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Best Educational Apps for Middle Schoolers

Best Educational Apps for Middle Schoolers

Learning apps can be excellent resources that supplement the traditional educational system. In contrast to the conventional classroom approach, these apps use gamification and interactivity, which keeps learners engaged and motivated.

Another reason to rely on educational apps is that, as children reach middle school age, screen time is almost impossible to avoid. So, using educational apps is the perfect strategy for parents and educators to help middle schoolers make worthwhile use of screen time.

Best educational apps for middle schoolers

Plus, integrating technology into 6th, 7th, and 8th graders’ learning experiences can enhance their digital literacy, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. The cherry on top is that kids don’t even realize they’re studying, as the lessons and activities are designed for them to have fun throughout the learning process.

Best educational apps for middle school students of 2025

Math and Science

Education.com

Editor's rating:
Starting price: $5/mo
Main features
  • Over 30,000 learning materials
  • Covers Common Core Standards
  • Progress tracker
  • Guided lessons
  • Over 30,000 learning materials
  • Covers Common Core Standards
  • Progress tracker
  • Guided lessons
  • No mobile app
  • Lack of privacy settings
  • Limited free version
Summary
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As its name suggests, Education.com is a comprehensive educational platform that helps parents and teachers support children’s academic development. The app offers over 30,000 learning resources for preschoolers to 8th-grade students, including worksheets, games, workbooks, and even lesson plans.

Additionally, Education.com’s material is aligned with reading, writing, and math Common Core Standards, so it’s excellent for parents who homeschool their kids or are just looking for classroom material to complement their kids’ regular academic learning.

The platform has a free version that gives access to three of the varied learning resources each month, but users can only thoroughly explore all its resources with a paid subscription. For as little as $5 per month, parents and educators can track kids’ progress, assign lessons, and more.

Special offers
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40% off Education.com
Free learning app with Education.com
7-day money-back guarantee of Education.com
Reading
Amazon Kids+ logo

Amazon Kids+

Editor's rating:
Main features
  • Over 1,000 books
  • Parental controls
  • Available on desktop and mobile
  • Up to 4 users under one subscription
  • Over 1,000 books
  • Parental controls
  • Available on desktop and mobile
  • Up to 4 users under one subscription
  • No free resources
Summary
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Although Amazon Kids+ isn’t solely focused on reading, it’s the best option for middle schoolers to develop an interest in books. Android and iOS users can download the app to access thousands of age-appropriate books, including audiobooks and picture books.

The books are categorized by themes, and the stories vary from fables and fairy tales to classic literature and chapter books. Plus, Amazon Kids+ features kid-friendly movies, TV shows, games, and educational content.

What’s more, parents can set educational goals and screen time restrictions, block access to entertainment content if the goals aren’t met, and manage web browsing and content usage.

Although Amazon Kids+ isn’t free, it’s possible to thoroughly test the service at zero cost for 30 days. Another advantage of this app is that four different people can use it under the same subscription from any device, including computers, mobile devices, and e-readers.

Social studies and history
Google Arts & Culture logo

Google Arts & Culture

Editor's rating:
Main features
  • Free
  • Available for desktop and mobile
  • Highly interactive and engaging
  • Virtual tours
  • Free
  • Available for desktop and mobile
  • Highly interactive and engaging
  • Virtual tours
  • Not available offline
Summary
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Google Arts & Culture is perfect for middle schoolers wanting to study cultural content from around the world. Accessible from computers and mobile devices, the app is entirely free and provides virtual tours of museums, interactive exhibitions, and detailed artwork images.

The app is also well-designed with a clean interface that allows users to explore specific museums, themes, artists, historical artifacts, and more.

Moreover, Google Arts & Culture stands out for allowing users to interact with its high-quality visual content, providing an impressively engaging and hands-on experience. Students can explore the museums with a 360-degree view, zoom in on high-quality images of artwork, and explore virtual exhibits.

Foreign languages

BrainPOP

Editor's rating:
Main features
  • Highly interactive and engaging
  • Assignable lessons and activities
  • Available for desktop and mobile
  • Up to 2 users under one subscription
  • Highly interactive and engaging
  • Assignable lessons and activities
  • Available for desktop and mobile
  • Up to 2 users under one subscription
  • No free resources
  • In-app purchases
Summary
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BrainPOP is an excellent supplement to traditional classroom studies. The platform uses several learning resources to provide educational content across various subjects.

Middle schoolers can learn social studies and history through animated videos and interactive quizzes, with age-appropriate content aligned with the curriculum expectations for their level. Along with these subjects, the platform provides engaging activities for learning science, math, English, arts, and others.

Moreover, BrainPOP offers valuable resources for educators, too. Teachers can assign activities and create assessments according to their students’ learning goals.

Unfortunately, BrainPOP isn’t free, but all subscription plans allow up to two kids’ profiles and access from computers and mobile devices. Plus, the platform can be tested for free for 14 days.

