Archive for category Book & Product Reviews

Dig-It! Games: Roman Town

Posted by jlsgrant in Book & Product Reviews on February 4, 2011

What is Dig-It! Games?   It’s like having “all the fun of a real archeological excavation without getting your hands dirty!”    These quotes from the website will give you a little background information on this product:

“Founded by a professional archaeologist and teacher, Dig-It! Games promotes learning through active discovery and the development of critical thinking and problem solving skills in young learners. Dig-It! Games presents authentic and accurate historical information that conforms to the curriculum mandates and Standards of Learning of many states. Dig-It! Games creates “hands-on” learning games that can be played at home, used as course supplements, and adapt easily to the classroom.”

“With Roman Town, kids will learn about Roman culture, society, and history through  “hands-on” discovery, analysis, and problem solving – skills that are fundamental to educational growth and development.”

“Roman Town is historically accurate, loaded with realistic artifacts, vividly illustrated and transports kids back to the Roman town of Fossura, destroyed in 79 AD by Mount Vesuvius.”

Before we get to our opinion, let’s run over to You Tube and watch the video walk through.  I think that will give you the best feel for the product.


 

It is truly fun learning about this fascinating time period using Dig-It! Games instead of just a textbook!   The games walks you through the various dig sites in true archealogical fashion by first digging and locating artifacts, learning about them as you go.  Once all the items have been found, you must organize them by category and take them to the “lab” for analysis.   While in the “lab”,  you create mosaics, put together broken pottery or frescos, tour the completed room and play a quick game of Calculi!  

 Then it’s time to test your knowledge with various word games and quizzes.  Once one area of the dig site is complete, you move on to the next.

While were were not given a full copy of the Educator’s Manual for review,  looking at the the sample it appears that it would be a great asset to have along with the software.   The manual has lots of background information on the actual dig sites and history, as well as vocabulary, and project ideas.   

While the graphics quality is not necessarily “top of the line”, I think this software/game would be a fun addition to a unit study/history lesson on the Roman Empire.

Price:  $39.95  Act quickly and you can purchase Roman Town at the low price of $19.96.  Use coupon code TOS2011, but you only have until February 21, 2011!

 Educators Manual (Download): $19.95

System Requirements & Purchasing

Ages:  8 – 88 (targeted at 5th – 8th graders)

Disclaimer:  Members of the Old School Magazine’s Homeschool Crew were given a copy of Roman Town in exchange for their honest review.  No other compensation of any kind has been received.  Not even so much as an ancient pot shard!

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City Creek Press: Times Alive

Posted by jlsgrant in Book & Product Reviews on January 31, 2011

This month, we had the priveledge of reviewing  the Times Alive Multiplication CD-Rom.   We previously used the book Times Tables the Fun Way, by City Creek Press, so the format was already familiar to us.  The software adds a new dimension to the book and brings the stories to life.   

The City Creek website describes it best; “The old method of “drilling” math tables using flash cards is familiar to most of us. A few students find it successful, but most consider it boring and frustrating. For students with dyslexia or other learning disabilities, it is often impossible to learn in this way.

The Fun Way approach to learning math tables eliminates the need for rote memorization. Instead:

  1. It presents every math equation as a story to be told, allowing students to attach meaning to the numbers.
  2. It attaches a variety of clues and information to the number facts, making retention and retrieval of the information much easier for students.
  3. It presents math in a fun and interactive storytelling medium that uses lively imagery and narrative to entertain and inform students.

Through the Fun Way method, students approach the subject of math with renewed interest and attention, making learning a joyful experience for students and teachers alike.”   Best of all, as they began using this method they found children recalled 95% of  their times tables!  Take a look at this video:

Since we were already familiar with the stories in Times Tables the Fun Way, it was nice to be able to reinforce the stories with videos, songs, and practice sets.   The stories created for each math fact really help cement some of the more difficult math facts.  We used it primarily to hone in on those facts that for some reason didn’t seem to stick earlier and got great results. 

I wish we would have come across this product when my children were a little younger (2nd – 4th Grade), because it would have really been a welcome relief from the typical flashcards we’re all too familiar with!  

The Times Alive Software download is currently priced at $44.95, but it is also available on a CD-Rom at $48.95.   If that is not quite in your price range, you may want to consider purchasing the book, Times Tables the Fun Way!, at just $19.95.

There are other products available in this line, so be sure to check out their website for more information.   There is also a line of products for learning Addition Facts, so you may want to request a full catalog online. 

Disclaimer: Members of the Old Schoolhouse Magazine’s Homeschool Crew were given access to this product in exchange for their honest review.  No other compensation of anykind has been received.

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