Title of Software Program: Word Munchers Deluxe Grade 1-5 (CD-ROM) Ó 1997

Description of the Program:
This program works on many parts of reading and English.  It is very interactive and fun.  You munch whatever part of speech you are working with. You can munch the word by double clicking on it.  The object of the game is to much as many matches as you can before a toggle munches you, or you can play toggle free.  If you munch the wrong word, the muncher says “yuck!” and then ‘dies’.  Also, your muncher dies if a toggle eats it.  You get 4 lives for your muncher.

Strengths of the Program:
· Works on grammar (nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, and interjections)
· Works on phonics (vowels)
· Works on vocabulary (synonyms and antonyms)
· Works on sentences (nouns, verbs, adjectives, pronouns, adverbs, prepositions, and interjections)
· After all these activities, the student can assess their learning with a ‘challenge’, where it jumbles up all the learned parts
· The program gives the player both an auditory and a visual example.  The worm reads you the question, and if you click on a word once, it will say the word.
· Very colorful screen play
· Very interactive
· Fun, exciting, and you learn a lot from it
· Can be used with a wide variety of students, all ages
· It is not boring
· Challenging, yet “doable”
· Has “story breaks” (between lessons, there are these little animated stories for fun)

Weaknesses of the Program:
· Not a lot of directions, you just go through it on your own, pretty much
· Confusing until you get the hang of it, it should take about 5 minutes of exploration to get the hang of it

Planned Use of the Program:
My Goals of the Lesson:
· Learn grammar parts, like the noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, proper adjective, adverb, interjection
· Look at vocabulary using antonyms and synonyms
· Check computer skills and hand-eye coordination

Launch: Today we are going to see what you think of this software program I have.  It seemed fun to me, and I want to see what you think of it.  It works on different things that will help you in class.

Explore:  Have the student go into the program and select the grammar part: do this part toggle free.  Begin with nouns, by clicking on these selections it will start the game.  Allow the student to “play around” with it for about 5 minutes.  Answer any questions they might have.  (I have provided basic instructions of use in the description part of this lesson)  Next, have them move onto the pronouns part.  Go through all the parts of the grammar section, except the prepositions and interjections.  It should take about 15-20 minutes.  Then, if there’s time or interest left, try the vocabulary part.  (Skip phonics, because they should have this, if not we will catch it later)  Allow the student to do the phonics part, and then stop the program.

Summarize:  Ask the student if they enjoyed this program.  Also, ask them if they learned anything new or that seemed odd to them.  Finally, make some general connections about the program to their current lessons in language arts.

Assessment:  Check for their understanding throughout the lesson.  You could do the parts of the challenge on the program, if they have grasped the concept of the game, and enjoy playing it.  Also, you could start the program up again, and allow the child to play against the toggle on the normal play, to test for speed in recognition.  An oral assessment would be good, too.