Help Me 2 Learn Company
www.helpme2learn.com
12033 4th Street, Suite 3
Yucaipa, CA 92399
800-460-7001
These four programs are part of a series
that works toward the goals of phonics mastery, increased
language arts understanding, and mastery of multiplication.
The first four Phonics programs in the series are appropriate
for pre-kindergarten to fifth grade (including special
needs students). Phonics 1a offers an excellent foundation
for learning phonics, covering the short and long vowel
sounds, word sounds, vocabulary building, "y" as a vowel,
reading, and exposure to over 600 words. Phonics 1b and
2a cover additional phonics concepts, and then Phonics
2b covers syllables, R-controlled vowels, vowel spellings,
three-letter blends, ending blends, regular & irregular
plurals, complete sentences, and letter writing. (Also
available are Phonics 3a and Phonics 3b, which present
more advanced phonics along with language arts for grades
three through six and above.) The Language Arts Review
programs offer older students additional help learning
fundamental language arts skills. Language Arts Review
3b (included in this review) is appropriate for grades
seven through twelve and on to adult; it covers nouns
and pronouns, adjectives and verbs, writing a paragraph,
types of literature, subject-verb agreement, verb tense,
punctuation and capitalization, spelling strategies,
and reading comprehension. The Game of Math 3 program
is appropriate for third graders and above. Designed
to supplement reading skills, language arts, and mathematics,
the various Super Star programs offer remedial help to
older students, practice for students at any level, and
an engaging presentation of subject matter with testing
using a variety of games and activities.
Installation of the programs is easily accomplished,
and the CD-ROMs are not required after the initial installation,
allowing students to freely use computers without fumbling
with a disc at each sitting. Vibrant colors, friendly
child characters, and interesting activities and games
are used throughout all of the programs to enhance the
child's involvement and level of interest. A Teachers
and Parents area allows you to monitor progress, and
there is also a "Progress" button that allows students
to see their progress visually represented on a certificate.
Students earn gold stars on their certificate by mastering
the material, and the certificate can be printed if you
wish. Along the bottom of the screen in almost all areas,
there are Back, Menu, Exit, Help, and Next buttons available
to easily move throughout the program. Often higher levels
are not available until earlier levels are mastered,
but they are visible in a shaded area to entice students
to work harder to gain access to them. Requiring students
to give correct answers in order to play specific activities
or games, the Super Star programs offer encouragement,
positive reinforcement, and step-by-step "coaching" so
that children learn the material. All programs encourage
students to become a "Super Star" in the represented
educational area, rewarding them with Certificates with
Gold Stars at the end.
The Phonics 1a program presents all five vowels, each
with multiple smaller sections to complete or watch as
words are presented. The child is able to scroll over
letters and listen to each sound, and my son kept saying, "It's
fun listening to the sounds." Be aware that when the
child reaches the games they need to pass to progress,
the words stay in the same position. So if your child
memorizes easily, repeated attempts will yield correct
responses even if they do not know the material. Because
this is a program for early readers and remedial students,
I was disappointed that it did not offer verbal examples
during testing. It says find the "short 'a' sound" or "long 'a' sound" rather
than making the sounds. Students who have already learned
phonics and vowel rules do not necessarily have to know
or read the words, as many can be correctly chosen by
knowledge of the silent 'e' rule alone. The various games
for learning include puzzles, game shows, and more, and
are quite fun, as are the many catchy songs presenting
information. Our son finished this entire program in
a little more than a week. He is a delayed reader but
had begun to read just before use of the program. The
programs are predominately games, they were a lot of
fun and he enjoyed them. The information is well presented,
but I would definitely use these as support material
rather than expecting a child to actually learn to read
while using these programs. We suggest using them as
a reward for more traditional methods for learning to
read.
The Super Star Language Arts Review 3b with sports program
includes sections for "Literature," "Writing a Paragraph," "Grammar
1-Nouns, Pronouns, Adjectives, and Verbs," "Grammar 2-Subject
Verb Agreement," "Punctuation and Capitalization," "Spelling
Strategies," "Reading Comprehension Strategies," and "Review
Games." Also included are a "Pre-Test and Post-Test" and
a section for "Parents and Teachers." On-screen instructions
are fairly easy to follow, but they do require good reading
ability as few things are audibly presented. The program
includes fantasy and creative games alongside traditional
sports games children will be familiar with. The user
is "training for a competition" but is also encouraged
to have fun. The "Learn the Words" section verbalizes
words and sentences and offers definitions. There is
a reference to Judy Blume, and there may be additional
comments or information I was unable to screen, so I
would encourage parents to work through the program with
their children (or at least be in the room in a supervisory
capacity). The reading comprehension stories are verbalized
rather than written, requiring students to practice good
auditory skills. Then the questions and multiple-choice
answers are displayed, with the question verbalized.
One nice addition would be a parent/teacher section that
listed, at the minimum, titles of all the reading pieces
used in the program--or even better, an exclusion option
if you preferred your child NOT do any particular literary
piece. Overall, we did not find any objectionable work
in Language Arts Review 3b. It is very enjoyable, and
it will challenge good readers to understand fully what
they are reading. The earning of Gold Medals and ability
to track progress will keep children working toward the
goal of learning. Even though this program is for older
students, the tracking of progress is still important,
and the games require critical thinking skills that older
students will appreciate as they play. Our family will
enjoy this program immensely, as it offers a wealth of
information in a fun and engaging package.
The Super Star Games of Math 3 program will be enjoyed
by all age groups over third grade, and it could be utilized
by younger students comfortable with multiplication skills.
The program begins with three options; a Beginning level
with multiplication facts 2x10 and below, an Intermediate
level with 5x10 and below, and an Advanced level with
7x10 and below. A "Pre-Test and Post-Test" are available,
along with menus with various options. The Beginning
level Home Run Derby demonstrates multiplication as addition,
making the concept easier to understand, while higher
levels present standard multiplication problems. Sections
include Home Run Derby (multiplication with no time limit),
Long Jump (multiplication with a time limit), Blowing
Balloons (word problems), Slam Dunk (negatives/decimals),
Downhill Ski (patterns), Bowling for Bugs (algebra),
and Multiplication Practice. Twelve sections are included
within each of the six games and more difficult levels
cannot be played until previous levels are nearing mastery.
The Progress Page is excellent, as it shows the number
of plays, time played, number of questions answered,
and overall percentage of those correct. This information
is an incredible help to parents as they track progress,
monitor possible frustration level, and plan for additional
mathematics work accordingly. I wish more companies offered
such straightforward tracking of a student's work so
that parents could stay better informed. This is also
an excellent choice for placing older children in a supervisory
capacity during computer use by younger children. Both
age groups will enjoy the activities, and older children
will gain reinforcement as younger children learn basic
mastery.
The various Super Star computer programs are an excellent
value considering the wealth of information contained.
Families will be comfortable knowing the games are truly
educational. Parents should periodically monitor the
use of the programs, as many children know how to outsmart
games and avoid the educational aspects we desire for
them. These games do an excellent job of balancing work
with fun; children work through a problem or question,
then enjoy playing a portion of the game, work another
problem, then play a little more of the game, etc. The
process is an easy one, and children will enjoy themselves
while learning. Games are creative and well designed.
Throughout all four programs we never ran into computer-based
difficulty of any kind. The Super Star programs will
be enjoyed by children of all ages, as they cover a broad
range of ages and abilities, which we appreciate.
Product review by Donna Campos,
Senior Product Reviewer, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine,
LLC, August 2008
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