Review by Dana Villamagna, Common Sense Education | Updated May 2013

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X is for X-Ray (iPad)

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

Common Sense says

3

Rating Details

Teachers say (1 Review)

$avg_user_learning_rating

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Grades

K-5 This grade range is a recommendation by Common Sense Education and not the developer/publisher.

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5 images

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.

Lesson & Activity Ideas

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.

Tool Overview

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.

Learning Value

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.

Rating Details

Overall 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.

Common Sense Reviewer

Dana Villamagna Classroom teacher

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Teacher Reviews

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Featured review by
Connie J. , Media specialist/librarian

Media specialist/librarian

Concordia College
Moorhead, MN

2

Not all items are worth x-raying

While some students may enjoy this app, it mixes juvenile poems with quite detailed information about the item being x-rayed. Advanced students may wish to skip the poems entirely and just read the text. Some of the items selected for x-raying are curious - there's not much to see on the inside of a piggy bank or an umbrella.

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© Common Sense Media Inc. 2017 All rights reserved. Common Sense, Common Sense Media, Common Sense Education and Common Sense Kids Action, associated names, associated trademarks, and logos are trademarks of Common Sense Media, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. (FEIN 41-2024986) Teaching strategies and digital citizenship tools for educators.

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)

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

Subjects and Skills: X is for X-Ray (iPad)

Take a look inside

Lesson & Activity Ideas

Tool Overview

Learning Value

Rating Details

Overall Rating

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

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

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

Key Standards Supported

Language

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