For teachers and schools

Spanish School Bus 5.0 · product overview and standards crosswalk · October 2026

The product

Spanish School Bus is an app for iPad, iPhone and Mac that teaches Spanish to children through short games, and teaches math and engineering in Spanish along the way. Every Spanish word is spoken aloud.

It has three Spanish courses, Vocabulary, Numbers and Verbs, in 66 chapters of four games each, and four arcade games: Ocean Math (arithmetic for grades 1–3, every number read in Spanish), Space Quest (engineering: 30 machines built from parts named in Spanish, materials chosen by their properties, 14 science mini-games, and a math question at the child's grade after each level), Spelling Snake (spelling, accents included) and Food Match (food words).

Classes use it for independent practice, learning centers and enrichment. Up to 5 children can share a device, each with their own progress, and a progress report shows the teacher what each one has done. There are no ads and no student accounts, nothing is collected about students, and everything works offline. It is free to try; schools buy seats of the Student Plan through Apple School Manager.

Download on the App Store

On this page: Standards crosswalk · Program specifications · School purchasing

Standards crosswalk

The status of each standard is Spanish School Bus’s own assessment of what the app does. It is not an official certification, and it is not an endorsement by ACTFL, the Common Core State Standards Initiative or NGSS Lead States.

Summary

Framework	Grades	Standards checked	Meets	Partly	Not covered
ACTFL World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages	World languages	11	4	5	2
Common Core State Standards, Mathematics	Kindergarten to grade 6	19	10	9	0
Next Generation Science Standards	Kindergarten to grade 5	11	5	5	1

Crosswalk matrix

✔ marks the part of the app where the standard is practised.

Code	Standard	Status	Vocabulary	Numbers	Verbs	Ocean Math	Space Quest	Spelling Snake	Food Match	Cards
ACTFL World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages
1.1	Interpersonal communication	✕ Not covered
1.2	Interpretive communication	✔ Meets	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
1.3	Presentational communication	◐ Partly			✔			✔
2.1	Relating cultural practices to perspectives	◐ Partly					✔		✔
2.2	Relating cultural products to perspectives	✔ Meets							✔	✔
3.1	Making connections to other disciplines	✔ Meets		✔		✔	✔
3.2	Acquiring information and diverse perspectives	◐ Partly					✔			✔
4.1	Language comparisons	◐ Partly	✔		✔			✔
4.2	Cultural comparisons	◐ Partly					✔			✔
5.1	School and global communities	✕ Not covered
5.2	Lifelong learning	✔ Meets	✔	✔	✔			✔
Common Core State Standards, Mathematics
K.CC.A.1	Count to 100 by ones and by tens	◐ Partly		✔		✔
K.CC.A.3	Write numbers from 0 to 20	✔ Meets		✔
K.CC.B.4, B.5	Count objects; answer “how many?”	✔ Meets		✔
K.CC.C.7	Compare two numbers between 1 and 10	◐ Partly		✔
1.OA.C.6	Add and subtract within 20	✔ Meets				✔	✔
1.OA.D.8	Find the unknown number in an equation	✔ Meets				✔
1.NBT.C.4	Add within 100: two-digit and one-digit numbers, tens	✔ Meets				✔
1.NBT.C.6	Subtract multiples of 10	✔ Meets				✔
2.OA.B.2	Fluently add and subtract within 20	✔ Meets				✔
2.NBT.A.2	Skip-count by 5s, 10s and 100s	◐ Partly		✔
2.NBT.B.5	Fluently add and subtract within 100	✔ Meets				✔	✔
2.OA.C.4	Repeated addition with arrays	◐ Partly				✔
3.OA.A.1, A.2	Interpret products and quotients as equal groups	✔ Meets				✔	✔
3.OA.C.7	Fluently multiply and divide within 100	✔ Meets				✔
4.OA.A.3	Word problems with remainders	◐ Partly					✔
4.NBT.B.5	Multiply multi-digit numbers	◐ Partly					✔
4.NF.B.4	Multiply a fraction by a whole number	◐ Partly					✔
5.NBT.B.7	Add and subtract decimals	◐ Partly					✔
6.RP.A.3	Rates and percents	◐ Partly					✔
Next Generation Science Standards
K-2-ETS1-1	Ask questions and define a simple problem	✔ Meets					✔
K-2-ETS1-2	Develop a simple model or drawing of a solution	◐ Partly					✔
K-2-ETS1-3	Compare two objects designed to solve the same problem	✔ Meets					✔
K-PS2-1, K-PS2-2	Pushes and pulls; change an object’s speed or direction	✔ Meets					✔
2-PS1-1	Classify materials by their properties	✔ Meets					✔
2-PS1-2	Test which material is best for a purpose	✔ Meets					✔
1-ESS1-1	Patterns of the sun, moon and stars	◐ Partly					✔
3-PS2-1	Balanced and unbalanced forces	◐ Partly					✔
4-PS3-4	Design a device that converts energy	◐ Partly					✔
3-5-ETS1-2	Compare several solutions against criteria	◐ Partly					✔
5-ESS1-1	A star’s apparent brightness and its distance	✕ Not covered

