Trial Program Guide

DEVELOPING CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS
for Effective Reading for Upper Grades
Skill levels 8 - 11

Trial version: second level of each set

Set 3: (Levels 7, 8, 9) 
Set 4: (Levels 10, 11, 12)

Windows or MS-DOS (VGA display)

OVERVIEW

Designed for middle school through high school, this program can be used 
as well by ESL or adult students for remediation. Emphasis is placed on 
thinking about word relationships and recognizing proper inferences, main 
ideas, and logical sequence of sentences. Each lesson is self-directing 
and self-correcting and presents both read-in-context word replacement 
questions and comprehension questions as well as crossword puzzles. 
Students receive graphic rewards.

Each set consists of three levels. The topics represented are: history and 
culture, music and the arts, nature and science, historical figures, 
famous personalities, entertainment and recreation, and unusual facts.

MOUSE OPTION

You may use the mouse, or the keyboard, as soon as the first exercise is 
on the screen.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Each level contains twenty texts. There are three texts to a round. 
The student's understanding of each text is tested in four parts: 
(1) vocabulary  (2) reading comprehension  (3) text description  
(4) crossword puzzle.

Students must get at least 70 percent on part 1 to go on to part 2, 
70 percent on part 2 to go on to part 3, and 70 percent on part 3 to 
go on to part 4, the puzzle. The program allows each text to remain 
on screen at the same time as questions or puzzle, so the student can 
refer to the text when choosing an answer.

In part 1, the student reads through the text and is then presented with 
vocabulary-in-context questions: three or four words are consecutively 
highlighted, and the student is asked to select the best replacement or 
definition from among four multiple-choice answers.

In part 2, the student is asked to answer two comprehension questions from 
among the following possibilities: the best title for the paragraph; a 
sentence that could logically begin the paragraph; a sentence that could 
logically be put within the paragraph; a sentence that would best complete 
the paragraph; a sentence that tells something that is not actually 
stated. If the student asks for help, the computer will suggest a way to 
find the correct answer. The student does not lose any points for getting 
this help. Whenever a student answers incorrectly, s/he is told why that 
answer is incorrect and is asked to try again.

In part 3, the student is given four words or phrases and is asked to 
choose the two that best describe what the text is about. The student must 
get both choices correct. If one is correct, s/he is told one choice is 
correct and is asked to try again. This exercise is designed to help the 
student identify the main idea and see the difference between a main idea 
and a supporting detail. Many students may be unfamiliar with this type of 
comprehension question. It may take a couple of rounds before they master 
the technique.

In part 4, the student is given a crossword puzzle to fill in. Each time 
the student asks for help with a word, the computer gives one letter. Most 
of the answer words and clues are based on the text, and many appear in 
the text. In the School versions of the program, if typing is too 
difficult the teacher has the option of eliminating the puzzle exercise.

When the student begins, three texts in each round are chosen randomly 
from the level's lower reading range. The student is shown a summary of 
his/her scores after each round of three texts or anytime s/he exits the 
program. The summary will indicate the number of texts completed in the 
round and on the level. It will also show the average score for each part 
completed in the round.

In parts 1, 2, and 3, students get twice as much credit for answering 
correctly on the first try as on the second try. If the student gets a 
"You are having trouble" message after any of these parts, it means the 
student's score was not high enough to go on to the next part of that 
text. Any text on which the student fails to score high enough on parts 
1, 2, and 3 will be included in the pool of randomly chosen texts for 
subsequent rounds.

In part 4, students lose points for each incorrect letter and for each 
hint; the scoring works in favor of a student who can spell even a small 
portion of a word correctly on the first try. Doing poorly on part 4 does 
not prevent the student from moving ahead.

The round is completed when the student passes the first three parts.

RECORD MANAGEMENT

To see student records, run RECORD from the directory, or press [CONTROL]T 
while at the title screen.

This version saves records for only two students. A third name will 
automatically replace a previously entered name. (The School version saves 
records for as many students as disk space allows. The Network version 
saves records for 1,000 students.)

