AGE LEVEL
3 and 4 year-olds
GENRE
Web site
REVIEW
PBS.org offers numerous online games, several of which encourage reading readiness. The “Elmo’s Rhymes” game, for example, is a good choice to help develop phonological awareness and build vocabulary. Each segment of the game begins with Elmo naming and showing an object, and children must click on an object which rhymes with the named object. The game “Dog’s Letter Pit,” should assist with the development of letter knowledge and vocabulary. Children first click the image of the dog, causing him to jump into a pile of letters. A few letters then pop up on the screen, and as a voice sounds them out, children must choose the letters that match each particular sound. A third game is “Caillou’s Match the Leaves”, in which children must choose which of a group of small leaves has the same shape as a big leaf. This would be a good lead-in to the development of letter knowledge as children gain practice in deciding which objects are alike and different. All three games are fun, images are clear, and most scenes are uncluttered. The games are fairly easy to play, yet even for an adult, figuring out how to manipulate certain objects on the screen may take some trial-and-error clicking. Parents should practice these games before introducing young children to them.
LIBRARY PROGRAMMING IDEAS
This Web site could be included on a library pathfinder of suggested reading readiness resources.
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