                        FUN SCHOOL 2 for 6 to 8s
                -= Typed and edited by DIT 28-02-1994 =-
                     -= For FIREFLASH of SKIDROW =-


 EDUCATIONAL software for six to eight year olds is something of a mixed
offering. Some children have had very little computer experience before
starting school while others are quite sophisticated users. Although it
is impossible to please all the users all the time, This package of eight
programs has something for everyone and will not only develop educational
aspects like number and mathematical concepts, reading and language
skills, spatial ability and logical thinking but also develop the kind of
keyboard and computer skills the children will need at junior level and
beyond.
 Some basic rules are good sense - such as care with discs and not
touching power controls. Additionally, sticky fingers after lunch or
break should be discouraged even if it is impossible to keep children`s
fingers of the monitor screen. At home, banning food and drink from
around the computer is a good idea - orange juice does not improve the
keyboard.
 Whenever possible the programs are designed to allow various levels of
difficulty. A the child becomes more competent the exercise automatically
advances to the next level, or goes down a level if the player is having
difficulty. The level starts at the lowest but can also be set by parents
by following the instructions in the keys section on the following page.
 Although sound is important part of the games, increasing the child`s
enjoyment and helping distinguish between right and wrong answers, not
everyone wants it at full volume all the time. This particularly true in
the classroom where the tantalising sounds from the micro can disrupt all
the other work in the room. Follow the instructions in the keys section
to turn the sound off or use the volume control on the monitor or TV to
adjust it to suit the occasion.
 Finally, as with all learning, children vary as to how quickly they
grasp the different skills involved in using a computer educational
games. Some may be satisfied with sticking to a single program again and
again while others flit from one to another, hardly finishing a complete
game before starting another.
 Fortunately the micro is as patient with repetition as it is with
interrupted tasks. There is no absolute right or wrong way to use the
program, simply be guided by the child`s own enjoyment and let Fun School
do the teaching.

                                THE KEYS

 The controls are given in the program descriptions that follow but, in
any program, pressing the ESC and replying N to ANOTHER GO? prompt will
return you to the menu. At the prompt there are also some hidden options
for teachers and parents:

 * On programs where difficulty levels can be selected, You can press
   CONTROL+D and enter your choice. Current levels are saved to disc -
   ensure it is not write-protected.

 * On programs where your own selection of words can be entered you can
   press CONTROL+W and enter them.

 In these instructions, where ARROW KEYS are mentioned you may use either
these or the mouse. In that case use the LEFT BUTTON where the SPACEBAR
is mentioned and the RIGHT BUTTON in place of RETURN except when you are
ending a keyboard entry.
 Sounds can be turned off or on at the menu or it can be adjusted using
the volume control on the monitor or TV.
 Loading instructions are on the disc label and you will be presented
with a menu. Use the mouse to scroll through the options and the LEFT
BUTTON to select.

                              THE PROGRAMS

 NUMBER TRAIN

 Press the SPACEBAR to stop the train at the station with a matching
colour. A number of passengers will get on the train and the child is
given an addition sum to find out how many people are then on it. Answers
are entered using the NUMBER KEYS and RETURN. When the sum has been
answered correctly, some passengers get off and the child is then given
an subtraction sum to find how many people are left on the train. The
train then changes colour and chugs off.
 There are three difficulty levels. LEVEL 1 has answers - the number of
people on the train - up to 10 with the maximum of five getting on or off
at any time. In level 2 the highest answer is 19 with numbers up to 9
being the biggest that will be added or taken from the number in the
train. LEVEL 3 has numbers up to 99 with 35 being the largest that will
be added or subtracted.

 In LEVELS 2 and 3 the numbers of passengers getting on or off is not
related to the actual sum but in LEVEL 1 they can be used as an aid by
the child.

 SHOPPING

 Four shops and a frog`s shopping list are displayed. As each item on the
list is highlighted the child must guide the frog using the ARROW KEYS
into the correct shop and then press the SPACEBAR to buy the item. The
next item on the list is then highlighted.
 This program not only encourages coordination skills but also practises
reading and comprehension.

