App Review by Samantha Johns

    I have selected standard 10 in seventh grade civics. Standard 10 states that students will be able to “describe individual and civic responsibilities of citizens of the United States. The standard also includes that they will be able to differentiate between a right, privilege, duty, and responsibility of citizens and noncitizens. They will also have to explain how the United States’ citizenship is acquired by immigrants. There are three different educational apps that will help me to teach, remediate, and enrich this standard.

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/us-citizenship-test-2022-audio/id1103037173

    The first app is called Citizen Test 2022. This app allows users to learn the answers and questions for the USCIS Citizenship Civics Test. It has flash cards and a quiz that users can take. The app is free of charge and it suitable for ages 4 plus. It is compatible with Google and Apple devices. This review site is a credible source because it is a third party website without bias. This is something that will not only help teach the standard but also will provide enrichment. The standard includes students being able to explain the naturalization process in the United States. I have always made students take the 100 question test that has questions immigrants are required to answer. I usually phrase it like “Could You Become a U.S. Citizen?”. This would be a great app for them to complete in their free time to practice for this quiz or just to practice their knowledge of civics.

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/relevote/id1461723373

    The second app is called ReleVote it makes it easier to explore bills and documents without bias to really see what your representatives are doing in Congress. This would allow students to be civically engaged citizens and allow them to not form biases or opinions but rather look at the facts. This app is free and is marketed as suitable for ages 4+ although I would argue it would best for 6^th grade and older. It is compatible with Google and Apple devices. This review site is a credible source because it is a third party website without bias. This is a great way to model to students how to be involved not only in the voting process but to know and understand what representatives vote on and how sessions of Congress work. This is much better than watching NPR. 

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/5-calls-contact-your-congress/id1202558609

    The third app is called 5 Calls. This app provides phone numbers and scripts to representatives and helps track issues that may be important to voters. This will teach students how they can be active participants in our democracy. This app is free and is marketed for 4+ but I would think students would need to be 13 or older in order to make calls and deal with the controversial issues. It is compatible with Google and Apple devices. This review site is a credible source because it is a third party website without bias. This would be a great way to teach students how they can contact their representatives. I could easily be used to help students write a letter to their representative as a writing assignment.

    I believe the best app for my age group would be the first one which is the Citizen Test 2022. This is something that I can students playing again and again because they want to do better and better on the test. In the past I have students complete a google forms test that has a hundred questions and I tell them it is not for a grade other than participation. A lot of the students get frustrated that they do not know the information and perform poorly on the citizenship test. This app would allow them to practice and could even be something that we do before, during, and after I teach the civics standards. I think it is important for students to know the naturalization process and how this test plays a role in that. Valuable discussions can come from this app like why is that important enough to be on the civics test? Is there something that you didn’t see on the civics test that you think should be on it? The possibilities are endless with this app and it also allows students to practice the civics concepts they are being taught throughout the year. Although the other two apps seem like great apps I am afraid they would not translate as well in a middle school classroom due to the complexity and controversial nature of issues that would be discussed. I think both of those apps would translate better to high school students especially those in 12^th grade government courses.