Calvert School
Interactive Spelling & Vocabulary CD-ROM
A One Year Course of Daily Lessons

Children everywhere will thank Calvert School for creating a great alternative to workbooks for spelling practice, vocabulary building, and grammar usage. The program is designed as a one year course of daily lessons for grade levels 5,6, & 7. Grade 5 presents 160 lessons in Spelling & Vocabulary. Grammar is added to the package for grades 6-7. You can skip around from spelling to vocabulary to grammar drills disguised as games.

The setting is a carnival theme. In the Grammar section, for example, you can step up to a booth where a sentence is revealed and a word is highlighted in the sentence. With the click of your mouse you can throw darts at balloons marked "noun," "verb," "conjunction," "adjective," "contraction," etc. If you hit the balloon that describes what that word usage is -- you win a prize. If you miss -- you can ask for a hint -- or you can go to a dictionary that defines the word usage. As I reviewed this program with my kids, I found the 7th grade grammar segment a challenge -- regardless of spending years diagramming sentences in school. My 13-year-old was intrigued with the vocabulary section -- and enjoyed guessing at the multiple choice definitions in an attempt to best himself. My 11-year-old had fun testing his knowledge of spelling words. The spelling word is spoken, then used in a sentence, and then the student is asked to use the keyboard to type (or spell) the word correctly on the computer screen. My son enjoyed the video animation and music when his selections were correct. The program tracks each student who uses it by name -- and provides reviews that reflect that particular student's strengths and weaknesses. Overall, we found this program engaging, fun, and an archetype for blending education and technology.

-- Reviewed by D. Keith