Teaching Elementary School Science 

 
Useful Technology for Teaching Elementary Science 
Fall 2019 
iPad apps  cost  Description of applicable use  Examples from class 

Popplet lite  download on  Create galleries, concept maps, or display  Whirligig Experiments & Lab 
(free)​ but you  your iPad  experimental findings. Simple to take pics  Reports 
of science experiments, then add text to  Lindsey’s Whirligig Report 
can’t save files  for free  Magness & Cyndi Whirligig Lab 
    label or summarize findings. Simple to move 
Report 
Popplet  pay a little  around pics and text so it is ideal for  Lauren & Steph Whirligig 
($4.99) ​allows  and you can  developing sorting (classifications).  Report 
saving of  get the  Erin’s Whirligig Experiment 
separate files   
version that  Classification Activities: 
saves  Sara’s Classification of Bones 
individual’s  Health Unit: Classification of 
work.   Foods 
Classification of shells 
Classification of beanies 
 
Introducing Living & Nonliving 
Things (K-2) 

Comic Life  Can try it  This is a desktop publishing program that  Studying the parts of a 
  free for 30  allows students to create multipage comic  flower  
strips. Photos can be inserted along with   
days.   4th graders study Clouds  
  text to give it the comic book look. Comic 
$29.99  panels, lettering, captions and balloons are 
  also major features of the program. This is 
Recommend  ideal for creating stories based on science 
ideas or even to allow kids to create 
for 
easy-to-understand explanations of science 
one-to-one 
ideas in an interesting context. (Comic Life 
schools  is superior to Toontastic) 

moxier collage  $1.99  Moxier Collage helps create and share  Classification:  
compelling electronic cards, collages,  ​Sorting Buttons 
storyboards, picture boards, wallpaper,   
Motion & Forces:  
ideas, notes, and much more. Select from a 
​Rollercoaster Components 
variety of backgrounds, add pictures, text,   
frames, sticky notes, speech bubbles, 
headings, clipart, and then share with 
friends via email, Facebook, and Twitter. 
This app simplifies the creative process and 
enhances the sharing of ideas. Great for 
iPads.   
Starwalk  $4.99 per  Great interactive way to learn about the  Weblink to reviews and more 
year  universe. Can be held up to the sky and  information on the Starwalk 
rotated to show which constellations are  app 
$9.99 for 
ever  visible in which direction. Also contain good 
Try free  written information about planets, moons, 
for 1 month  constellations and other celestial bodies.   

Amazing Alex  $0.99  This app is designed to enhance creativity  Weblink to reviews on the 
(game)  and problem solving skills. Students are  Amazing Alex game 
challenged through increasingly complex  Weblink to reviews and more 
information on Amazing Alex 
levels to solve problems by moving objects. 
physics app for elementary 
Would be appropriate for K-6  app​ Comes in iPad app, phone 
app, Mac or PC apps.  

  free   Most useful for creating concept maps or  Idea Sketch link 
Ideament  recording brainstorming ideas, illustrating 
Formerly called  concepts, making lists and outlines. 
Idea Sketch  Includes a feature to record voice. Does 
not allow pics, so its application is not as 
useful as Popplet and Educreations   

Toontastic 3D  Free  Create and animate your own story and  Toontastic 3D link 
record your voice along with it. Great   
literacy app, but has uses for science as 
well. Limited to characters that come with 
the program. Our class found COMIC LIFE 
to be a better product.   

 
Other (Non iPad Uses) Computer Uses  
Name  What you  Description of applicable use  Other information 
find 
Phet Simulations  Search site by  Choose from over 100 available  Available free on-line as long 
grade level and  simulations students can do on a  as you have Java downloaded. 
by topic.   computer. Requires Java be  Does not work on iPads 
downloaded. My favorites are 
projectile motion and particle motion 
and temperature.   

Seed Germination  Students learn  This is a cool simulation that allows you  Teachers can sign up for a 
Gizmo  about  to change the amount of water, amount  free account. 
conditions for  of light, and temperature. You can test 
seed  3 different kinds of seeds. Press GO 
germination.  after you set the conditions and get 
data as to how many of the 100 seeds 
sprout under the conditions you 
selected.  
Moon phases  Recommended  The NAAP Lunar Phases Lab  Available free on-line 
simulation  for 5th - 7th  demonstrates how the earth-sun-moon 
grades  geometry gives rise to the phases of 
the moon as seen from earth. A distant 
view of an observer looking down on 
earth as well as a perspective of an 
observer looking into the sky are used 
in the the simulator. 

Food Chain Game  3rd grade  This game has students drag plants,   
animals and insects into food chains in 
the correct places. Kids can try 
progressively harder chains.  

Wordle  Free on-line  Students type or paste a paragraph or  Elementary Chemistry Wordle 
google wordle  a word list and Wordle produces a word 
or “word art”  collage in which the words used more 
frequently appear largest. Useful for 
exploring or summarizing unit ideas and 
new vocabulary, also for introducing 
topics and finding out what students 
already know about it. 

Glogster  Free  This is a site that allows students to  Phynnex and Daniel’s Gel 
create interactive posters (can imbed  Sphere Glog 
photos and movies). It is colorful and   
Alex & Bennet’s Tooth Decay 
fun for kids. You can set up class lists 
Glog 
so each student has their own 
password and site and the teacher has 
access to all student work. NOTE: this 
will not work on ipad because it 
requires Adobe Flash.