Samson's Classroom

Samson's Classroom is an online resource for teaching sight words, spelling and reading comprehension to children in grades K-5. We've been using this for the last month and the kids are really enjoying it.

There are 3 sections to Samson's classroom:

The first area is SIGHT WORDS where children are taught 224 of the most commonly used English words.  The sight words are divided up into lists that are taught in 5 steps. 

First, the words are introduced by showing the word being spelled one letter at a time while the voice says the word and each letter as it is shown.  It will repeat the same word and spelling over and over until the child presses the arrow to go to the next word.  

Next, they are given a set of letters to choose from to spell the word.  

In Step 3, they have to click on the correct word when they hear it. 

In Step 4, the child must spell the word using the entire keyboard (rather than just a few letters like in Step 2)

Finally, in Step 5 players go on a treasure hunt for the correctly spelled word.

Students can easily see their progress and navigate through the lists:

SPELLING

In the spelling section students (or parents) have the choice of creating their own lists or using the many lists already included in the program.  We are using both.  Below is a screenshot clip of Emma's spelling lists.  The 4 icons at the top are the choices the player has. They click on a circle (green ones are already completed) to begin a task.

The first one is a learning activity.  The list pops up (and can be printed) and the child can click on the word to hear it read, hear it in a sentence and hear it being spelled.  The other 3 icons are all games. In the one pictured below, students must choose the missing part of the word. If they get it correct Samson karate chops the board.  In the second game, students make Samson run across the screen gathering letters.  There is a spider that chases Samson and ties him up in "silk" if the player is not fast enough.  I cannot for the life of me figure out how to play this game.  It took Emma a few weeks, but now she can play it.  I guess it's the way gamers move characters.  I wouldn't know.  LOL  Third, is the walrus game.  The player must spell the word correctly to get Samson to jump across blocks of ice.  If you wait too long or misspell a word a giant walrus jumps up and starts to bite the ice and eventually Samson falls in. (This one I like. :) )

The games are fun and they're a great way to reinforce spelling.

It is very easy to add spelling lists.  You can choose to activate lists so that your
 student can only see the ones you want them to see.  You can leave other lists deactivated until later.

Finally there is the READING section which gives students practice at reading comprehension.  This would be great for kids getting ready for standardized tests. 

Students read a passage and choose the correct answer.  If they choose incorrectly
the text will turn red so the student can find the proper answer.

In Reading, students earn Hammer points so they can try their hand
at swinging the hammer.  Emma loves this.

Samson's Classroom is not just an online game sight though.  They also have a large Resource section that includes worksheets, games to be printed, flashcards, lesson plans and award certificates.  I'm really impressed with the number of worksheets and activities that can be printed to go along with the spelling lists.

a few sample worksheets- we used these yesterday because I had to be out
for several hours today

a sample of an award certificate that can be printed

One last thing to mention is that parents can see their child's progress easily in their account.  You can view all of the children at once, by level.  Then, by clicking on their name you can see detailed charts of what they have completed, what they need to work on and what hasn't been attempted yet.

Emma (9) has been using this as her main spelling program.  I took the words from our current spelling program and entered them into the program and she is set for the year.  It didn't take long to enter the words at all.  More words can be added at any time.  Occasionally, a word is not in Samson's Classroom's database.  You can request a word be added by the click of a button.  We have found this too be too difficult for my very beginning readers. Connor, who is 11 and has Down syndrome likes to play on this, but hasn't really progressed with it.  He can't enter the letters fast enough so he is stuck at the same level.  (He doesn't seem to mind though.)  However, this has been really great for my first and 4th graders.  We are really enjoying this and plan to continue with it for the rest of the year.

Here is a video you can watch that will show you Samson in action.

Click to try a demo.

Purchase Samson's Classroom for 1 student for $30 a year or pay $50 for up to 4 students.  This is an amazing value for an internet subscription program.

Click here to visit Samson’s Classroom and become a better reader. Play fun games that will help you master sight words, spelling and reading comprehension!

See what others are saying about Samson's Classroom on The Schoolhouse Review Crew blog.




disclaimer: I received  4 one year subscriptions to Samson's Classroom  in exchange for an honest review

Zoo Whiz

Zoo Whiz is an online, educational game website for 5-15 year olds. We were given accounts for 5 for my children aged 4, 7, 9, 11 (with special needs) and 12.  The ZooWhiz educational content is drawn from a bank of over 17,000 learning activities. There’s comprehensive coverage of math, punctuation, spelling, grammar, vocabulary, word skills, phonics, and reading.

Students earn coins playing educational games that they can then use to play games in the arcade or use to "buy" animals for their zoo. There are two levels of membership: free and premium.  With a Premium account children can spend an unlimited amount of time on ZooWhiz and there are more animals available for "purchase" that they cannot get with a free account.

a screen shot of the main screen where players choose to "learn & earn,

There are 3 different areas in the Learn and Earn section -  Reading, Words and Math.  Students click on the Learn and Earn house which takes them to a screen where they can choose which area they would like to work on.

