November 04, 1999|By Katherine Foran. Special to the Tribune.
Madeline's 1st and 2nd Grade Math is the latest software product to capitalize on the charming little French figure and her adventures recounted in books first published 60 years ago. This Learning Company release, priced at $30, features two CD-ROMs that help reinforce basic 1st and 2nd grade math skills. This time, Madeline motivates budding mathematicians as she meanders through two Parisian museums, jumping in and out of famous paintings.
Disk 1 for 1st graders asks players to click on any of nine paintings at the Louvre to activate games offering practice in basic addition and subtraction, measurement and patterns.
The 2nd grade disk features a Salvador Dali takeoff, Time Meltdown, that helps develop analog and digital time-telling skills.
Players can learn to count to 100 in Spanish and French and print out workbook sheets to practice Madeline-inspired math drills away from the computer. Each disk features 20 printable pages.
More mathematically adept 1st graders also might want to work on the second disk, which features an almost identical format. Most activities recap 1st-grade activities, only at a more challenging level, though fractions, telling time, multiplication and more challenging addition and subtraction problems.
As players complete problems they earn money. By clicking on a purse icon, they also can practice converting small change into larger amounts and changing coins into dollars. Eventually, players get to practice using money as they buy mementos at the museum gift shops.
The program, which is being marketed to girls, offers a solid math workout for the intended grade levels. However, both disks are heavy on straight addition and subtraction; measurement receives scant attention, and there is no introduction to fractions, multiplication or time-telling until the second disk. There are many other math products out there, including several by The Learning Company itself, that do a better job of challenging children's math abilities while keeping them engaged.
Even girls who can't get enough of Madeline might end up weary of this character's phony accent and endless saccharine praise every time they click the mouse.
The program requires Windows 95 or later to run with 16MB of RAM or Macintosh System 7.1 or later with 16MB of RAM.
Overall: (star) (star); game play: (star) (star); graphics: (star) (star); sound: (star) (star)
