X is for X-Ray (iPad)

Bookmark

Write Review

Common Sense Review

Updated May 2013

Cool alphabet-based visuals, plus a bit of science, history, and vocabulary fun

Common Sense Rating 3

Teacher Rating (1 Teacher Review) 2

Price

$1.99

This grade range is a recommendation by the Common Sense Education editorial team, not the developer/publisher.

Grades

K-5

Platforms

iPad

Show Additional Product & Pricing Details

Subjects

English Language Arts

vocabulary

Science

engineering
physics
substance properties

Skills

Critical Thinking

investigation

Purpose

Reference

Standards

Common Core State Standards

All 26 letters of the English alphabet have an object to explore.
Lots of science, history, and trivia info for each object.
Kids get to see inner workings of objects in various stages of X-ray imaging.
Listen to witty poems related to each object.
Learn about the app's photographer, including his insides!

Pros

Learn about everyday objects wth creative visuals, funny poetry, and written text.

Cons

Some of the X-ray interactivity isn't intuitive and may frustrate younger kids.

Bottom Line

X is for X-Ray is a beautiful way to bring kids to the intersection of reading with science, engineering, and history.

Dana Villamagna
Common Sense Reviewer
Classroom teacher

Common Sense Rating 3

Engagement Is the product stimulating, entertaining, and engrossing? Will kids want to return? 4

X-ray images, witty poems, and information-packed text engage kids' sense of wonder, sense of humor, and curiosity about everyday things. Prereaders and readers both will find ways to engage.

Pedagogy Is learning content seamlessly baked-in, and do kids build conceptual understanding? Is the product adaptable and empowering? Will skills transfer? 2

One page per object explains all about each image, helping kids expand vocabulary and science and history knowledge -- although not deeply. X-ray-enhanced photos allow kids to see the inner workings of objects they're familiar with.

Support Does the product take into account learners of varying abilities, skill levels, and learning styles? Does it address both struggling and advanced students? 2

Lots of text makes this well-suited for readers; images and audio poems make it accessible for prereaders. You'll get great ideas for extension activities, but kids will need to use trial and error to learn how to expose the x-ray images.

About our ratings and privacy evaluation.

How Can Teachers Use It?

X is for X-Ray can be a good teacher-led whole class introduction to a lesson about inventing, engineering, or the physics of X-rays. Teachers will need to read (and perhaps synopsize) text-heavy portions of the app for younger students, but pre-readers can also simply listen to the poems and view the images. X is for X-Ray may also be an interesting way for kids just learning to use an iPad to practice swiping, tapping, and pinching on their own -- with rewarding visual results. After students have explored the app fully, teachers may want to choose a suggested activity, such as performing a science experiment, to extend learning.

What's It Like?

X is for X-Ray (iPad) is a beautiful alphabet book containing detailed descriptions, funny audio poems, and amazing, progressive X-ray images of 26 everyday objects that kids can interact with. The app covers a variety of information about each object -- its history, scientific information, fun facts, and some extension ideas for further exploration (some objects don’t have extensions). From viewing the internal engineering of a toaster to seeing the way bones shape a hand, X is for X-Ray gets kids investigating the parts that create whole objects. Kids swipe, tap, and pinch to view each photo as an X-ray, zoom it larger, spin it around, and view it in 3-D (with purchased glasses). It may take a few tries for kids to get the hang of using the tools, and some images are easier to manipulate than others, but overall navigation is fairly easy.

Is It Good For Learning?

The amazing X-ray images combined with catchy audio poems and fascinating informational text make the learning experience on X is for X-Ray highly engaging and effective. Multimedia information about each object helps with retention by reinforcing learning in different ways. Interacting with objects to expose their insides will leave a lasting impression on students.

Teacher Reviews

Write Your Own Review

Not all items are worth x-raying

Connie J.
Concordia College
Moorhead, MN

2

March 4, 2014

Lesson Plans

Create Your Own Lesson Plan

There currently are no Lesson Plans. Why don't you add one yourself?

Language
L.1: Vocabulary Acquisition and Use
L.1.6	Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, reading and being read to, and responding to texts, including using frequently occurring conjunctions to signal simple relationships (e.g., because).
L.2: Vocabulary Acquisition and Use
L.2.6	Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, reading and being read to, and responding to texts, including using adjectives and adverbs to describe (e.g., When other kids are happy that makes me happy).
L.3: Vocabulary Acquisition and Use
L.3.6	Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate conversational, general academic, and domain-specific words and phrases, including those that signal spatial and temporal relationships (e.g., After dinner that night we went looking for them).
L.4: Vocabulary Acquisition and Use
L.4.6	Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases, including those that signal precise actions, emotions, or states of being (e.g., quizzed, whined, stammered) and that are basic to a particular topic (e.g., wildlife, conservation, and endangered when discussing animal preservation).
L.5: Vocabulary acquisition and Use
L.5.6	Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases, including those that signal contrast, addition, and other logical relationships (e.g., however, although, nevertheless, similarly, moreover, in addition).
L.K: Vocabulary Acquisition and Use
L.K.6	Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, reading and being read to, and responding to texts.

X is for X-Ray (iPad)

Pros

Cons

Bottom Line

Key Standards Supported

Language

See how teachers are using X is for X-Ray (iPad)

Teacher Reviews

Lesson Plans

Lesson Plans

Browse Similar Products

Please take a second to answer this question.

Thank you!