The Reading section provides an introduction to letters, phonics, and spelling. Sound – letter correspondences are systematically introduced for all 44 phonemes. Writing and word skills are expanded and developed by covering spelling, grammar, punctuation and more.

To help students learn to read, integrated speech is used in the first 4 ZooWhiz Reading modules. Each activity uses spoken instructions, audio reinforcements and corrections.

screen shot of an activity in the reading section

The Words section covers all essential word skills and concepts including: letter tracking, matching, sorting and recognition, preparatory skills for very young readers and spellers, spelling patterns and rules, phonics, prefixes, suffixes, synonyms, antonyms, homophones, homographs, homonyms, nouns, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, regular and irregular verbs, word origins including idioms, clichés, metaphors, similes, etc, punctuation and grammar.

screen shot of an activity in the Words section

The Math section covers all essential maths skills and concepts including: numeration, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, decimals, chance, patterns, Algebra, data, graphs, measurement, shape, space, and geometry.

screen shot of a math problem

Parents have the ability to set the "age floor" so your child can work at a level that is appropriate for them.  This way your children can't be earning coins for doing work that is beneath their level (or you can drop it down so they have the ability to earn more coins if you like.)

Parents can select the age level for each section with the pull down menu.

Now for the part the kids love the most.  The Zoo and the Arcade.  Students can collect animals for their zoo.  (There really isn't a zoo but they can see a list of all the animals that they "own".) This can be motivating for students that love animals.  It's also an opportunity to learn about the animals.

a screenshot of Emma's Zoo

Once a student has an animal in their zoo they can learn all about it.  Each tab reveals different information including habitat, diet, threats and detailed info.

Students can also spend the coins they earned in the arcade.  Games include a cupcake making game, shooting soccer goals, a tetris like game and much more (typical arcade games).

What we like:

ZooWhiz is a fun way for kids to learn math and English topics.  The topics really are very broad.  It's also a good way for them to be exposed to animals and learn about them.  I allow my children to play on it frequently.  They seem to enjoy it.

Parents can log into the children's accounts and see exactly what they have been working on.  I always like to see what progress is being made and what they are accomplishing (and areas that may need attention.)

Parents can click on the individual smiley faces to see more details.

What we don't like:

The biggest problem with Zoo Whiz for younger children is that it does not give audible directions in the math or word sections Children are expected to read them, which is not possible for those that can't yet read.  I don't have time to sit and read directions for online learning games.

My 12 year old son felt that the animals "cost too much" and he was not motivated enough to want to continue playing. The younger children did not have this issue though.

Pages are slow loading and it takes several steps to log in to the website, making it difficult for younger children to do it by themselves.

One thing to note is that ZooWhiz is Australian so the speakers do have an accent.  Not a problem for us, but something I thought was worth mentioning.

a comparison of the free vs. premium accounts

Purchase a 1 year Premium subscription to Zoo Whiz for $14.95. (a 75% off offer) Check it out by signing up for a free account.  You have nothing to lose by signing up since it is free.  Children can play for a limited amount of time each day with a free account.  They also offer a 14 day money back guarantee for Premium accounts.






See what others are saying about Zoo Whiz on The Schoolhouse Review Crew blog.




disclaimer: I received 5 year long Premier subscriptions to  Zoo Whiz  in exchange for an honest review

Review - This Week in History from TJ Ed

This Week in History is a really neat resource that I am happy to have the opportunity to tell you about.  TWIH is an online weekly "bundle" of resources that relate to every day of the year.  It is a cross curricular resource that incorporates math, science, language arts, geography, current events etc. all tied to events in history.

There are two ways to access This Week in History.  First, you can go to the website and secondly, you can receive it in a weekly e-mail.  I really like getting the e-mail as it is a reminder to me to use it and everything is right there for me without having to go to the website to sign in. The e-mail is optional so if you prefer to just go to the website you can do that too. I think it would be nice to get a daily e-mail so each day would be right there ready for me but having the weekly e-mail is a nice convenience.

The content is searchable by date, topic and keyword.  Subscribers also have access to the entire year at any given time. So, you can plan ahead or choose a date that is special to your family (birthday, anniversary etc) and use it that way.

Here are some ideas for using This Week in History:

1. In advance, you review the coming week's resources and consider how they fit with your interests, your kids' projects, etc., and plan how to use it. 

2. On the day of, you get up and review that day's resources, print out a few pdfs and preview a few topics, and then invite the children to discover with you. 

3. In the moment , you bring up the site and wander your way through it like a treasure hunt. 

4. Review the archives (available at the bottom of each week's article, or by searching by date or keyword) to explore for a date of interest, like a child's birthday, your wedding anniversary, or even some random date chosen by your child-of-the-day, and explore what is notable about that date.

I haven't ever used this by planning in advance, but I love being able to go to the page each day and find something to learn about with the kids.  We've learned about opera, people in history, states, patents, and so much more.  This has been a fabulous summer resource to keep the learning going all year long. I will continue to use this throughout the year.

