Math Galaxy 6th Grade Math

Eschewing the more common practice of basing revision apps around a subscription or in-app purchase model it is refreshing to see such an app available for a single up-front fee, as this one is.

There are twelve general mathematical topics that can be chosen at the tap of a button.  Selecting one of these topics brings up further options.  The first option on the new screen is always a review option. This is not meant to teach the subject for the first time but rather to remind children.  Following this is the option to work on whatever sub-topics are relevant to this section.  Some have just a couple, others have a few. It depends on what is appropriate at this level.  If it is a broad topic there may be more review sections too.

It is among these sub-topics where you might find some differences between this app and the curriculum that your child follows.  From its title, it is clear that this app is aimed at grade 6 children following the Common Core curriculum in the USA.  This ensures that the complexity of the maths is at the right level for a year 7 child following a British curriculum, but that there might be slight differences as to what makes up that content.  The difference is not significant enough to be a real concern and most year 7 children will find that it covers the subject well enough. 

The reviews explain the topic a page at a time with an explanation, that sometimes feels a little cramped, in a window in the bottom left of the screen.  The majority of the screen space is given over to any example diagrams that are required.  The explanations are clear, although lacking the assistance from animations that you may expect from a modern app aimed at this age range.

Once a child feels ready to move on to answering questions they tap the relevant button and begin.  Each question is answered with the built-in keyboard, rather than the iPad’s own.  This keyboard keeps things straightforward as it only presents relevant options and will never obscure any of the screen, as the iPad’s keyboard is prone to do.  Most questions are either of a type where a numerical answer is entered or multiple choice, however, some, particularly in the Geometry section, prompt the user to interact with graphs and diagrams. 

The questions are many and varied providing a good coverage of the different aspects of a mathematical topic.  Repetition is not an issue in this app.  Incorrect answers provide instant feedback in the form of the correct answer so that children can try to find out where they went wrong.  They can keep going with the questions until they feel that they have practised enough.  When they end the exercise they receive a breakdown of the performance and an option to have this emailed to the tablet’s predefined email address.  Parents and teachers can use this helpful feature to monitor the engagement and performance of students.

The graphics of this app are its weakest point.  While always clear, readable and useful they lack the coordinated aesthetic of most modern apps.  If you can overlook this you will find plenty of material for practice and a useful tool for revision.