Evidence by standard

ACTFL World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages (4 meet, 5 partly, 2 not covered)

Code	Standard	Status	Where and how in the app
1.1	Interpersonal communication	✕ Not covered	No spoken or written conversation between learners; the app does not use the microphone.
1.2	Interpretive communication	✔ Meets	Every word and sentence is heard in Spanish and then chosen, matched or answered: Pick From Three and Pick From Many, ¿Dónde hay?, Fill In The Blank, Ocean Math’s spoken sums, Space Quest’s parts named in Spanish.
1.3	Presentational communication	◐ Partly	Written production only: spelling words letter by letter, accents included (Spelling Snake), and putting a verb’s letters in order (Word Scramble). No speaking.
2.1	Relating cultural practices to perspectives	◐ Partly	Space Quest’s story travels through Havana, Mexico City, Panama, the Atacama Desert and Puerto Rico; Food Match cooks dishes from across the Spanish-speaking world.
2.2	Relating cultural products to perspectives	✔ Meets	Collectible cards, each a place, landmark, food, art or animal of the Spanish-speaking world with a fact (Chichén Itzá, Coiba, flamenco…); Food Match’s dishes and recipe cards.
3.1	Making connections to other disciplines	✔ Meets	Math in Spanish (the Numbers course, Ocean Math, Grandpa’s math questions) and engineering in Spanish (Space Quest).
3.2	Acquiring information and diverse perspectives	◐ Partly	Facts on the cards and in the story, read in English while the Spanish words are spoken.
4.1	Language comparisons	◐ Partly	Each word is shown with its English; articles and gender (el, la), accents and ñ are explicit; verb endings (-ar, -er, -ir) are compared.
4.2	Cultural comparisons	◐ Partly	Places and foods are presented; comparing them with the learner’s own culture is left to the teacher.
5.1	School and global communities	✕ Not covered	No use of Spanish with people beyond the app.
5.2	Lifelong learning	✔ Meets	Self-paced practice at school or at home, a progress report for each player, songs and stories; Spelling Snake brings words back over days and weeks.

Common Core State Standards, Mathematics (10 meet, 9 partly, 0 not covered)

Code	Standard	Status	Where and how in the app
K.CC.A.1	Count to 100 by ones and by tens	◐ Partly	The Numbers course counts to 20 (veinte); Ocean Math adds and subtracts tens.
K.CC.A.3	Write numbers from 0 to 20	✔ Meets	Tracing: every number from 1 to 20 is traced (the Numbers course, game 1).
K.CC.B.4, B.5	Count objects; answer “how many?”	✔ Meets	Count The Objects; ¿Dónde hay?; Churros (put the asked number of churros on the plate).
K.CC.C.7	Compare two numbers between 1 and 10	◐ Partly	Place in Order puts numbers in order (chapters 1–10).
1.OA.C.6	Add and subtract within 20	✔ Meets	Ocean Math levels 1–8; Grandpa’s math questions at grade 1.
1.OA.D.8	Find the unknown number in an equation	✔ Meets	Ocean Math level 9 (the missing number within 20).
1.NBT.C.4	Add within 100: two-digit and one-digit numbers, tens	✔ Meets	Ocean Math levels 13, 15 and 17.
1.NBT.C.6	Subtract multiples of 10	✔ Meets	Ocean Math level 14.
2.OA.B.2	Fluently add and subtract within 20	✔ Meets	Ocean Math levels 11 and 12 (fact fluency).
2.NBT.A.2	Skip-count by 5s, 10s and 100s	◐ Partly	Numbers chapters 18–20 count by 2s, 3s and 5s.
2.NBT.B.5	Fluently add and subtract within 100	✔ Meets	Ocean Math levels 16–19, regrouping included; Grandpa’s math questions at grade 2.
2.OA.C.4	Repeated addition with arrays	◐ Partly	Ocean Math level 21 (repeated addition); no arrays.
3.OA.A.1, A.2	Interpret products and quotients as equal groups	✔ Meets	Grandpa’s math questions (equal groups); Ocean Math levels 22–29.
3.OA.C.7	Fluently multiply and divide within 100	✔ Meets	Ocean Math levels 22–30.
4.OA.A.3	Word problems with remainders	◐ Partly	Grandpa’s math questions at grades 4–6 (dividing with a remainder).
4.NBT.B.5	Multiply multi-digit numbers	◐ Partly	Grandpa’s math questions at grades 4–6 (multiplying bigger numbers).
4.NF.B.4	Multiply a fraction by a whole number	◐ Partly	Grandpa’s math questions at grades 4–6 (a fraction of a set).
5.NBT.B.7	Add and subtract decimals	◐ Partly	Grandpa’s math questions at grades 4–6 (adding decimals).
6.RP.A.3	Rates and percents	◐ Partly	Grandpa’s math questions at grades 4–6 (rates, percents).