If you are a fan of Delight Directed Learning this would make an absolutely wonderful basis for your homeschool.  You could also easily create your own unit studies and lapbooks.  If you are a traditional textbook family then this would make a nice addition to your normal routine as well.

a partial sample of one day

See more sample pages.  I love how everything is clickable so all of the work is done for you.  You'll find a bit of history and lots of links to explore then questions for discussion and activity ideas.  Lots of fun and learning all in one place.

Prior to this review I had never heard of Thomas Jefferson Education. It is based on an educational philosophy and a methodology by which great individuals throughout history have been educated. Discovered and articulated by Oliver and Rachel DeMille, Thomas Jefferson Education is based on 7 Keys of Great Teaching and the 4 Phases of Learning. Read more about the founders and find TJEd on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Purchase This Week in History for $9.99 a month. It appears you have to set this up as a subscription through Paypal which is not something I've ever done, so I'm not exactly sure how that works.  It is explained on the website.  Visit the TJ Ed store to see other books, e-books, audio CDs and mp3 downloads.

See what others on the crew are saying about This Week in History on the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog.



disclaimer: I received a free full year subscription to This Week in History in exchange for honest review.

Review-Zane Education-video learning

Zane Education is a learning system that uses online educational videos along with online quizzes, study guides and a study center with several resources.  Members have access to over 1500 educational videos.

Zane Education also has what they call The Missing Piece©.  The Missing Piece© is that most of the videos have subtitles which provides for more learning styles. This is also beneficial for some students with special needs and makes the videos accessible for the hearing impaired as well.  Students can even turn the volume off and just read if they wish. Read more about The Missing Piece©.

The chart below shows the subjects covered by grade and age.

Zane offers a variety of publications to help you in your homeschool This comes with any 12 month membership subscription or you can purchase the guides for $49.95. The first guide is the Zane Education Learning Video Catalog which is a 266 page downloadable e-book that provides an in-depth introduction to Zane's online educational video library and all of the 260 curriculum topics and subjects subjects except for math videos. You can find a free list of the math videos here. (The math videos are from Kahn Academy and not owned by Zane.)

Secondly, there is a Christian Learning Guide, another downloadable e-book that is essential reading for any Christian parents and teachers that need to be reassured that the learning material being provided to their children and students fully conforms to Biblical teaching. This 424-page Christian Companion to Zane Education's Online Learning Video Catalog was specially written for Zane by Marshall Foster and Ron Ball you can read a much more detailed overview of the entire contents of this ebook are available here on the Christian Learning Guide page. 

These guides are both extensive and well done.  It adds structure to the videos so that you could use this as the basis for your homeschool if you wanted to.  

They also offer two free guides.  One is the Zane Educational Video catalog which you can download here.  This is a shortened version of the full learning video catalog mentioned above.  The second free guide is the math guide also mentioned above.

The following guides are also available free for those who are registered basic free members:



All of the quizzes are also available with the basic free membership as well.

This is a screen shot of a quiz question.  Each question is multiple choice.
Students can go back and change their answers at the end if they wish.

The summary report at the end of the quiz.
 If answers are incorrect students each answer is then explained for the student.
 Students can print their results or email them to you (or themselves).

Here is a screen shot of a video:

The video cannot be made full screen.  This is a small screen shot,
 but the video  player is about 6" x 4"on my 17" screen.

What I like about Zane:

• There are so many videos to choose from.
• The subtitles are a great feature.
• The education guides are excellent.
• The quizzes and study center are a great help.
• Video learning tools include a glossary, encyclopedia, dictionary, thesaurus and World Fact book

What I don't like about Zane:

• These "videos" are in a Power Point style rather than actual videos.  My kids don't like watching them. They remind me of filmstrips and documentaries that I watched in school (and I'm in my mid-40s)
• The videos cannot be made to fit the full screen.
• The videos have buttons in the left corner that do not do anything.

One word of advice about the videos.  I did come across a couple of videos that I would not want my younger children to watch. (One in particular was a video about teen pregnancy which did show some pretty graphic pictures and video.)  Also some of the videos  have evolutionary content. The Christian Education guide would come in handy in steering you to appropriate videos.

I do think that we will continue to make good use out of these videos even if I have to coax the kids to watch them.  I don't think I would ever pay for this service, but it may be just the thing you are looking for.  This really does save you the time of trying to find videos to go along with whatever you are teaching.

There are several levels of pricing. Monthly subscriptions begin at $8.99 a month and go up to $17.99 a month.  Year subscriptions start at $98.99 and go up to $197.89 a year. Don't forget to register for a free basic membership to try it out or try a Topic Taster membership for $5 a month. For the month of August you can save 35% by using code ZE763HSM.

Find Zane education on Facebook.  They have an extremely active Facebook page.

See what others are saying about Zane Education on the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog.




disclaimer: I received a free one year gold subscription to Zane Education in exchange for an honest review.