My Favorite Apps: The Number Rack and Math Slide

If you have ever read one of my blog posts, you know how much I love bead sticks, bead strings, rekenreks and number racks.  It will come as no surprise to you that I love the Number Rack App which is currently available for free through the Math Learning Center.  The VERY best part is that it is an app for the iPad as well as being an app you can use through any PC and it also gets a lot of use on the SMART board!!!!

Like other rekenreks or number racks, it allows you to work on big ideas around numeracy, addition and subtraction.  You can go from one bead string up to 10 which makes it very versatile as I move between grades and ability levels.

You can also pull up and adjust a "screen" that allows you to shield part of the bead string and is excellent for working on combinations of 10, 20 or 100.

In this screen shot, I was working with a student on pairs that make 100

You can also access this amazing app and a great FREE resource on how to use rekenreks in the classroom directly through the MLC's website by clicking here.

Math Slide

Cost: Free for a limited number of games, $0.99 to upgrade to a full version for each type

There is a whole series of these math slide games and I (and my students!!!!) are obsessed with them.  The basic premises is that a picture, answer, or equation is shown in the middle of the screen and each player (between 1 and 4 players can play each time) tries to slide the corresponding answer or equation into the middle.  The person who does this correctly first has their answer or equation disappear and are one number closer to winning.  The first person who gets all their numbers or equations slid into the middle wins. 

Here are several different versions of math slide that I currently have on my iPad

Addition and Subtraction

Tens and Ones

Hundreds, Tens and Ones

Multiplication and Division 

As you can see... there is something for everyone offered for math slide and I have been using it grades K-6

What apps are your students' favorites?