PM Gems
For
early
readers, here's innovative software that provides support and
encouragement to make reading a rewarding experience.
Years K to 2
Details
More excellent reading software...
The PM Gems Software offers many useful features, including:
-
stories read in clear speech with Australian accents;
-
the ability to hear individual words spoken aloud by clicking on them;
-
a facility to enable children to write their own versions of the stories, hear them read aloud by the computer, and (subject to the teacher's permission) print them;
-
extensive teacher options, including the ability to create different user-groups, each with their own settings;
-
comprehensive tracking options, allow the teacher to monitor the progress of a whole group or of each individual;
-
questions and activities for every book.
It provides a clearly spoken reading of each story, and related activities.
READING
As
with the original PM Story Books software, the main feature of new
packages is the “Read” facility. The computer reads
each page of the stories aloud, in a pre-recorded Australian voice,
and a moving underline (optionally) highlights each word as it is
spoken. This allows children to associate the sound of each
word with its printed appearance and its meaning – which is what
reading is all about! Students can also click on any word to
hear it.
WRITING
Children
can write their own version of each story, can save it and (if the
teacher permits) can print it and hear it spoken (using the
computer's text-to-speech engine). This facility is aimed more
at slightly older children.
NEW
- QUESTIONS
A
series of questions accompanies each story. These test and
reinforce students' comprehension of the content of each story and
their familiarity with its vocabulary and key words.
NEW
- ACTIVITIES
There
is also a number of activities to go with each story. These are
very varied, including spelling and phonic exercises, missing-word
puzzles, and other activities related to the plot of the story, such
as climbing trees, catching fish, popping balloons and solving jigsaw
puzzles. These provide a very popular and involving way of
reinforcing the vocabulary and content of each story.
ENHANCED
TEACHER FACILITIES
Teachers
can arrange students in different user-groups, each with its own
settings, and can easily inspect the progress of either an entire
group or of an individual student. These reports show
which questions and activities each student has completed, thus
giving a good measure of their progress and understanding.
Pricing
within
Australia
|
PM Gems |
Availability |
Format |
Single user |
Site licence |
|
Magenta
CD |
mid 2007 |
Windows + Mac dual format CD |
$165 |
$330 |
|
Red
CD |
NOW |
Windows + Mac dual format CD |
$165 |
$330 |
|
Yellow
CD |
mid 2007 |
Windows + Mac dual format CD |
$165 |
$330 |
|
Blue
CD |
mid 2007 |
Windows + Mac dual format CD |
$165 |
$330 |
|
Green
CD |
mid 2007 |
Windows + Mac dual format CD |
$165 |
$330 |