Ed. note: App of the Week picks are now being curated by the editors of Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. Click here to read the full app review.
Reading Rainbow Skybrary School
What’s It Like?
LeVar Burton Kids Skybrary School (formerly Reading Rainbow Skybrary School) is the school edition of the LeVar Burton Kids Skybrary Family app. The school version is currently a website only, and both teachers and students have access to a digital library with more than 800 books, 200 videos, and more content added regularly. All books have “read to me” or “read on my own” options, and some have very simple animations. In addition, all books have Big Thinker questions at the end, the Skybrary can be set up on multiple computers, and teachers get tracking tools to see what and how much their students are reading. There are also 40 lesson plans that utilize books in the library.
Price: Free to Try
Grades: K-3
Rating: 4/5
Pros: Easy-to-follow lesson plans seamlessly combine reading with discussion and classroom activities.
Cons: Extra teacher tools amount to a simple reading tracker and access to lesson plans; the special teacher offerings could be more complex.
Bottom line: Though it could use some updates, Skybrary School has a set of top-quality resources with great value worth checking out.
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