JumpStart Reading with Karaoke (Windows)

In JUMPSTART READING WITH KARAOKE, kids learn to read so they can sing the words to karaoke songs that they record and play back. The software comes with a microphone. Kids earn tickets to unlock new karaoke songs by playing eight learning games that teach the words. Kids practice early reading skills including identifying letter sounds, learning consonant and vowel sounds, blending letter sounds, rhyming, reading sight words, building vocabulary, practicing reading comprehension, and reading aloud.

In one game, children help put alphabet-adorned packages into a delivery truck in an order that will spell a word; once in the truck, the word is highlighted, and kids are asked to read the word into the microphone. (Several games use the microphone similarly to reinforce the learn-to-read process and provide feedback.) The software has voice recognition technology, so it "knows" if the child is reading the word correctly.

Kids can unlock 24 original learn-to-read karaoke songs that sequentially teach more than 200 words in specific word families. Knowledge Adventure partnered with Christopher Smith, a kindergarten teacher and award-winning children's recording artist, and the Big Fins, a Southern California music group that specializes in children's music, to write and perform the music. The specially selected lyrics to the songs provide a structured, sequential reading program. Additional songs and videos will be available at www.jumpstart.com.

For children who are drawn to music, JumpStart Reading Karaoke is a brilliant way to teach reading. This software ingeniously incorporates the children's voices into the activities by having them frequently speak or sing into the microphone. JumpStart Reading Karaoke is a unique and effective way to teach reading to musical learners.