The Number Crew: Know Your Numbers 1

KS1 (Years 1 - 2)

Mathematics

This product is distributed by Channel 4 Learning (Tel: 08701 246444)

This CD-ROM presents basic Maths skills in a helpful way and offers a useful support for class teaching on the subject areas offered. It is based on a Channel 4 TV programme, which I personally have not seen, but that will add to the interest level for children familiar with the programme. The fact that it has the facility to keep the individual scores of a whole class is a very useful feature, particularly for assessment purposes.

This piece of software is excellent in supporting children's experiences with numbers to 100 and other related concepts, by introducing and reinforcing them through fun, yet educational activities and skill tests. It is well designed and offers a wide selection for a variety of interests and abilities of children at Key Stage 1. Children are motivated by the animated characters, music, visual and sound effects.

I used one of the activities on the CD-ROM to support children with Special Educational Needs to achieve understanding of a particular Maths concept - ordering numbers.

The software was used to reinforce and extend the children's learning in the Numeracy Hour. The teacher used the learning objectives for that lesson and matched these where appropriate, to an activity for different groups of children. For instance, the objective was 'to count to one hundred in tens' and the characters guided the children through the task, giving oral support where necessary. The activity involved a lion in a multi-coloured car moving up and down a number line. Once the task had been completed, the children were tested with the corresponding skills test. The children worked on the computer in a range of different groupings and, following the instructions on the chart next to the computer, they were able to select the appropriate activity for that lesson. Due to the program's ease of use and navigation, the children's work was independently differentiated by working through the various levels of difficulty and depending on their completion of tasks. To defuse the children's temptation to work on other activities on the software, the class had time to explore the software in other sessions. This piece of software provides fun activities, which match some of the objectives from the National Numeracy Strategy and can be used for reinforcement. This is an incredible piece of software. It is easy to navigate, provides extra support for Special Educational Needs children, records progress, has suitable activities at differentiated levels so that it stretches the more able pupils and is fun and challenging, especially in the skill tests that are designed to test children's mental agility. Even the children request this program in preference to the others.