Front Row provides personalized math and reading comprehension practice for students in grades K-8. Each teacher we observed at Spart 7 raved about how awesome it is, though they did admit that the math seemed a little more aligned to the correct grade than reading. From my elementary math teacher perspective, I love how it gives students room to work problems out and encourages them to work in a variety of ways (not just using the traditional algorithm). Students also have other tools they can use to work out problems such as shapes (great for fractions!) and a pen tool. Students can listen to the problem being read (great for ELL or struggling readers), and if they are having a hard time figuring out the answer, they can watch a short tutorial video. Problems are aligned with Common Core State Standards and are very rigorous.
Why are students so engaged? They earn coins for each problem they get correct. The more problems they do, the more coins they can get. They can then use these coins at the "piggy store" to decorate/dress a little pig. Students only have a minute and a half at the store, so they have to be quick. One great feature of this app/site is that it is completely web-based, so students who have access to the internet at home can keep earning those coins (and practicing skills, of course)!
Ways to use Front Row:
- Practice at home (you can even give parents access to see their child's progress)
- Practice at school - whole group, small group, or individual practice
- Target intervention for small group or individual students based on data
- Use as a diagnostic tool at the beginning of each unit
- Access to resources (videos and printables) to use in class or for homework
- Access to inquiry based learning problems - all you need to get your students learning math in an authentic way
If you want to see how your students would use the program, try out the student tutorial: https://student.frontrowed.com/#tutorial/login