Wordy QWerty

It's

REVIEW DAY

and today I am bringing to you

from

Talking Fingers

WORDY QWERTY - FOUNDATIONS FOR READING AND WRITING FLUENCY

Introducing you to Wordy Qwerty are fun characters QWERTY the word coach [computer keyboard with hands] and MIDI the musician [piano keyboard with hands] on what is expected of your student throughout the exercises.  

QWERTY the word coach

"Two engaging characters, Midi the musician and Qwerty the word coach, enlist children to help them accumulate the "spheres" that are needed to play Midi's music machine. Children do this by successfully mastering six activities in each of twenty lessons. They learn to recognize patterns in words, type to dictation, write and read stories, and listen to and sing songs that will help them remember how words are spelled and pronounced and what they mean." 

Rhino Legend rolled his eyes at the way the keyboard talked at first, but once I pointed out the voice sounded like the robot at the old Star Tours ride at Hollowood Studios he was a lot more willing to play along. 

WQ Introduces 20 Spelling Rules from Silent E to CH or TCH to I before E. 

"The overall purpose of Wordy Qwerty: Foundations for Reading and Writing Fluency, is to improve phonological and morphological sensitivity, to develop a deeper understanding of how words are constructed in English, and to provide reading and writing activities with helpful feedback, in order to increase fluency and comprehension in reading and writing. Wordy Qwerty has 20 lessons, with six activities per lesson, that present the following foundations for fluency:

Some sounds can be represented in several different ways.


Most words follow about 20 easy spelling rules.


There are many word families, (words that sound the same, or rhyme). By changing the first letter(s), you can make hundreds of words.


Some words are "outlaws". They don't follow the rules. They must be recognized quickly and automatically.


Writing to dictation develops vocabulary, comprehension and fluency as well as spelling skills.


Reading (and filling in missing words) develops vocabulary, comprehension, and fluency skills 

When a new rule/lesson is introduced QWERTY explains clearly what to do.  When an answer is correct your student receives points indicated by a fun harp sound.  They earn points and move on to next level.  When an answer is incorrect your student hears a short buzzer sound.  The Helping Hands pop up next to the keyboard and show them how to do it correctly.  Helpling Hands show your student how their hands/fingers are supposed to be positioned correctly on the keyboard."

Once an exercise is completed QWERTY and/or MIDI comes out to tell your student what a good job they have done and explain more about the Rule. Once the level is completed a song about the rule is sung. The second time around the student is given the ability to Sing Along on their own.  Rhino Legend still to this day thinks those songs are too silly for him but they get their point across. 

Video Clip of Karaoke HERE.

There are a variety of games to hold your students interest and to really ingrain in them grammar, reading and spelling.  For example, one of the story exercises, Read Stories, is a short paragraph with missing words.  The student clicks on the blank and decides which one of the available word choices makes the most sense.  You will find a section on SAT testing that is very similar so they are not only helping them with grammar, reading and spelling but testing skills as well.

Exercises include:

1. Patterns - sorting words depending on the beginning letter sound

2. Karaoke - rhymes and catchy songs introducing 20 spelling rules

3. Recycler - different vowel combinations teaching student to distinguish real from non- words

4. Pop a Word - arcade type game finding the correct word and balloon pops

5. Write Stories - 8 line rhymes to see and hear - then remember/type the sentence and correctly spell the words

6. Read Stories - short paragraphs that develop comprehension, vocabulary and fluency - find the correct word to go in the blank to complete the story.

  

"Wordy Qwerty is targeted at 7 to 10 year olds who have learned the basics of phonics and word identification and are poised to master more complex reading and writing skills in order to become enthusiastic and capable readers and writers. It uniquely uses a writing-to-read approach in order to provide individualized feedback and to activate and connect essential areas of the brain."

Suggested retail pricing (SRP) for the Home Edition of Wordy Qwerty is $35. The SRP for a Single School Edition (with two sets of CDs) is $55.  Go to Talking Fingers store and find WQ here.

System requirements:
Mac: OS9/ CarbonLib or OSX
Windows: Windows/98/SE/2000/xp

Rhino Legend:  My favorite 'games' are Pop a Word, The Recycler and trying to figure out what [MIDI's] music machine is going to be. 

 For a child who loves to learn on the computer and needs more encouragement with their reading, comprehension and vocabulary this is a fun program.  Your child will learn so much more than you think at first glance. 

From My Heart to Yours,

Mindy B.