Appy-Picking Month: Buildo Museum

We clearly love to use Halloween as a topic in October, and so do our kids.  Last year I got into the Buildo "sticker book" types of apps (geared toward adding characters and objects to a scene, like Colorforms) and was a bit confused when they released Buildo Museum in the spring. Museum, huh? Does it involve docents, audio guides, and bored children? Ohhhhh, it turns out it was a haunted museum.  OK.

Buildo Museum ($1.99) has an edge on other sticker book apps (see Clickysticky series, which I also like) because of its panoramic scenes, allowing you to sweep left or right to add more stuff, and also wacky sound effects.

Also see the other Buildo apps- Rescue is a favorite of mine.

Language Lens:

-Sticker book apps are a form of digital storytelling and can therefore be used to target all kinds of story structure, from simple action sequences to more cause-effect chains. At the micro level, you can also develop vocabulary, description, verb and pronoun use.  

-Kids can follow directions to create a scene, or direct each other in a barrier task.

-Screenshot the scene to extend to a writing activity.

Common Core Connection:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.1.5 Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings.

Be sure to read Jeremy Legaspi's great post on app-dapting a multitude of Halloween-themed apps toward speech and language interventions.