5. On-Track Thinking Skills
 
Welcome to School Zone's Thinking Skills On-Track Action Software!
     
In this Read Me document, you will find the following:
  • Technical Support
  • Age Level
  • Educational Goal
  • Educational Skills
  • Key Features
  • Play Summary
  • Some Things to Remember
  • Directions for Activities
 
Technical Support
If you experience problems using this software, you can contact School Zone Technical Support.

Visit our Web site at www.schoolzone.com
or email support@schoolzone.com
or call 616.846.9601 from 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. EST, Monday-Friday.

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
     
Age Level:  Ages 3-5
 
Educational Goal:
To teach and practice preschool skills in preparation for kindergarten through interactive software that appeals to a variety of learning styles.
 
Educational Skills:
    • Classifying
    • Comparing and Contrasting
    • Sequencing
    • Visual Discrimination
    • Patterns
    • Problem Solving
 
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 child to work independently.
    • Fun games are rewards 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:  
  Thinking Skills challenges children to recognize and compare relationships between objects. It also develops critical thinking and problem solving skills. 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 Thinking Skills 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 dog icon appears at the lower right-hand corner of each activity screen. Click the dog to end what you are currently doing, correct your work, and then take you to the next page or activity.
    • A waving hand icon appears at the lower left-hand corner of each activity screen. Click the waving hand 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 dog. 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 or numbers, 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.
  3. Moving Between Pages: 
  After completing a page, click the dog. Correct exercises will be marked with a star. Incorrect exercises will be marked with a red check. By clicking the dog, you will move to the next page whether you have completed it or not. 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 waving hand to exit the program.
  4. Printing Pages: 
  A picture of a printer on the screen indicates that this page can be printed. Click the printer to print the page.
  5. Completing Thinking Skills: 
  To exit the program, click the waving hand. To print your progress report, click the certificate. If you have not completed the program, you can continue play by clicking the dog pointing to the 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 dog with a football and baseball. You can start over by clicking the blue arrow.
 
Directions for the Games:  
  1. Leap Frog Follies: 
  Help the frog avoid the balls. Click to make the frog jump. Watch out for balls that are too high to jump! You have three chances to avoid all of the balls. Click to start.
  2. Bumbling Bee Maze:
  Help the bee get to the flowers. Watch out for the magic frog! It can change the bee into something new, and then you will have to start again. Use your arrow keys to move the bee. You have three chances to solve the maze. Click to start.
  3. Tooting Train Arcade: 
  All aboard! Move your mouse to move the train. Click to shoot shapes out of the sky. If the shapes reach the train, the game starts over. You have three chances to clear all of the shapes from the three levels. Click to start.