Start to Read (The Race)
Reviewed by Kim Moon
Published by School Zone

Age Group: Age 8 and Up Type: Language Arts Price: $19.99

Description:

Start to Read is a beginning reading program that comes with two books that are identical to the animated stories explored on the program. "The Race" comes with the stories "The Big Race" and "Nicole Digs a Hole". Each story is available for three different activities. You may choose from "Read to Me," "I Can Read," or "Pick a Page." In "Read to Me," the program reads the chosen story, page by page. Your child may choose to have any portion reread in order to better learn the story. In "I Can Read," your child may go through the story at his or her own pace, getting help as needed by clicking on any unfamiliar words. In "Pick a Page," your child may choose any page in the story to be read.

There are also two other areas in the program. The "Dictionary" section has a children's dictionary that allows the child to click on words (and pictures) to hear the definitions. The dictionary can also be accessed throughout both of the stories. The "Create-A-Story" section was my child's favorite part of the program. The player may choose to use the provided tools (a limited paint program) to illustrate their sentences, or they may use "stickers". They may choose from backgrounds found in the stories or create their own. The sentences are created by c hoosing from a list on of sentence "parts" the screen. The computer will then read the sentence to the child. My child was very excited that she could "make her own books."

Features:

• Two softcover books that are identical to the animated stories
• Create-A-Story section that allows child to create their own stories
• Picture dictionary that will read the definitions to the child

Technical Aspects:

Installed and ran smoothly with Windows 95. There are some short waits during the program.

Report and Conclusions:

The stories included in the program are a bit "Dick and Jane-ish". because they are very repetitive and have limited vocabularies. While this does not make for interesting listening for the parents, it is wonderful in terms of the child's familiarity with the stories and the program. My child "learned to read" the stories almost immediately and reveled in her mastery. The two included stories focused on the "magic e" and its effect on vowels (it makes them long in words like "race" and "hole.") The repeated words emphasize this without seeming like a "drill" in the rule. These programs should be enjoyable and informative to any child, especially those who are beginning readers.

If you have any problems when using Kids Domain then please contact Cindy, who will be happy to help where possible.

[A-Z Index - Beginners - Ages 2-5 - Ages 4-8 - Ages 8 up - Grownups]

[Subject Indexes - Kids Home - Online Games - Grownups Place]

Copyright ⌐ Kids Domain, 1998.