Jump Start First Grade 2000

Age Group: Age 4 to 8 Type: Thinking Games Price: $30

Description:

If you think old dogs can't learn new tricks, then you don't know Frankie. Canine Frankie has been around in the Jump Start 1st Grade series for as long as any of the Jump Start stars. And boy, has he learned some new tricks!

In his first appearance, circa 1995, Frankie received high marks from teachers, parents, homeschoolers and professional reviewers. The original title was a hot seller, spinning off Frankie sequels in reading and math adventures. Now Knowledge Adventure has remolded JS 1st Grade for the new millenium. Frankie and friends are prettier, the plot tighter, the educational value higher and the fun funner. JS1G 2000 takes children on a treasure hunt adventure through the same familiar activities as the original. Students learn skills in reading, arithmetic, fractions, time telling, music, art, and a bit of science. Frankie hasn't forgotten the parents and teachers either. There are assessment tests, progress charts, workbooks and a resource guide. This one title packs most of the basic 1st grade curriculum in an adventure children won't soon forget.

The child joins Frankie on a treasure hunt, searching for clues from six educational experts. Clues are had by finishing more than a dozen activities directed by each teacher. After earning three clues and answering Frankie's questions, the child hops aboard a sail ship and uses the clues and navigational controls to find a beautiful island. Frankie offers another clue to find the treasure. Children will locate six treasures in all to finish the entire game.

Some of the many activities are:

Book Club: Reading comprehension techniques of direct and deductive reasoning.
Lost and Found: Teaches about synonyms, antonyms, and rhyming words by remembering and matching clues.
Hall Pass machine: Teaches about telling time, durations, and the difference between digital clocks, which show numbers, and analog clocks, which have rotating hands.
Music Maker: Compose your own music by recording and playback. Learn about 10 notes, five instruments and tempos. Play one of five songs each on any of five instruments, and learn the differences of each instrument.
Art Room--painting includes many fills, brushes, backgrounds (each with a two-dozen set of stamps) and a rainbow of colors.
Sandbox: Use the Bone Finder and Bone Meter to help Wilder find Frankie's bones. Teaches about the difference between singular and plural, about the parts of speech (nouns, verbs, and adjectives), about sentences, and about phonics.
Pizza Maker: Teaches fractions by following instructions on how to top a pizza.

Features:

• Assessment test which enables kids and parents to take a grade-appropriate test for level assessment
• Workbook with 30 pages of activities
• Adventure
• Activities

Technical Aspects:

The interface had these options: Tutor Mode--The Tutor Mode assists a child in curriculum areas in which he or she is having difficulty. Professor Fleabody gives instruction in visual and audio formats for each of the major activities. If a child makes frequent mistakes in any of the games, they will automatically be sent to the appropriate section of Tutor Mode. (Can be disabled with CTRL-T.); Progress Report--Accessed from the Tutor Mode is a full and detailed Progress Report; Practice Mode--Clicking on an individual skill in the Progress Report, and then on its corresponding game icon, will take you to that game in what is called Practice Modem (no clues awarded here).

Report and Conclusions:

While I found a couple of oddities in JS1G 2000, I have to say it impressed me enough to win my first Gold Medal. Stephanie Heese's KD review of the original Jumpstart First Grade pointed out that in the books, children cannot click on single words to hear them spoken. Unfortunately, this is still the same. I'm glad to report that most other problems have been addressed. I did find one other item annoying. In the music room instrument names are not spoken or given by Mr. Ditty, the music teacher. In the main area of the music room, ten instruments play a "tune up" to familiarize children with the sound of each, but the background music never stops during this tune up, making it difficult to hear. Fortunately, when playing on the music maker, this is not a problem. The other rooms executed smoothly and without problems.

The educational value of JS1G 2000 is higher than in the original. The books now feature stories that are prominently educationally oriented and clever enough to keep interest. The games interlace and overlap better and the skill level adaptation works well. The activities are "fun" (the most common adjective expressed by my boy). The adventure is "fun" and Frankie is "fun." All around, JS1G 2000 is fun and educational. Don't miss it.