 MATHS MAZE

 Guide the frog - using the ARROW KEYS - along the stepping stones from
the start in the top left of the screen down to the bottom right. When
the frog meets one of the robot guards they will ask a mathematical
question. To pass by, the child has to give the right answer using the
NUMBER KEYS and RETURN.
 There are four difficulty levels in this game and they range from simple
addition/subtraction to more testing calculations which also include
multiplication and division.
 While children should be encouraged to try to answer the questions
without help, younger children or more able ones at higher levels might
find a pencil and paper handy to work out the sums. There is no time
pressure so children can work at their own pace.

 TREASURE HUNT

 Help the frog find the buried treasure. Enter your guess by typing in
the LETTER of the column your square is in and the NUMBER of the row. You
will be told if your guess is cold, warm, hot or very hot. Use the clues
to move closer to the hidden treasure.
 The three levels are a simple map with previous moves shown, a simple
map without the moves and a more difficult map, again without previous
move highlighted.
 This program could also be used as a starting point to a piece of
creative writing: Thinking about what the treasure island is like, Why
the treasure is hidden , why frog wants to find it and what sort of
treasure a frog would like.

 BOUNCE

 This program encourages coordination and logical thinking. The aim is to
bounce the ball so that it hits the apple. The ball is thrown from the
hand - at the bottom of the screen which can be moved left or right with
the corresponding ARROW KEYS and tilted with the up or down ones.
 The ball is thrown with the SPACEBAR and it the n moves forward and is
deflected in a consistent way by the walls and obstacles.
 Unfortunately, the easiest for children to follow the path and work out
where the ball will go is for them to trace it on the screen with a
finger. You can try encouraging them to work it out visually, but it is
inevitable that the screen will end up well fingered.
 There are four levels of difficulty which can be selected as usual and
an extra hard fifth level for those doing well on the fourth.

 PARKING

 A set of shapes has to be packed into an empty rectangle. The frog is
guided to the selected shape using the ARROW KEYS and the shape is picked
up by pressing the SPACEBAR. The shape can now be guided to the desired
place in the rectangle with the ARROW KEYS and dropped by pressing the
SPACEBAR again.
 There are three levels of difficulty involving more complicated shapes
and positioning. In level three one shape may need rotating in order to
fit. Press RETURN to rotate the shape you are holding.

 CATERPILLAR

 Help the caterpillar to eat the apple by finding the hidden word. Use
the LETTER KEYS to type in your guess. If you are right the letter is put
in the correct position - or positions - in the word and the caterpillar
moves closer to the apple, finally eating it when the word is guessed.
 Guesses are displayed across the bottom of the screen, and the number of
dots displayed - starting with 10 on the first level, 0 on the second and
8 on the third - shows how many more wrong guesses may be made. If you
don`t guess the word before all the dots have been covered the apple
disappears and the caterpillar goes hungry.
 There are three built-in set of words or you may enter your own. The
words are as follows:
 LEVEL 1: Animals - cat, dog, sheep, goat, horse, cow, bird, frog, fish
          and duck.
 LEVEL 2: Food - potato, bacon, apple, orange, beans, jelly, cheese,
          bread, butter and carrot.
 LEVEL 3: Clothes - dress, jacket, jumper, anorak, sandal, shirt,
          trousers, socks, blouse and scarf.

 Children should be encouraged to notice that some letters are more
common than others and also to develop strategies to solve words more
easily. The vowels - a, e, i, o or u are used in all the words and this
should be pointed out if the child doesn't notice.

 NUMBER JUMP

 Multiplication tables are not the most popular part of the curriculum
but here`s a program that adds fun to exercising these important skills.
Rather than stressing the rote learning tables, the program aims at the
underlying understanding of multiples.
 The child has to guide the frog across the pond by stepping only on
those lilypads with multiples of the key number displayed on screen. The
frog is guided with the ARROW KEYS.
 There may be more than one route across the pond and there is no penalty
for choosing a longer or shorter route, or for back tracking if there is
no way through at any point. Only non-multiples are encountered as wrong
answers, and after three incorrect responses the child is shown the
correct path.
 Levels selectable for this game are:

    Level 1: Multiples of 2 and 10
    Level 2: Multiples of 3 and 5
    Level 3: Multiples of 4 and 6
    Level 4: Multiples of 7, 8 and 9

                -= Typed and edited by DIT 24-01-1994 =-
                     -= For FIREFLASH of SKIDROW =-