Star software: education software experts Warren Buckleitner and Ann Orr bring you the top software picks of the season. From phonics instruction to reading comprehension, math puzzles to volcanic eruptions-these programs are the cream of the crop

Instructor, March, 2002 by Warren Buckleitner

READING & WRITING

COSMIC READING JOURNEY [GRADES 2-3

Sunburst Communications, Inc., Win/Mac, $89.95, www.sunburst.com This reading-comprehension program offers instructive exercises based on 100 popular second-and third-grade books--such as Caps for Sale, Blubber, and Charlotte's Web. (Books are not included.) Students select a title and then choose from seven options, including a multiple-choice quiz, an essay-writing exercise, a crossword puzzle, a fast-paced word-sorting game, and Space Chase, a game dealing with synonyms and antonyms. The easy-to-use teacher options let you customize the presentation for individual children. For example, you can choose to have students pass the comprehension quiz with a certain percentage or go directly to the games at their own pace. Detailed records are kept for each student. This is an excellent computer-managed reading-comprehension program.

MY FIRST AMAZING DIARY [GRADES K-3]

DK Multimedia, Win/Mac, $19.95, www.dk.com

Designed to engage young children in writing and self-expression, this program offers seven diary-writing options, including "This Is Me," "My Family," "At School," and others. Kids enter facts about the topic at hand, answer question prompts, and mix-and-match pictures to illustrate their diary entries. Testers loved creating pictures of themselves, friends, and family members by combining facial features. They also enjoyed writing on the small but unlimited diary pages. This valuable early-writing tool is worth the price.

DEAR AMERICA: FRIEND TO FRIEND [GRADES 3-6]

Knowledge Adventure, Win/Mac, $30, www.knowledgeadventure.com

Based on the Dear America books, this software presents diaries of six female characters inspired by real girls, such as Margaret Ann Brady, the British orphan hired to take a trip aboard the Titanic, and Abigail Jane Stewart, a young girl who learns the harsh realities of war as she nurses Valley Forge soldiers back to health. In addition to reading the characters' diaries, students can create diaries of their own, and at various points in the program, students may even receive instant messages" from the characters. Besides being a strong writing tool, the program gives students the feeling that they are actually chatting with the characters. Despite the silly personality quizzes featured in one section, the software is wonderful and will quickly draw children into the beauty of history and reading.

EASYBDOK DELUXE [GRADES 3-6]

Sunburst Communications, Inc., Win/Mac, $14.95, www.sunburst.com

This solid program lets students quickly and easily design books by writing and illustrating each page. Included are ample writing tools to help kids adjust font type and size, as well as basic design tools such as backgrounds and stamps. Children will also find many printing options enabling them to print, for example, mini- and poster-size books. The spell check and thesaurus features are both readily available, and a text-to-speech feature lets students hear their writing projects read aloud. This would be a very nice addition to classroom software libraries, since it is both useful and fun.

HELR ME 2 LEARN PHONICS 2: INTERMEDIATE LEVEL [GRADES K-4]

Help Me 2 Learn Co., Win/Mac, $29.99, wwwhelpme2learn.com

This CD-ROM is one of the better intermediate phonics programs available. The lessons and activities are plentiful and innovative. To prepare for a game, for example, kids must study a group of words. If they roll the cursor over the words, each letter or blend is sounded out, just as readers would do. The child has control over the sounding-out processor, which lets him or her play an active role. Content covers blends, rhyming words, synonyms, homonyms, antonyms, spelling, and more. Eight karaoke songs and 18 games with colorful graphics add interest. Our only concern is the navigation system, which can be confusing at first. Kids can easily jump around and miss important things.

MATH

SPLISH SPLASH MATH [GRADES 1-3]

Sunburst Communications, Inc., Win/Mac, $89.95, www.sunburst.com

Both of the engaging math games presented in this program are set along a pathway of pipes. Correct answers to the math puzzles let children fill in the gaps in the pipes so that water can flow freely, ultimately soaking the host of the program, a rabbit named Hopkins. Two types of puzzles are offered. In Equation Game, children select operations and numbers to make "true" math equations. In "What's My Rule," kids are presented with a number pattern and must determine the relationship between the numbers. Records are kept, and a teacher's binder with worksheets and lesson plans is included. The weaknesses are few and minor; for example, too many instructions are given all at once, at the outset of the program.

THE QUARTER MILE [K-9]

Barnum Software, Win/Mac, $39, www.tliequartermile.com

Students build computation speed by racing against themselves or other students in this fast-paced math-facts program. The format is simple--problems appear on the bottom of the screen, one at a time. The goal is to type in the answer as fast as you can. Each correct answer makes your entry in a race go faster. The graphics are not fancy and the content options are somewhat confusing, but the program offers straightforward, solid practice. The networked version lets you race against other players in the same classroom or around the country.