Thursday Tool School: iPad Apps for Kids- Chicken Coop Fraction Game by Lumpty Learning

Title: Chicken Coop Fractions

Description: The Chicken Coop Fractions app is a series of fun and interactive games designed to help reinforce a variety of fraction skills. While there are several packs available, only the estimation pack is free; therefore, I will base my review on this pack. Each activity is similar to the one below. Students are presented with a problem, in this case an estimation problem, and are asked to select a location on a number line in order to estimate the solution. Students click "sensible estimates" on the number line and one of the chickens, Henriette or Gudhen, "fires" an egg towards the correct answer. If the estimate is good, the egg will land in the nest. If the estimate is not accurate, the egg splatters on the ground. (Note: Because I only played the games available in the free pack, I am unable to review the other packs. Based on their descriptions, each pack appears to be in a different context.)

This picture illustrates a game of estimating easy proper fractions. 

Advantages: The app has a fun interface. The idea of two hens shooting eggs from their rears will certainly amuse most students. For a free pack, there are a lot of games that are included (see the picture at the bottom). This provides students with multiple opportunities to review; the app labels the games so that students can choose one that is most appropriate for them. Because the first pack is about estimation, students only need to get a ballpark answer to be successful; they do not need to be specific. 

This picture illustrates a game of estimating easy proper fractions of numbers. 

Disadvantages: The only really disadvantage is that there is no opportunity to learn from mistakes made. If an incorrect answer is made, the egg misses the nest and the next question is populated. While the correct answer is shown on the number line when the egg is laid, there are no learning tutorials. 

One final note: When I first started using the game, I wondered if the facial expressions of the hens while they were laying eggs would be offensive to some, but that may just be my heightened sense of teacher awareness toward creating potential sticky situations with parents; I would encourage you to preview the game before use. 

This picture illustrates the games available in the free fraction pack. 

Cost: Currently, the free pack is the estimation game pack. There are 7 games within this pack. At the time of this post, there is one additional fraction pack available. It is $8.99 and includes 4 game packs: adding fractions, simplifying fractions, equivalent fractions, and comparing fractions. 

Check out the app here!