Stellaluna, A Living Book

Broderbund Software

1-800-685-6322

www.broderbund.com/education/programs/livingbooks

Grade Level: K-3

Subject Area: Language Arts, Interdisciplinary

Reviewed by: Deborah Gartley

SOFTWARE DESCRIPTION

Stellaluna, by Janelle Cannon, is a beautiful story of a baby bat separated from her mother who finds a home with a family of birds. Broderbund has made it into a Living Book for use on the computer. It comes with a CD-ROM, the Stellaluna book, a book on bat facts, and a resource guide of numerous interdisciplinary classroom lessons in reading, writing, math, science, and art. The software has four modes of use. First, is the passive Read To Me section, where a pleasant female voice narrates the story as the words on the screen are highlighted. A small, oval window at the top of the screen provides a second story line as Mother Bat looks for her baby. Second, the Let Me Play section allows children to actively explore the page after it has been read. Here, students highlight various portions of the screen and, upon clicking the mouse, are rewarded with a short animated sequence. They can also point the cursor at a word and the narrator reads that word. Third, an Options button allows the child to jump to any of the fourteen pages to explore. Finally, there is a Bat Quiz section, where the students test their knowledge of bats on three levels of difficulty.

ACCURACY OF CONTENT

The content of the software is quite accurate. There are no mistakes or omissions, although there is added narration that may confuse children following along in the book. Broderbund recommends this software for grades K-3. However, the software part of the package may be more appropriate as a pre-reading activity for the younger age group of ages 3-7. The software is easy to read, and younger children will have no problem accessing the sections, as long as they are able to use a mouse. It is free of gender and ethnic bias. In fact, it encourages tolerance and friendship.

TECHNICAL QUALITY

The software is extremely easy to install and use. The buttons are plain, but easy to read. For younger students unable to read, the baby bat on the opening screen directs the child to one button or the other, Read To Me or Let Me Play. The colors are pleasant to look at for long periods of time, and the female narrator inflects just enough emotion into her reading. The screens are animated as the story is read, and the subtle background drums and music add depth to the story. The six songs can also be played separately as an audio CD.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY

The CD is fairly straightforward. Read the story, take the quiz, and explore the screens. For pre-readers, this is a good use of the technology as it encourages the child to follow the words along as the narrator reads them, as well as to explore the screen and text. The older children will enjoy the bat quiz, although wrong answers are not corrected nor is the child given a second chance. Correct answers are explained, however. For older students, the actual reading of the story can be accomplished just as well through group or independent reading. The teacher is unable to modify the software, and students are unable to create something with it at the conclusion of the story.

ROLE OF STUDENTS

Younger students will feel empowered by this software as pre-readers and beginning readers read along with the narrator. More advanced readers may find themselves constrained by the pace of the story. The quiz is the only part that requires active participation on the part of the student.

ROLE OF TEACHER

The software requires little teacher involvement as the student reads, discovers, or takes a quiz. It can be used as an introductory activity to a unit on bats or nocturnal animals, however. Although there is nothing the teacher can do to change the software, there is an in-depth teacher resource book included with the software, as well as a fact book on bats. The resource book includes an entire thematic unit on nocturnal animals encompassing math, reading, writing, science, and art. Lessons for primary and intermediate grades as well as pre- and beginning readers and second language readers are detailed and easy to follow. Activities include a game, sequencing story cards, vocabulary lists, number stories, and patterns. An extensive bibliography broken into fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and folklore sections completes the guide.

CLASSROOM USAGE

The software appears to be more for the independent user, although pairs or small groups of students can read and take the quiz together, and the whole class can enjoy the story narration and animation with a large enough computer screen. The class should be allowed unlimited access to this software.

CRITICAL SUMMARY

Overall, I think the software is of high quality, with many useful benefits to a classroom teacher. With the exception of the quiz, however, the actual software seems better suited to less advanced readers. On the other hand, the resource guide gives the teacher a wide range of interdisciplinary, fun, and challenging lessons for all ages and ability levels, encompassing not only bats, but birds and other nocturnal animals as well.

OVERALL RATING : 9 of 10

EXPLANATION OF RATING

Both the resource guide and software can stand alone as a classroom resource. However, the software is more geared towards the younger students, as opposed to the K-3 recommended by the publisher.

Last revised: January 15, 2003