Foreign languages

Mondly

Editor's rating:
Starting price: $4/mo
Main features
  • AR and VR apps
  • Over 40 language courses
  • Software dedicated to kids
  • Fun to use
  • AR and VR apps
  • Over 40 language courses
  • Software dedicated to kids
  • Fun to use
  • Lack of cultural context
  • Translation errors
  • Basic grammar exercises
Summary
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Launched in Romania back in 2013, Mondly is a language learning app that offers a more engaging way to learn a new language than studying flashcards. Instead of focusing on individual words, Mondly teaches you commonly used phrases that allow you to learn new vocabulary and memorize sentences. Moreover, all exercises are backed up by a native speaker, enabling you to listen (and repeat) words with the correct pronunciation. There are speaking exercises available too, where the app takes advantage of speech recognition to tell you whether your pronunciation is correct or not. With over 40 language courses, there’s a lot to learn with Mondly, and due to the company’s recurrent promotions, you can get access to all of them for as low as $4 per month. You can also try the app’s premium version through the 7-day free trial.

Special offers
View offers
Massive 95% discount on Mondly Lifetime
50% off Mondly individual language course
7-day free trial with Mondly
Free language learning app with Mondly
Coding and STEM learning

codeSpark

Editor's rating:
Starting price: $6.67/mo
Main features
  • Fun and challenging
  • COPPA-compliant
  • Recurrent updates
  • In-game incentives to continue playing
  • Fun and challenging
  • COPPA-compliant
  • Recurrent updates
  • In-game incentives to continue playing
  • May require adult help
  • Email is the only direct contact
Summary
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Learning how to code is like learning a new language. So, it makes sense that the younger you start to study it, the easier it is to understand. Of course, the average 5-year-old won’t be able to write a specific programming language. Still, by learning the basics of coding, they can hone essential skills that will be a competitive advantage down the line when applying to college or for a job. codeSpark offers engaging games for kids from the age of five to nine that help develop basic problem-solving skills, logical thinking, creativity, collaboration, perseverance, and more. The best part is that your children won’t even notice they’re learning – it’s just fun! Prices start at $6.67 per month with an annual plan, and a subscription supports up to three users. It’s also possible to try out the app for free for 30 days by using our special coupon code.

Special offers
View offers
33% off codeSpark
30-day free trial of codeSpark
Free coding lessons with codeSpark

4 benefits of using learning apps in middle school

There are plenty of benefits of using a learning app as a middle-school student. Four of the main ones are:

  1. Engaging and interactive learning environment: Colorful flashcards, animations, and drag-and-drop tools make study sessions more joyful than a textbook does.
  2. Personalized learning paths and adaptive content: Thanks to their algorithms, educational apps tailor the content learners should focus on. The data used is based on the student’s preferences and performance across the activities they’ve answered.
  3. Focus on critical thinking and problem-solving skills: Many apps provide challenges and exercises based on real-world scenarios, which is essential for kids to develop or enhance their problem-solving and critical thinking skills.
  4. Gamification and rewards for motivation: Most educational apps design their activities using games, making learners so engaged that they don’t even realize they’re studying. Plus, the activities provide instant feedback and a reward system that keeps students motivated to reach the goals set according to their learning journey.

Considerations before choosing an educational app for middle schoolers

Learning apps for kids come in all shapes and forms, so it’s important to keep the following in consideration:

  • Age-appropriate content and skill level: Parents and teachers should keep in mind that not every educational app suits their kids’ age and skill level. Some apps are designed for young learners, with activities that don’t appeal to middle schoolers who require more challenging and advanced activities.
  • User-friendly interface and navigation: As there are so many distractions that easily attract kids’ attention (streaming apps, games, and social media), the educational app has to be as easy to navigate and visually pleasing as possible to immediately catch the learner’s eye.
  • Compatibility with devices and operating systems: Make sure the app chosen is accessible from as many devices as possible. Plus, it’s excellent if you can add multiple users to the same subscription.
  • Educational value and alignment with curriculum: It’s crucial to ensure that the content reinforces the subjects students learn in school.
  • Parental controls and privacy measures: Fundamentally, it’s essential to choose an app that respects students’ data privacy and allows parents to set screen time limits and other parental control measures.

Best practices for making mid-school kids interested in learning

Educational apps aren’t the only ways of keeping middle schoolers interested in learning. It’s good practice to also:

  • Relate learning to real-life situations to help learners understand why it’s important to study and how to apply the content learned. Try to connect the target subject to daily situations and career possibilities.
  • Provide choice and autonomy to give students a sense of responsibility and the opportunity to manage their learning experience according to their interests.
  • Integrate pop culture and current events into the learning process to keep kids interested. Doing this helps students process and memorize the information by relating it to their interests.
  • Celebrate achievements and progress to make sure that students realize how much they’ve learned and feel that their effort has been paying off.

All things considered, combining education and technology can do wonders for middle schoolers’ learning journey. Educational apps provide students with interactive lessons, engaging activities, and a personalized learning experience.

Still, before choosing the appropriate apps to support your child’s study sessions, make sure to browse related pages on our website to get the whole picture of the educational resources out there.

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