Community reviews for Freckle

Front Row is a helpful teaching tool. Students are motivated to complete activities and assignments so that they can collect gold coins and use them in the "store." We are using the math component, but the program also offers ELA. Last year we had the free version which was a little bit glitchy. Now that we have the school (paid) version, everything is working quite well.

At first I thought it was too immature for middle school but student enjoy the playfulness of the site and practice math without the drudgery. I try not to overuse it but with all the different topics they seem really engaged. Especially 7th graders, reminds them of the good old days. :)

I use Front Row to help my students with reading skills. The variety of articles is astounding. Plus, you can choose an article based on genre and reading anchor skills for core subjects. After the diagnostic lesson, teachers can set the reading level for each student, which is fantastic! Since Front Row adjusts the reading skill level to meet each student's need, teachers that option too.

I LOVE Front Row and the rest of my school is slowly getting on board. Due to the fact that I live in northern Idaho where our funding is austere, my school can't afford the upgrade to get the features which would make this incredibly designed app more of a "teaching" tool. I am happy with what we have for the moment. I am going to write a grant in the spring to see if we can get the paid version.

The questions are aligned to the Common Core standards which is awesome...but they are only for grades 1st through 5th. This is great because those are the standards I need them to understand before they come to class and front Row makes sure that happens. However, Front Row asks the 1st grade standards like it is talking to a 1st grader. For example: If front Row is checking to see if students understand the numerator of a fraction it might ask "Sally squirrel is 4/5ths of a foot tall and Billy Badger is 5/5ths of a foot tall. Who is taller?" Its a great question, but if you ask it to a junior in high school he will look at you like your nuts (pun intended). The special ed department really likes that Front Row can read questions out loud to students and how easy it is to switch students to Spanish. Bottom line: This resource does exactly what I want it to...but the students would prefer it if there was a way to let the computer know that its talking to a big bad 16 year old.

What is most helpful for me as a teacher are the data reports. Data reports on Front Row are amazing! I know what standard any of my students lack at any time. It is that specific. My students also know at all times which domain they need to work on, where they are stronger at in math and what they need to accomplish. The program shows them exactly which level they are working with. The reports also extend from "Principal Report" to individual reports I can share with parents. This may be simple, but I appreciate the time limit my students have when they go to the "store" to spend their coins. I don't need to worry about students spending all their time shopping, it automatically kicks them out! Yay! I don't know what I would do without Front Row!

I have used Front Row for over two years and it is my favorite online supplemental math tool.

I loved my free trial of the school edition. I have been moved back to the free edition, and I miss all the specific reports. I would like more inquiry lessons, and would like to see problem based lessons that are self paced for independent learners or small groups.

I believe that Front Row is a wonderful teaching tool. I like the articles. They can be low level, high interest. The program provides much needed reading practice for my students and allows me to easily see their progress. Sometimes, a very low leveled story will not exactly match the quiz that goes with it probably because so much information has been left out to lower the level. I wish I had the Pro version, but I am glad that I can at least assign 5 stories each month.

Many time teachers don't have time to reach all of the different students in their class and instead tend to teach the middle students. This program allows students a chance to push themselves into something harder or for students to practice basic skills they did not master previously. As a teacher I can also see where they are growing and where they are struggling on the weekly updates. At our school we use the free version which is very helpful for schools with little to low funding for online programs. Overall, this program is very helpful to all ranges of students and can give the teacher a more well rounded picture of their student's knowledge.