Sesame Street:Let's Make A Word
Sesame Street:
Take a game show hosted by Sesame Street's Guy Smiley, throw in six Muppet celebrities with accompanying word games, add four locations for the action to take place, and what do you have? An effective way for three- to six-year-old kids to have fun and learn basic word skills at the same time. In other words, you have Sesame Street: Let's Make a Word.
The game begins by following Guy Smiley on a mad dash to the studio to host the game show Let's Make a Word. Once at the studio, children choose one of the Muppet Word Experts and a location. Each Muppet character is an expert on a different letter or word skill. For example, Big Bird knows about letter sounds, while Elmo specializes in spelling.
At the selected location, the Muppet engages the child in a game related to the expert's specialty. With Oscar the Grouch, for instance, the child is asked to find items by color, then by function, and finally by a prominent characteristic. If the child has difficulty, Oscar offers guidance and will even spotlight the correct object, if need be. The six games help children identify letters, sounds, and words; classify objects; find words that rhyme; identify Spanish words; and practice phonics--all are part of basic language development.
Between rounds of the game, the user can click on objects around the location. This reveals fun sounds and animation, and the Muppet tells the child something about the object selected, again, based upon the Muppet's expertise. Almost every object has more than one animation associated with it. What is impressive is the character's large repertoire of responses. The dialog matches the personality of each Muppet, and it is easy for users to feel as if they are actually carrying on a conversation.
Documentation consists of a single manual, well written and complete. It includes descriptions and instructions for each game as well as a useful troubleshooting section. Each game also has a section describing the educational content and goal of the game, something all parents will appreciate. For beginning users, the documentation even describes how to use a mouse. This program is designed to make kids successful. From the way an object sparkles when a child can select it, to the way the Muppets provide increasing degrees of help, it is clear the engineers at ABC/EA Home Software had two goals in mind--help kids learn, and have them feel good while doing it. With Sesame Street: Let's Make a Word they have succeeded. Even though the title comes with a 30-day, money-back guarantee of satisfaction, it is doubtful many will want to take advantage of it.
Children will enjoy this title; it is entertaining, educational, and engaging. The games are well thought out and effective. They are easy to use and navigate, but get harder as the child develops more skill. While the documentation recommends an age range from three to six years old, even seven-year-old users will derive benefit from some of the activities. This is one title that will get repeated use.
Give your kids the chance to enjoy something few people have the opportunity to do--be part of a television game show featuring Muppet celebrities. They are guaranteed to have fun, and they will learn something in the process.
For PC: IBM compatible 486/25 MHz or faster, 4 MB RAM, 3 MB hard disk space, Windows 3.1 or later, 640x480 SVGA 256-color monitor, double-speed CD-ROM drive, sound card, mouse