Next Generation Science Standards (5 meet, 5 partly, 1 not covered)

Code	Standard	Status	Where and how in the app
K-2-ETS1-1	Ask questions and define a simple problem	✔ Meets	Every Space Quest level starts with a neighbor’s problem (a flooded store, a stuck cart) that a machine solves.
K-2-ETS1-2	Develop a simple model or drawing of a solution	◐ Partly	The child builds each machine from its parts on the workbench; there is no drawing.
K-2-ETS1-3	Compare two objects designed to solve the same problem	✔ Meets	Wheel Rally races two wheels; Bridge Builder compares bridge shapes; Wind Turbine compares blades.
K-PS2-1, K-PS2-2	Pushes and pulls; change an object’s speed or direction	✔ Meets	Wheel Rally (the same push: which goes farther?); Pulley Lift; Sail to Cuba (the wind pushes a sail).
2-PS1-1	Classify materials by their properties	✔ Meets	Eight materials, each with its property (hard, light, flexible…), chosen for the parts a machine needs.
2-PS1-2	Test which material is best for a purpose	✔ Meets	Each level’s made part: the child picks its material; one that will not work is crossed out with the reason said aloud.
1-ESS1-1	Patterns of the sun, moon and stars	◐ Partly	Star Finder (pointing an antenna at a star); the Moon chapter.
3-PS2-1	Balanced and unbalanced forces	◐ Partly	Pulley Lift (pulleys share the weight); Countdown (a rocket’s stages and thrust).
4-PS3-4	Design a device that converts energy	◐ Partly	Wind Turbine (longer blades, more power); the energy and solar technology cards.
3-5-ETS1-2	Compare several solutions against criteria	◐ Partly	Bridge Builder at grades 4–6: predict whether each bridge will hold, then test it.
5-ESS1-1	A star’s apparent brightness and its distance	✕ Not covered	Not addressed.

Appendix A. Program specifications

Subjects	Spanish (world language); math; science and engineering
Grades	Spanish: Pre-K to grade 8, beginning learners (the Verbs course suits grades 4–8). Math: grades 1–3 in Ocean Math; grades 1–6 in Space Quest's questions, by each player's grade. Engineering: kindergarten to grade 5
Proficiency target	ACTFL Novice Low to Novice Mid: interpretive listening and reading
Content	Three Spanish courses, 66 chapters (Vocabulary 22, Numbers 20, Verbs 24), four games a chapter; Ocean Math (30 levels); Space Quest (30 machines, 10 technologies, 14 mini-games); Spelling Snake; Food Match
Audio	Every Spanish word and sentence is spoken aloud, in a choice of two voices
Devices	iPad, iPhone and Mac; works offline
Students	Up to 5 players a device, each with their own progress; no student accounts
Assessment	Stars for every game (three means no mistakes); a Learning Progress report for each player: chapters finished and mastered, words, the math grade reached, spelling, machines built, math questions answered right the first time
Privacy	No ads, no tracking, no accounts; no personal information collected
Cost	Free to try: the first 3 chapters of every course and the four arcade games. Student Plan $4.99 a month or $29.99 a year. Schools: Student Plan seats in Apple School Manager, $29.99 a seat a year

Appendix B. School purchasing (Apple School Manager)

Since October 22, 2026 schools can buy app subscriptions in volume. In Apple's words: “Organizations can purchase the seats they need through a single Apple In-App Purchase, then assign and manage those seats using their existing device management tools. Organizations can also add and remove seats at any time depending on their needs.” (Apple Developer News, October 22, 2026). What to buy: the Student Plan Yearly, $29.99 a seat a year.

Step	Action
1	Sign in to Apple School Manager with an account that can get licenses for apps and books. Apple asks for a credit card added as a shared payment method in Payments and Billing; VPP credit is not accepted for subscriptions.
2	In Apps and Books, in the App Store section, search for Spanish School Bus and choose the Student Plan, yearly.
3	Buy the number of seats you need. Seats can be added or removed at any time.
4	Assign the seats to your students’ devices with your device management service, as you assign apps. Apple suggests checking that your device management service supports app subscriptions.

Apple notes that with account-driven enrollment, a device needs iOS 27, iPadOS 27 or macOS 27 or later to use an assigned subscription. Apple's guides: Intro to app and book licenses, Get apps and books. Students need no account with us, and nothing about them is collected. Spanish School Bus Education Edition licenses keep working as they do today.

See it on the App Store Pricing for families