JumpStart Explores

Teaching Pre K-8, Mar 2002 by Lindroth, Linda

JumpStart Explorers, for ages 5-8, is from Knowledge Adventure; a familiar name in educational software. The virtual tour visits famous stages of development in world history. The tour guides are colorful 3-D animations with personalities of their own! C.J. Frog and Edison Firefly are searching for C.J.'s tadpole nieces and nephews. Students become part of the hunt by traveling with C.J. and Edison in a time machine. Inside the time machine, players have access to a world map, a progress report, sticker rewards, a pictorial timeline, related craft ideas and volume control.

Students type their name into the "guestbook" and select a difficulty level to start the game. Names are saved, so players can stop and continue the game later (a feature which is great for the classroom). Players may change levels each time they enter the game.

Players can choose to travel to five different times and places in history. In Egypt, students experience the building of the Great Sphinx, view an Egyptian Pyramid and a cartoon of King Tut. Key vocabulary and activities spotlight mummies, sarcophaguses and hieroglyphs. A cartoon Marco Polo guides the China explorations with activities for building a lantern, learning about foods in the market place and making silk. At Plymouth Colony, children meet William Bradford (as a cartoon owl) and learn about planting, gathering and husking corn. Players help prepare a feast and learn about key concepts of life in Colonial America. Students also journey to South America to meet a cartoon Inca messenger and experience the Incan civilization, and visit Antarctica with the explorer Roald Amundsen. Players can steer a dogsled and learn about cairns and different types of animals that live in this cold habitat.

Student motivation. Points are generously given and are never taken away. For every 100 points, players choose a sticker, related to the time period being explored and can print a "sticker book" once the book is filled. Teachers (and parents) can print a world map to track the time travels. This made a great bulletin board to reinforce mapping skills with my primary class. A successful exploration earns a celebration and a "gift" of step-by-step instructions for creating a craft related to the time period.

Jumpstart Explorers makes a great whole class activity, too. With the teacher as a guide, discussions, comparisons and insight can be provided as students perform each task. This is a great supplement to any reading, writing or history lesson. The motivational aspects are another bonus - my students loved the characters, the positive praise and the many tangible resources and rewards such as the crafts and stickers.

For more information, check out www.knowledgeadventure.com or call 800-545-7677. Windows/Mac. $29.99.

Valerie Williams K-3 Special Education Teacher Russell Cave Model Magnet Lexington, KY