Amy+Lusa

**Amy Lusa** **February 8, 2012** **EDC 203**

__**Primary Site**__: Primary Games __**URL**__: http://primarygames.com/reading.htm

__**Game:**__ Alphabet Zoo __**Level**__: Primary (K-3) __**Summary of the Website**__: There are 15 different categories, including Language Arts, Math, Games, and Downloads. Each category has different things, such as featured games and videos relating to the subject. Everything is extremely colorful and appealing to kids, and there are links to other similar websites. __**Summary of the Game**__: There are three animals, each with a name starting with the same letter as the kind of animal they are. The kids have to determine who is in "1st, 2nd, and 3rd place" alphabetically. There are an undetermined number of levels, as the three animals and letters change every time you finish ordering them. __**Evaluation of the Game:**__ This was a very effective game for teaching kids about alphabetical order. It would be great for young children, but will probably become repetitive and boring to older students. Because of the limited number of options (it always asks for "1st, 2nd, and 3rd place" each time), older students may lose interest in the game. __**Color**__: Everything was very bright and colorful, and the background color changes each time you hit the arrow. __**Repetition:**__ There is a lot of repetition in the game, as you have to place the animals in alphabetical order and click the same buttons during each step. __**Talking Text**__: There is no talking text, only visual clues. __**Visual Cues**__: There is a large, green arrow that flashes to catch the kids' attention and tell them to move on. __**Mistakes:**__ If the kid makes a mistake, it says "Wrong. Please try again!" and gives them the opportunity to try again. __**Rating:**__ N/A <span style="color: #008000; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">__**Highlighted Cues:**__ The place number was highlighted; for example: The "1st" in "1st place" would be a different color than the rest of the text on the page. <span style="color: #008000; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">__**Navigation Routine:**__ The kids have to click "Next" very frequently. <span style="color: #008000; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">__**Click back and back:**__ N/A <span style="color: #008000; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">__**Click and Drag:**__ N/A <span style="color: #008000; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">__**Click forward**__: Yes, using the "Next" button. <span style="color: #008000; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">__**Teacher** **Rating**__: 8

<span style="color: #008080; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">__**Primary Site**__: Just Kids Games <span style="color: #008080; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">__**URL**__: http://justkidsgames.com/

<span style="color: #008080; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">__**Game:**__ Evelyn's Expedition <span style="color: #008080; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">__**Level**__: 5th grade <span style="color: #008080; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">__**Summary of the Website**__: Just Kids Games provides kids with countless games about Language Arts, Math, Science, the environment, and other subjects. Kids have the opportunity to play games and have fun while learning on a safe, kid-friendly website. There are labels under many of the games saying the subject they fall under and the appropriate grade level. There are similar branches of Just Kids Games, including Just Jigsaw Puzzles, Just Word Search, and others. <span style="color: #008080; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">__**Summary of the Game**__: Evelyn is going on an adventure to climb Mount "Factornot" and needs to answer trivia questions to pass. The questions basically distinguish the difference between fact and opinion. There is another player competing with Evelyn, and if you answer a question right you get to move on. If you answer incorrectly, you could fall down a hole or miss the chance to climb a ladder. Most of the questions are about insects. <span style="color: #008080; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">__**Evaluation of the Game:**__ This is a great game that combines Language Arts and Science, by teaching kids the difference between fact and opinion while also providing information about insects and nature. It would be very effective with a 5th grade class, and there are a lot of interactive options in the game. <span style="color: #008080; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">__**Color**__: The colors changed as you climbed higher on the mountain, and were very bright. <span style="color: #008080; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">__**Repetition:**__ There is a lot of repetition in clicking "Spin" between turns and many of the questions contained similar choices that were in multiple questions. <span style="color: #008080; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">__**Talking Text**__: There was no talking text, but there were sound effects for the questions, answers, and when Evelyn was walking up the mountain. <span style="color: #008080; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">__**Visual Cues**__: There was a pop-up box for each question and another when you answered correctly or incorrectly. <span style="color: #008080; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">__**Mistakes:**__ A pop-up box shows up and says, "Sorry! Incorrect answer" and you have to wait until your next turn to try answering again. <span style="color: #008080; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">__**Rating:**__ N/A <span style="color: #008080; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">__**Highlighted Cues:**__ N/A <span style="color: #008080; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">__**Navigation Routine:**__ Kids have to click "Spin" very often. <span style="color: #008080; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">__**Click back and back:**__ N/A <span style="color: #008080; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">__**Click and Drag:**__ N/A <span style="color: #008080; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">__**Click forward**__: Yes, by clicking "Spin" <span style="color: #008080; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">__**Teacher** **Rating**__: 8

<span style="color: #000080; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">__**Primary Site**__: PBS Kids! Between the Lions <span style="color: #000080; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">__**URL**__: http://pbskids.org/lions/games/

<span style="color: #000080; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">__**Game:**__ The Quiet Machine <span style="color: #000080; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">__**Level**__:1st grade <span style="color: #000080; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">__**Summary of the Website**__: This website has different games, stories, and video clips from the popular PBS children's series, "Between the Lions." Children can play games like "Alphabet Soup", "Word Play", and "Blend Bowl", all of which promote literacy in young children. Everything is very colorful and there are animations and sound effects on every page. There is also a section for parents and teachers that features different games and activities to use with children either in the classroom or at home. <span style="color: #000080; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">__**Summary of the Game**__: This game takes place in the library, and there is a machine that matches the sound a letter makes to a word that starts with the same sound. The child has the chance to pick from three different words in order to match the sound. Every few turns, the machine makes a large exploding noise and the narrator shouts "QUIET!!!" very loudly. There doesn't seem to be an ending point to this game, and I've played about ten rounds so far. There are single letter sounds as well as blends, so some are more difficult to answer than others. ==== __** Evaluation of the Game: **__ This game is very effective in helping children practice their pronunciation of words, especially with blends. Young children will probably enjoy the narrator's shouting and scolding of the machine, and they will be entertained by the amount of interactive experiences in the game. It might get a little boring for older children, so students that have finished second grade probably would not have any interest in the game. Overall it was fun and educational. ==== <span style="color: #000080; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">__**Color**__:There were a lot of bright colors, and the colors of the letters and words changed each time. __** Repetition: **__ There was a lot of repetition in the game, as each round asked the child to do the same thing. <span style="color: #000080; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">__**Talking Text**__:There was no talking text, but there was a narrator. <span style="color: #000080; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">__**Visual Cues**__:The different choices blinked and changed color indicating one had been chosen. __** Mistakes: **__ The child is asked to try again after being told the correct sound it begins with. __** Rating: **__ N/A __**<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Highlighted Cues: **__ N/A __**<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Navigation Routine: **__ N/A __** Click back and back: **__ N/A __** Click and Drag: **__ N/A <span style="color: #000080; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">__**Click forward**__: N/A <span style="color: #000080; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">__**Teacher** **Rating**__: 7