## Description

_Action SATS Learning: Key Stage 1 4-7 Years: Phonic Spelling_ is a title
that is designed to help children learn through a gaming environment. The
subject here is, obviously, spelling and the title plays just like a computer
game.

Each topic is treated as a new level in the game, when a level is completed
the player is treated to a mini-game and the points scored in these games are
used to increase the pupils game time. The game continues until the player
runs out of time at which point the game ends.
The topics/levels in this title are: First Letters, Missing Vowels, Short /
Long Vowels, Rhyming Words, Final ‘ing’, Same Endings, Building/Using Words,
Silent Letters, Vowel Sounds, More Vowel Sounds, Days and Dates, and Letter
Blends.
The format throughout is the same, The player is presented with a series of
multiple choice questions each of which has four possible answers. Each
question has a points value which decreases the longer the pupil takes to
answer. To aid the pupil there are three help options, a ‘Zap 2’box which
eliminates two false answers; a ‘Clue’ box which gives the initial letter of
the answer which, when the question is ‘what is the missing letter?’ is the
same as giving the full answer; and a ‘Look It Up’ box which gives the pupil
the information they need to answer the question.
The first level, ‘First Letters’, typifies the game play; here the pupil is
shown a picture of say, a log, hears the word ‘log’ spoken, and must select
the letter ‘l’ from the four letters shown. There are some minor topic
dependant variations, for example in Level 3 ‘Short and Long sounds’ there are
no pictures and the pupil is asked questions like ‘Which word has a long
sounding ‘e’?’ and must select the correct word from the four presented, e.g.
in a list of bed, lemon, female and wet the answer would be female.
There is a high score table and the game is played entirely with the mouse.
The mini games in this title are:

* Skid Marks: A mouse controlled driving game where the player must race down a road, avoiding cones and roadside obstacles, for as long as possible
* Meteor Wars: A mouse controlled Missile Command style game
* Rocks: a mouse controlled Asteroids game in which the player has just one ship and must survive and destroy as many rocks as possible

All levels can be revised, i.e. played individually, and the pupil can also
take a test in each subject for which they are rewarded with a printable
certificate.

Action SATS Learning: Key Stage 1 4-7 Years: Phonic Spelling