ConnSENSEReview Find Out

ConnSENSE Review: Find Out and Write About*

Product Reviewed: Find Out and Write About
Manufacturer: Crick Software Inc.
14687 N.E. 95th Street
Redmond, WA 98052
Toll-free: 1-866-33-CRICK
Telephone: 425-467-8260
Fax: 425-467-8245
http://www.cricksoft.com
info@cricksoft.com
Price per title: $49.00 single user license; Site license: $149.00; (Clicker 5 must be installed on computer).
Reviewed by: Margaret Kardos OTR/L, ATP
muncie@connsensebulletin.com

Find Out and Write About from Crick Software is a series of curriculum-based units designed to support children to learn information and then write about it in the content areas of science and social studies. There are 8 units, which are available separately, that are contained on CD ROMs and are designed to run with Clicker 5. In each unit the “Find Out” section consists of a book on the designated topic that is available in three differentiated academic levels. The book can be read silently by the student or it can be read aloud by clicking on a button on the page. The text has been recorded by a (human) narrator and each word highlights as it is read aloud. Each book is broken down into topic sections (like miniature chapters) that the student can click on to find out the information. Each “Find Out” page in the section has several navigation buttons that read the text, open the glossary, and move the student into the “Write About” phase. When the writing button is selected, Clicker 5 opens up and presents the student with a writing grid containing the words to write about what has just been found out. Each writing grid has been developed to reflect the content level of information presented on the previous page of the book, posing a writing opportunity that is both immediate and commensurate with the level of the text that has just been read. For example, the Write About grids included in the beginning level book have the students write by clicking on two cells, one that contains a noun/verb sentence starter such as “Roots grow” followed by a second cell containing the information to complete the sentence correctly “down into the soil”. The student must also add the punctuation in order to complete the sentence and hear it read back. A picture to support the writing can also be inserted into the text. The writing grids can be edited using the Clicker 5 edit mode and saved to a folder if you want to modify them in any way. Saving them to a folder allows students to work on the writing separately if that is something that is desired.

In all of the units, book one is the most simple and is designed for emergent readers/learners. Book two is designed for readers who are more independent and book three contains additional content. All of the books open up with the same exact cover page and layout regardless of level, something that is important when students don’t want to be set apart as different from their peers. The text in book one is presented as individual statements of fact with a button beside each sentence for reading it aloud. The text in the other books is presented in paragraph form on each page with a single button to click to read the entire page. Each book has a number of vocabulary words that are linked to a glossary page that is accessed by selecting the glossary button on the corresponding page. Having the key vocabulary terms for each unit already identified and contained in the glossary makes it easy for teachers to recognize what to pre-teach and reinforce in supporting activities in order to meet learning objectives.

Picture of 3 levels
Each unit contains 3 differentiated levels of reading and writing instruction per topic.

Included with each CD are “Teaching Notes” a concise, printed teaching guide offering a few “cheat-sheet” facts ready at your fingertips. Each program also contains an “About” section intended for the teacher to view on-screen, explaining the “How-to’s” and “Why’s” of each unit. This certainly makes for ease of use as well as serving as a resource for training support staff in how and why to use the programs. Since it is conveniently contained in the software, it is always readily available.

Recently I had a call from a special education teacher who was struggling to support several students with very early academic skills to participate appropriately in a middle school science class. She was thrilled when I showed her the programs and couldn’t wait to use them. There are a range of titles available including Ancient Egyptians, Animals of the Cold Lands, Animals of the Hot Lands, Dinosaurs, Explorers, Life Cycles with two newcomers, Plants and Topical Rainforests.

Like other Crick programs, the Find Out and Write About series are all switch accessible which enables kids of all abilities to write. The Crick USB Switch Interface is necessary to access the programs through scanning and is available from the company’s website. Find Out and Write About is something that I was thrilled to find out and write about myself. The developers have taken the guess work out of how to go about differentiating science and social studies curriculum units; as a result, students gain access to core curriculum content in a manner that is appropriate for a wide range of abilities from emergent reader to those on grade level. Find Out and Write About is a great resource and a must have for expanding learning opportunities for all students.

* You can hear a podcast with John Crick, President of Crick Software, describing Find Out & Write About at:
http://www.connsensebulletin.com/csbpodcasts/
Scroll down to: "Three New Products from Crick Software"