5. On-Track Alphabet
 
Welcome to School Zone's Alphabet On-Track Software!
     
In this Read Me document, you will find the following:
 
 
Age Level:  Ages 4-5
 
Educational Goal:
To teach and practice alphabet skills through interactive software that appeals to a variety of learning styles.
 
Educational Skills:
  • Alphabet
  • Beginning Sounds
  • Sequencing
  • Colors
  • Visual Discrimination
 
Key Features:
  • School Zone Interactive software keeps children actively engaged.
  • Educators developed this electronic workbook; it contains the most current and essential skills, content and approaches.
  
Additional Features:
  • Learning is reinforced with audio and animated rewards.
  • Simple program design allows children to work independently.
  • Fun games are rewarded after every two screens.
  • New questions and activities are generated.
  • Instructions for each page are read aloud.
  • The answers are marked as correct or incorrect.
  • The program saves the progress of each user.
  • Personalized progress reports and reward certificates are available.
  • This electronic workbook has printable pages for off-screen practice.
 
Play Summary:  
  Alphabet uses a variety of methods to review, teach, and reinforce alphabet letters and letter sounds, which are important skills for reading and spelling. The goal is to complete all of the pages correctly. Once this is accomplished, the user can print a personalized certificate of completion. After every two screens, the user is rewarded with a game. Progress reports and footprints at the bottom of each screen track the user’s progress. A green footprint indicates correct screens, and a red footprint indicates screens with incorrect answers. A user may quit Alphabet at any time and return later. By using the same user name, the software retains that user’s progress. The software randomly shuffles the activities and exercises for each new user.
 
Some Things to Remember:
  • A toucan appears at the lower right-hand corner of each activity screen. Click the toucan to end what you are currently doing, correct your work, and then take you to the next page or activity.
  • A stop sign appears at the lower left-hand corner of each activity screen. Click the stop sign to end what you are currently doing and go to the exit menu, where you can print a progress report or exit the program. Click the blue arrow on the exit screen to shuffle the exercises and start the program over.
  • The footprints at the bottom of the screen show you which pages are correct, which pages need corrections, and which pages you have not attempted.
  • When the directions instruct you to “click,” that means you should press your mouse button one time.
 
Directions for the Activities and Software:  
  1. Introduction: 
  Ollie Gator will tell you how to start play. Type your name in the box, then click the toucan. A help movie will explain how to use the program. Click to stop the movie and move to the first activity.
  2. Activities:
  A voice will read the directions for each screen. If you need to hear the directions again, click any word in the directions. Place the cursor on the answer, and then click once to select the answer. If you change your mind, click on another answer. To select more than one item, place the cursor on each item and click one at a time. To move items, letters, or words, place the cursor over the item to be moved. Click the mouse button and drag the letter or word to its proper position. Click again to release it. To color a shape, first click the color you want to use. Place the cursor over the area to be colored and click to release the color.
  3. Moving Between Pages: 
  After completing a page, click the toucan. Correct exercises will be marked with a star. Incorrect exercises will be marked with a red check. By clicking the toucan, you will move to the next page. You can choose a page by clicking on the footprints at the bottom of the screen. A red footprint indicates that you need to correct exercises on that page. A green footprint indicates a completed, correct page. You can return to a page at any time by clicking on that page’s footprint. Place your cursor over a footprint to see the page number. Click the stop sign to exit the program.
  4. Alphabet Chart: 
  Click on the tab to go to the Alphabet Chart. If you want to hear the letter and its sound, place your cursor over the letter. Click the toucan to leave.
  5. Printing Pages: 
  A picture of a printer on the screen indicates that this page can be printed. Click the printer to print the page.
  6. Completing Alphabet: 
  To exit the program, click the stop sign. To print your progress report, click the certificate. If you have not completed the program, you can continue play by clicking the picture of a workbook page. Once you exit and restart the program, you will automatically be taken back to the pages with incorrect answers. You can also go back and correct your work by clicking the check mark on the exit screen. If you have completed the program and all of the answers are correct, you can click the ribbon to print a certificate of completion. Or, you can choose to play a game by clicking the toucan with a dice and playing pieces. You can start over by clicking the blue arrow.
 
Directions for the Games:  
  1. Garden Gobble: 
  Some pesky bugs are trying to eat all of the food in rabbit’s garden. Move your cursor over a bug and then click on it. You have three tries to stop the bugs before they eat all of the vegetables. Click to start.
  2. Helicopter Drop: 
  Fly the helicopter to the pirate’s island without running into any clouds. Hold the mouse button down to back up. You have three chances to land the helicopter on the X. Click to start.
  3. Deli Delivery: 
  Follow the menu to make a scrumptious sandwich. Move your mouse to position the bread to catch the food. You have three chances to make the sandwich on the menu. Click to start.
 
 
Technical Support:
  If you experience problems using this software, you can e-mail us at support@schoolzone.com or call us at 1-616-846-9601.

Support Hours:
Monday through Thursday 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. EST
Friday 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m. EST

Additional support is always available online at: www.schoolzone.com/support

Please have the following information available for technical support:
 
  • Operating system
  • CPU type and speed
  • Amount of RAM
  • Available hard drive space
  • CD-ROM speed
 
Minimum System Requirements:
  Windows® 7, Vista, XP SP3
    Pentium® III 1GHz (or equivalent)
    1GB of RAM
    800x600 32-bit color video
    16-bit sound card
    700MB of available disk space
    CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive
 
  Mac® OSX 10.5, 10.4.11, 10.3.9
    Power PC™ G4 933MHz (or equivalent)
    256MB of RAM
    800x600 32-bit color video
    700MB of available disk space
    CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive
 
 
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Microsoft and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Pentium is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries.