Grade/ Age level: First grade/6 & 7 years
Subject Areas: Math/Counting
Platform: Both Mac & Windows
Review: This interactive software allows young children to count the amount of dots in the hearts and put them in the corresponding Valentine's box. Children can use headphones to hear auditorial instructions but the game itself is very explanatory. There is one advertisement at the top but with relative guidance children can stay focused and on task. It is a very simple matching game used to help first grader's count. I would feel comfortable using it in my classroom. This game is very adequate in teaching young children how to count small numbers.
Title: Animal Universe
Grade/ Age Level:Kindergarden through 6th grade
Subject Areas: Science/ Social Studies (Animals)
Platform: Both Mac & Windows
Review: This game allows children to learn more about animals by placing them in their proper habitat. After you complete each level successfully, you are rewarded with animal cards that allow you to learn about the specific animal on the card. By recieving animal cards, you are awarded "iPoints" in which the site grants certificates after so many points are acquired. There are a few advertisements but they do not really distract from the bright, interactive game. The only downfall to this game is that you must acquire a user name and password. Little guidance is needed from adults to play this game.This is an intriguing way to learn more about animals because the factoids are very unique.
Title: Find-A-Word Puzzles
Grade/ Age levels: first through sixth grade
Subject Areas: Language Arts
Platform: Both Mac & Windows
Review: This game teaches children how to spell different types of words via solving crossword puzzles. There are different levels of crossword puzzles for different age groups of children. You use the mouse to scroll around the desired word and then the computer spells the word out loud, highlighting the particular letter it is on. There is one advertisement but it is not much of a distraction to this game. Again, little guidance is needed for this game as well and it is very self explanatory. This game is very effective in helping children develop their spelling abilities while helping them focus on the task at hand. This game also requires to you to create a username and password. But once done so, the site lets you play many games in many academic subjects.
Animal Universe is definitely tons of fun. The user name problem could be solved in a classroom by having the teacher sign up for a "class" user name and password and having students use that when they want to play.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the very thorough reviews and for choosing such a nice variety of resources.