Free Apps For Middle and High School

I have come across a bunch of apps for homeschooling elementary-school kids, but what about high school? Here is a short list of educational apps I have found.

Algebra and Geometry

Free graphing calculator (William Jockusch) – Awesome graphing calculator.

Quick Graph (Colombiamug)

Khan Academy (Khan Academy) – App for the famous site that has great math and science tutorials.

Trig Solver (Creature Code Mobile) – the only trig app you will ever need. I LOVE THIS APP!

Geography and History

Geography Quiz Game (Webelinx DOO) – I love this app. Although the questions are multiple-choice, this is a VERY difficult game. What is the capital of Nepal? Which country’s capital is Addis Ababa? What is the official language of Sudan? The questions vary from languages, capitals, locations, and flags. Sometimes it will show a picture of a building or landmark and you have to guess the location. It also has the option for 2 player games, which is extra fun for siblings! The questions repeat every few games – which is great to see if you remembered the answer. After seeing a question five or six times, it sticks in your head. Now I know where Belarus is, Lebanon’s flag, and Haiti’s capital.

Learn World Geography (Brainscape) – This app is another excellent geography supplement. Choose which continent you want to study, and it will ask you, “Where is XXX country located?” and then you will click “Tap here to show answer”, and it will highlight that country. Then, you will rate yourself. 1 means you had no clue where the country was, and 5 means you knew without a doubt. The lower the number, the more it will repeat until you have the location memorized.

Your World (Spuz) – This is probably my least favorite of the three geography apps. This one is unique. It shows a globe which you spin, and, like a puzzle, you must place each country on the globe. Well, the main thing this app has taught me is I can’t place Kazakhstan on a world map. It does not show country borders, which makes it super difficult, especially since it is in globe-format.

Flags Quiz (Atico Mobile) – Made by the same people who made the Logo Game, the Flags Quiz is very similar in format to the Logo Game; this time with flags! Level 1 is easy; Canada, America, Israel, etc. But level 5? Impossible! 🙂

All history apps from Maple Leaf Soft. – Maple Leaf Suit. has sample versions and full versions on each of the following subjects: American Revolution, US Presidents, Civil War, Cold War, WWI, WWII, Hitler’s Germany (more the Holocaust and about Germany during WWII), Classical World, American Military, and Napoleon.

“Think you’re an expert on XXX?” well I thought I was somewhat knowledgeable in WWII, but I get about 60% of the questions right. They are multiple-choice and very challenging! The background changes every question and has a picture during that time period, and if you get the answer right, a quote from a notable person during that time period. Try the free sample versions, and if you ace those, I would definitely purchase the whole version.

English, Literature and Spelling

Dictionary (Dictionary.com) – Every homeschool family needs this app.

Marie’s Words – Throughout high school, I used Marie’s Words for learning vocabulary words. This app is the cards in a digital version. Marie’s words are a creative, visual way to learn SAT-level vocabulary words.

iBooks (Apple) – iBooks allows you access to most classics for FREE. I have also downloaded all the CK-12 books, which are free high school supplements from US History, Biology, Algebra, and more.

Vocabulary for GRE, SAT, ACT, GMAT (SuVoBi) – To work this app, press “Select Vocab Lists” and you can choose from levels ranging from easy to hard. The easy levels are for junior high and the harder ones are for things like the SAT and GRE. After selecting the appropriate lists, click “learn”, and off you go! Great app with various methods and sufficient review for one to memorize the words, but not get bored.

Vocabulary Build (John Old) – Great extensive list of vocabulary words!

Audiobooks (Digital Press) – Free classic audiobooks!

Health and Science

WebMD (WebMD)  – This is a medical app and a great resource for pretty much everyone, although it may leave you paranoid 😉

Essential Anatomy 5 – At $15, this is one of the most expensive apps on this list. For interested students, it is worth it. Essential Anatomy is immersive, incredibly detailed, and is packed full of valuable information.

Foreign Language

Mango Languages (Mango Languages) – You can get Mango free from your library. I LOVE Mango’s color-coded style and used it for Hebrew.

Babbel (Lesson Nine) – For French, German, and a few other common languages

Duolingo (Duolingo) – I’m currently using Duolingo for Spanish and love it so far. Duolingo Spanish has greatly improved over the years to include grammar lessons. I’d still pair it with reading books in Spanish and practicing with a native Spanish speaker.

Also see: Free Foreign Language Supplements

Miscellaneous

SAT Question of the Day (SAT Board) – Each day, a SAT practice question is featured. This is great SAT-prep and takes about a minute of your day.

DK Quiz (DK) This is a VERY hard quiz game! The only ones I have done really well on is the Spies and Espionage (I didn’t know I knew so much about espionage!) and War Films. I mean you’d think I’d know a thing or two about Famous World Landmarks, but I guess I don’t. Each quiz is 20 questions long. You are on a timer, and you cannot click out of a game. You can exit the app, leave it for a month, but it will still go back to where you were at. The questions are in categories, and categories vary from food, geography, health, science, history, and music.

Radio and News Apps – Follow news apps for up-to-date information about current events.

QuizUp and Trivia Crack – It could be debatable whether these qualify as educational, but for me, they sneak in learning in a fun trivia game. I love challenging my sisters, and I have learned quite a bit from the game in relating to history and science.