Greetings AliciaBE,
It sounds like you may be you may be seeing some multitasking windows on your iPad. You can learn how to manage these by following the guidance found here:
Use multitasking on your iPad
"Use the shelf on your iPad
When you switch to an app that has multiple windows open, the bottom of your iPad screen shows a shelf containing thumbnails of all the app's windows.
Tap one of the thumbnails to open the window. You can also swipe up on a thumbnail in the shelf to close that window. In some apps, you can also open a new window by tapping New Window
in the shelf."
Take care.