Math Blaster 1st Grade
The Blaster series has recently undergone a major upgrade. I have never been much of a Blaster fan in the past. I must say, however, that the new upgrades are far superior to any older Blaster programs you may have purchased. If you did not like the Blaster programs you purchased before, it may be time to try a new one.
Math Blaster 1st Grade covers math skills covered in most typical 1st grade classrooms. Each of the five main activities contains eight skill levels. This program, therefore, will fit the needs of almost any first grade child. A new Blaster song is not nearly as annoying as the original. The space characters remain, but they are doing much more interesting things than shooting asteroids ad naseum.
Blaster and his pal C.G. are trying to get
the animals at the Intergallactic Zoo to exercise. They have become quite
lazy. In order to play Tickle Tag with the animals, your child must earn five
trading cards. This can happen in one session. With the various skill levels
(each of which must be mastered at 75%) your child can play this game many
times. 
- Treasure Room: In the Treasure Room you will find printable activities, a record of trading card earned, and math puzzles which can be done away from the computer. This is the 'headquarters' of the game. In a seperate sign-in area you will also find a sticker maker, and access to the Blaster web site.
- Gnat Zapper: This game has more of an arcade feel than the others. Here your Gnat Zapper (a silly looking animal) is in a race. You must help the Gnat Zapper zap the correct answers to math questions in order to win the race. This is the only true drill activity in the program. Children who become frustrated easily, or do not know how to add, may find this particular activity a bit stressful. Skills progress from simple addition, to addition and subtraction up to 24.
- Feed the Woozerps: Here your child will learn about measurement in terms of length, weight and temperature. These are all hands-on, manipulative activities. They will also use coins, which sound and look like the real thing. They will use these to pay for the Woozerps food.
- Egg Drop: This is a variation of the board game Mancala. The only problem here is that the game is never really explained. If your child has never played Mancala, you will have to help them 'discover' the rules. Here they will practice their counting skills from 1 to 84, while utilizing logic skills to win the game.
- Bug Off: This is probably the best thinking skill game included. Here your child will sort bugs based on various characteristics. This venn diagram activity ranges from two characteristics, to two or three characteristics with intersections. Your kids will enjoy sorting these wiggly, noisy bugs.
- Knock-a-Clock: Telling time is a skill often overlooked in math programs. Here your child will learn to tell time to the quarter hour. The analog clocks are a bit clumsy, but they work.
While there is not enough true "teaching" here for my taste, this is a vast improvement over previous drill-and-kill Blaster programs. There is much more here in the way of hands-on activities. This is a defintate step forward for the Blaster series.
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Grading for Math Blaster First Grade
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