Reading Blaster Vocabulary

Reviewer: Linnie Calland, teacher & parent
Mason County Middle School
Maysville, KY
lcalland@mason.k12.ky.us

Reading Blaster Vocabulary
Knowledge Adventure, 1998
http://www.knowledgeadventure.com (See note below)
800-545-7677
CD-ROM for PC or Mac
Teacher version includes teacher materials with 36 activity sheets to complement program.
Evaluated on a PC (Digital)
Reviewed: Nov. 1998
List Price $57.00 for teacher version, $30.00 for home version.
Rating: 10 on a scale of 1-10. Way Cool!
"The best vocabulary program I've seen so far" L. Calland

In Reading Blaster Vocabulary players team up with Rave the Detective to solve a series of mysteries which take place in a mansion. Students must complete word puzzles and games to earn clues which lead to the identity of the culprit. Six different games help teach vocabulary from lists of over 2000 words. Reading Blaster Vocabulary is recommended for ages 9-12, but my 13-14 year-old students love it.

The program has a parent section with recommendations for vocabulary development beyond the program. The teacher section allows you to add your own lists of vocabulary words for use in the game. The record keeping feature keeps track of student progress. There are three levels of content difficulty and three levels of activities. These features would make the software useful for students with various disabilities.

The program is designed to improve reading vocabulary, but could be used with any subject matter since the word lists can be customized. I think the program would be great for reluctant learners. I particularly liked the variety of games and puzzles which are very entertaining. The program was easy to learn with clear instructions.

The setting in a mysterious mansion, with bright colors and entertaining characters, makes Reading Blaster Vocabulary very enticing. The students don't even realize they are learning. It is truely Way Cool!

Editor's Note: I had quite a bit of difficulty actually getting information from the Knowledge Adventure web site. I'd use their 800 number if I wanted to get information from them. However, Educational Resources sells the Knowledge Adventure line (and many others), and their web site was very easy to use and fast http://www.edresources.com You can contact Educational Resources through their site or use their 800 number (800-624-2926).

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