First Grade Splash Math Games

What it is: a set of interactive math worksheets, 13 chapters covering place value, number sense, addition and subtraction concepts, data and graphs, time concepts, money counting (please check the producer's website for the full list of topics).

What you do with it: In the practice mode: choose the chapter and the type of activity (e.g. 'subtraction strategies'->'counting back') and solve presented problems by pointing to the correct answer. In the play mode the chapters/tasks are chosen by the system (using the range of material chosen by the user in the settings). For every correct answer the user gets 1 or 2 points (depending on the mode of play) + bonus points. The points can be exchanged for items for decorating the 'rewards' aquarium.

What we liked: very broad range of material (both in terms of math problems and concepts), high educational value (including the practice mode which allows mastering individual chapters depending on the user's progress, auto-adjusting of difficulty levels, tools for tracking and reporting user's progress), extensive configuration options, help and voice instructions, the rewards system, multiple user accounts.

What we didn't like: parental/teacher assistance is a must (the concepts and strategies are not explained in the app). We would prefer a human voice for the narration (the app uses a speech synthesizer).

Bottom line: may look expensive compared to other apps but if you are looking for a comprehensive set of math worksheets for 1st graders it is definitely worth recommending.

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