Robot Rescue Grades 4-5

As an elementary school teacher I have frequently used this app and the related apps from this company in my classroom Students need the practice of reading to answer questions and thinking critically Robot Rescue makes this practice into a game I have used it in two ways Both start with a minilesson explaining and demonstrating the target skill including reading the question before we read the selection and finding reasons for our answer choices Then I either let the students play the game with partners or I project the game from the iPad onto a screen and we play as a whole group In whole group playing student partners confer with each other and then write their answers on a small whiteboard I award points for the correct answer AND for the partners explaining why they made the answer choice Playing whole group has the advantage of greater metacognition as students have to explain their thinking Playing as individuals though can mean that the students do read and answer more questions during class time since the process is not slowed down for students to express their thinking This app could be improved by having a fourth answer choice including a plausible yet incorrect choice With just three answer choices it can be a little too easy for the students However I can dialup the challenge by having the students explain their thinking              Makes classroom reading critical thinking more fun