

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