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Programs to watch!

KS1 teacher Margaret Edwardsmakes her own recommendations from the latest ICT resources Beep Q and D Multi-Media (from 35)
KS1 teacher Margaret Edwardsmakes her own recommendations from the latest ICT resources

Beep Q and D Multi-Media (from 35)

This is a new CD for three- to five-year-olds. The activities on Beep are centred around the theme of creative play, and can be used to teach or reinforce the curriculum objectives outlined in the Foundation Stage curriculum.

There are six activities including 'Odd One Out', 'Street Scene', 'Maze', 'Wardrobe', 'Musical Paintbox' and 'Word Robot'. Often with this type of themed work the menu can be long and sometimes confusing to deal with, but with Beep this is not the case and the main menu is both short and easy to use. The graphics for Beep are also engaging and stimulating for the appropriate age range and it didn't take long for my 'test panel' to be able to identify their favourite activities.

Beep also has clear links to the early learning goals, in literacy, numeracy, and knowledge and understanding of the world. I am certain any Foundation Stage teacher would find this a valuable resource.

Star rating: ****

Telephone 01332 364963

www.q-and-d.co.uk

Sali Mali 123 B-Dag(29.99)

Produced in Cardiff, this is an interactive story book that focuses on maths activities and these are attractively presented both in English and in Welsh.

You should definitely not be deterred from buying this product if you work in an English-speaking setting, as I do, because the themes that are dealt with here are universally appealing to children. The children in my class were more than keen on the birthday party theme because they wanted to help Sali Mali buy the presents, prepare the party bags, lay the table, make the cake and the birthday card, and generally get involved in the recognisable preparations for celebrating a birthday.

The graded activities on this CD are especially designed to develop numeracy skills and include sorting, counting, money, number and addition.

Star rating: *****

Telephone 029 2055 0600

www.prodplay.co.uk

Abersaff B-Dag(19.99)

This is a great way for the children to learn about road safety and playing safely. There are seven activity areas on this CD - safety in the home, playing safely, road safety, safety in the garden, healthy eating, people who help us, and emotions.

I felt this was very topical and certainly responds to the current educational and political drives to promote personal, social and health education. I was also pleased that this was received so enthusiastically by my Year 1 class.

Star rating: ****

Contacts as before

Talking Books Set 12 Simple (19)

Talking Books gives budding young storytellers the opportunity to listen to, and join in with, six lively stories. The tales that feature on this CD are 'Alien Numbers', 'Busy Day', 'Hide and Seek Hog', 'I'm Your Mother', 'Pat the Bat Catcher' and 'The Man Who Killed the Golden Goose'. All the stories are supported by colourful graphics and contain a humorous twist in the ending. I found this was a great success with the boys in my class, and a tremendous stimulus for those reluctant readers.

There is an 'options' button that allows the teacher to change the font size and colour and you can also select 'read the page', 'read and highlight each word' and 'just text', which allows you to tailor the stories according to need.

Each of the stories can be listened to in Hindi, Urdu, Gujarati, Turkish and Spanish, reflecting our multilingual society and making this a 'must have' for any primary school ICT buyer.

Star rating: ****

Telephone 020 8203 1781

www.2simple.co.uk

Alphabet Soup 2 Simple(from 39)

Alphabet Soup really is fun to use, with attractive and vibrant graphics.

This CD sets out to teach the basics of reading by combining today's technology with the magic of yesteryear's illustrated books that you might have shared with a grandparent.

There are four main areas covered here and these are lower-case letter formation, initial letter recognition, letter names and letter sequencing.

One feature I found particularly interesting is the inclusion of the British Sign Language letters as static images in the letter formation activities. A range of support languages is again available and can be selected from the 'teaching options screen'.

Off-screen activities can also be found in the form of 30 additional printable worksheets and these can be accessed in the program setup menu.

All in all, once you've loaded the program - sit back and enjoy!

Star rating: ****

Contacts as before