The records can go to the screen or the printer. You may see the records 
of both students, or choose one of the student's scores. If you choose to 
look at the scores of both students, you may have them displayed in 
alphabetical order or from highest to lowest.

Use the following keys to make your selections:

ALT: Allows you to choose items in the Top Menu: (1) Order (2) View 
(3) Select (4) Print (5) Delete (6) Exit.  In each of the first three 
options, you will have the choice of selecting records from the Pull 
Down Menu by name, date, skills mastered, or class code.

TAB: Changes the category of information that is displayed in a fixed 
cycle, e.g., from students' names to last dates played, to highest 
mastered skill levels, to class codes, to a student's entire record 
and then back again to the students' names.

ENTER: Selects or deselects any piece of information on which the cursor 
is placed. Selected items can be viewed, printed, or deleted as a group. 
They appear on the screen highlighted in red.

Screen Layout:  Instructions are placed in color boxes at the bottom of 
the screen. The number appearing at the end of the last line of 
instructions on the screen indicates the position of the cursor in the 
total number of records. Just before this number is a description of what 
information is being displayed, e.g., name, date, etc.

Moving the Cursor: To move the cursor use the arrow keys. To see preceding 
screens, use the Page Up key. To go to following screens, use the Page 
Down key. To go to the beginning of a list, press the Home key. To get to 
the end of a list, press the End key.

To See Records: All information may be viewed on the screen or printed 
out. To clear previously selected records, choose Select from the Top 
Menu and Deselect from the Pull Down Menu. Note that your viewing 
selections are cleared each time the program is restarted or the computer 
is turned off. 

Examples

1. To print out the records of one class, follow these directions:

     Top Menu    Pull Down Menu     Other Keys     Remarks/Actions

ALT   Select          Class         Cursor keys    Find the beginning of
						   the class
				    
				    ENTER          Mark the beginning of                                
						   the class

				    Cursor keys    Find the end of the                                    
						   class
				    
				    ENTER          Mark the end of the 
						   class

ALT   View            Selected                     Now only that class is              
						   displayed. (Repeating        
						   this step would restore                    
						   screen as it was.)

ALT   Order           Name                         Class now alphabetized

ALT   Print           Selected                     Printing is optional.                                               Information can be          
						   Information can be 
						   viewed on the screen. 

2. To print the highest (or lowest) skill level, follow the steps 
above, replacing Class, from the Pull Down Menu, with Mastered.

3. To see the records of all students in a range on the screen, choose 
View from the Top Menu and choose Entire from the Pull Down Menu.

4.  To see the records of an individual student on the screen, place 
the cursor on the name of the student whose records you want to view, 
and press TAB to change the information displayed.

Record Management Error Fix:  If the program runs but does not keep 
student records properly, access the RECORD program and delete all 
records.

Copyright 1989-1996 Merit Audio Visual
All rights reserved GTDR
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

We hope you enjoy using DEVELOPING CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS FOR EFFECTIVE 
READING FOR UPPER GRADES. The School versions of this program contain the 
following:

1. Two sets of three levels of exercises

2. Record management for as many students as the disk space allows

3. A program guide

Merit offers a full range of educational software for writing, reading, 
grammar, vocabulary, ESL, and math. Merit software is available for 
networking for Novell and other LAN, and site licensing. School or 
Institutional Purchase Orders accepted.

We will be happy to answer any questions you might have.

MERIT AUDIO VISUAL 
(800) 753-6488   (212) 675-8567   FAX: (212) 675-8607

Call us Monday through Friday between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM Eastern 
Time. Or write MERIT AUDIO VISUAL, 132 W. 21 Street, New York, NY 
10011, for free software catalog.

This program is produced by a member of the Association of Shareware 
Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure that the shareware principle 
works for you.  If you are unable to resolve a shareware-related problem 
with an ASP member by contacting the member directly, ASP may be able to 
help. The ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute or problem with an 
ASP member, but does not provide technical support for members' products.  
Please write to the ASP Ombudsman at 545 Grover Road, Muskegon, MI 
49442-9427 USA, FAX 616-788-2765 or send a Compuserve message via 
CompuServe Mail to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536.


