Clifford the big red dog has been a childhood favorite
storybook character for years. His fumbles and foibles have always
been due to his enormous size, not for any lack of good-naturedness
– his heart is as big as his body.
In this CD-ROM, Clifford’s
misadventures provide the framework for some basic reading skills
practice. For example, when the over-sized pooch knocks letters
off a sign, kids set things right as they exercise their alphabet
recognition skills. Our favorite activity takes place at
Monique’s easel. Children build their own words in a freeform
fashion and when the program recognizes words, Monique will either
paint a picture to demonstrate the word or, at the very least,
praise the player for constructing a real word. Mini-lessons are
included, and rewards are reading lessons in and of themselves.
It’s a clever, albeit low-key, program that deserves a look.
Its $20 US price tag makes it a decent and economical choice.
Pros:
- A mix of adventure and
free-play formats.
- Relatively appealing
game-play
- Smart features
- Rewards are storybooks
that provide further practice with new skills
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Cons:
- As a learn-to-read
system, this program may not be strong enough on its
own.
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