Picture courtesy of the National Museum of American History Apps for teachers and teacher librarians are quite plentiful these days, but I still struggle to find things to support social studies and science curriculum for my elementary students. I was thrilled to find a great app for social studies on AASL's Best Apps for Teaching & Learning 2015 list! The Smithsonian Institution has developed Ripped Apart: A Civil War Mystery, available for free in the app store.
This innovative product uses an inquiry-based approach to teach students about the Civil War. Users participate as an intern in the National Museum of American History and must solve puzzles to unlock clues and make notes in a journal as they work to solve the mystery. Did I mention that the app incorporates primary source documents? With an amazing collection of historical photographs, the app brings a portion of the museum right into the classroom. The creators shared a webinar to explain the reasoning behind the app as well as insight into its use.
I downloaded the app and played around with it. Puzzles and clues and even a creepy basement, oh my! It was incredibly easy to navigate and totally engaging. Who doesn't love a good mystery? Plus the bonus of learning content from curriculum standards make the one a real winner. I would recommend it for upper elementary and middle school students as the content and reading level is more appropriate for those levels. This best app of 2015 will be a hit with your students and teachers.
I haven't seen this one since it was announced at the American Library Association Conference this past June. A great app that I had completely forgotten about. Wonderful primary resources tied into a story setting. Just some great opportunities for learning. Very well done and a great share.
ReplyDeleteI love this resource and think this is such a great share. As a history student, I can see so many ways of implementing this tool in the classroom. Making history interactive is a really important way of making it more memorable, and a resource like this that incorporates photographs, primary sources, and realistic characters allow students to make connections that will stick with them much longer than memorized dates and names.
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