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Spelling's what it says, and spelling's what you get from this straightforward CD-ROM. Kids visit three sites in this underwater scenario: a cave, a giant clamshell, and a sunken pirate ship. A visit to the cave provides kids with a list of eight words to spell. They can click on a word, hear it read, and then hear it spelled. After studying the spelling list (it's even arranged vertically, in classic spelling-list style), kids can begin the game. During the game, the spelling word appears and a voice reads and spells it, then the word vanishes. The spellers either click on letters or use the keyboard to spell the word themselves. If all eight words are spelled correctly, a captive fish is set free. Now, there's nothing wrong with this game, except for the fact that visiting the clamshell and the sunken ship yields the exact same game. The scenery and the spelling words are the only things that change. Heck, even the fish being freed begin to look recycled after awhile. The box boasts over 1,700 spelling words, and that's about the extent of the variety in Spelling. We encountered where, seat, and nothing while cycling through the spelling words at the program's beginning, and after successfully getting though all three of the areas, we were working on compounds like shortstop and grandfather. The program automatically adjusts to the player's ability, yet there is no way to save a spelling session or register individual users, so if your child worked his or her way up to offhand on one day, the next day it's back to seat. Customizing the spelling list isn't an option here; spellers must take whatever words these denizens of the deep float their way. This program could supplement an early spelling education, and would be a decent match for kids who love undersea themes, but there are other programs out there that provide more fun, variety, and control. (Ages 6 to 8) --Anne Erickson |
