The Graph Club is a hands-on graphing tool. It provides a motivating, manipulative environment that a teacher can use to plan an entire graphing unit. It gives students a chance to make many different kinds of graphs and to learn how to use them and read them. It helps students make a transition from using manipulatives to graphing in the abstract. The program clearly shows students the difference between line, bar, picture and circle graphs. It supports the NCTM standards by involving problem solving, cooperative learning, and cross-curricular integration. The program has multiple sections: Explore, Match, Create and Guess. These four sections give students a chance to learn about the different kinds of graphs. The Explore mode provides two-divided graphs and lets the user do the rest. The Match Mode sets up one graph with randomly generated data and one blank graph; students are given a chance to fill in the blank graph and match it to the existing graph. The Create Mode gives a blank table with the data set on zero. Students enter data and can view information in different kinds of graphs. The Guess Mode generates a graph and challenges students to hypothesize about what the data represent. The program has many interesting features; for example, a user can copy graphs and paste them into any paint or draw program. Students can also design their own symbols in any paint or draw program and import them into The Graph Club.

The content of the program is very accurate. It gives children a chance to look at different graphs that are appropriate for their age level and to learn about how to graph data. As a computer tool that introduces young students to the concept of graphing this program serves an important function; it makes a difficult concept tangible to a young audience.

The program is easy to run and install. Some computer background is helpful to use the program initially, but the manual gives a step-by-step tutorial to guide the novice through the program's technical operation. Once the teacher understands how the program functions, he or she can easily explain to students how to use the software as a tool to create many different kinds of graphs.

This program makes good use of the computer. The program designs graphs and enables students to use problem-solving skills as they create graphs. The program verbally counts for students, which is helpful for younger students.

The students are empowered by this program. They are given a chance to experiment with graphing and to see how data form into a graph. This program is open-ended and lets students explore and problem solve at their own pace. They can conduct their own surveys, interviews, and investigations. Data can then be represented in a graph, which students can print. Additionally, students can create a story about their graph or describe it in their math journals. The graphs can be used as an assessment tool; for example, students might incorrectly use a label, and the teacher could discern this and review the concept of graph labels. Students can work together both to collect data and design a graph. They could make two different graphs using the same data and compare the two. Students also could make up questions about their graphs and give them to other students to answer.

The program lends itself to the teacher coaching students in their graph making and problem solving. The teacher can modify the program by using the Random Student Picker option. The program would then randomly select a student to enter data, answer a question, interpret a graph, or offer his or her opinion. The teacher can pick the kind of graph the student can use. The teacher can also change the language to Spanish and turn the voice feature on or off. The teacher's manual includes critical thinking questions, blackline masters that help students to understand the icons, sample graphs, and suggested classroom activities. The manual provides an excellent introduction to the software and is a valuable aid to the teacher for understanding his or her role as the software is implemented in the classroom.

The program fits easily into the classroom. Students can use it to learn about and to gain practice with creating graphing. They can work in small groups to interview and collect data. They also can practice individually on some of the Modes. The class can use it to work on patterns, organizing data, counting, and generating questions. This software program can be used over and over again in the classroom to serve many different purposes throughout the year. It would be helpful to have the software also in the computer lab, where classes or groups of students could go to make graphs relevant to work that they are doing in the classroom.

This program is very useful in the classroom. The program lets students design graphs in less than half the time needed typically to make them by hand. They can also compare their own free-hand ones with the computer version. Students will learn the importance of neatness and clarity on a graph.

OVERALL RATING: 9 out of 10

I rated the program as a 9 because it is an excellent educational tool for the classroom; the program teaches children how to graph, which is an important concept to teach starting in the early grades. The program includes colorful icons that appeal to young learners and other visual and auditory features that help them to learn about graphing. The teacher's manual offers a plethora of ideas for using the program.