The ASL Tales and Games for Kids CD series follows Paws, the signing dog, and his friends as they explore their neighborhood, Pawstown, USA. Each piece of software contains 3 community-focused stories and 10 games. Neighborhood children are deaf, hard of hearing, hearing, or multiply disabled, and represent different ethnic groups. Signing video and/or audio are options for accessing information. Recommended for ages 3-8.

 

Leash Lane focuses on events that take place on one street in Pawstown. The stories are original and written to promote good English literacy, while simultaneously teaching important aspects of ASL. Each story can be viewed continuously, without the child needing to manipulate the mouse, or the child can control the story himself. Elizabeth Sorkin, a deaf actress, signs each sentence dressed as Paws, the signing dog. Any word that is colored blue can be seen individually signed. Each story has three games, which reinforce skills in literacy, spelling, visual perception, mathematics, categorization, memory, computer skills, and creativity.

The CD also contains a picture dictionary of the sign/English vocabulary used in the stories. Click on the word to have it signed/said. The dictionary pictures can be printed! Children also can visit the Imagination Studio on Leash Lane, and discover some fascinating solutions for common problems. Maybe your child can think of some himself/herself.

 

Hop on the Bus!: The Pawstown school bus travels around Pawstown picking up the neighborhood children. In this story, children learn directionality – left and right, basic map-reading skills, and simple addition. The story encourages children to use prediction, an important component in reading comprehension.

 

My Best Friend is Missing!: This story exposes children to different kinds of questions that ask them to think about facial detail, an important part of ASL grammar, when Horatio goes to the police station to report his missing best friend. Children learn adjectives and facial expressions associated with them in ASL as he describes his friend. Visualization and observational skills emphasized reinforce reading and signing comprehension.

Is It Here Yet?: This story clears up the mystery to children of how our mail reaches its destination. Muffy learns what happens when she orders a t-shirt through the mail. This story focuses on learning the names of the week and sequencing of events, conceptually and in ASL.

 

 

Minimum System Requirements:
* Windows XP, Vista, or 7
* CD-ROM drive 16x
* 250 MB hard drive space
* Color SVGA monitor that supports at least True Color (16 bit)