How Good is FCAT Explorer?
As a teacher, I use it at school during our scheduled Computer Lab time, and encourage the kids to use it at home on their personal computer. I print out a sticky label with their login and password information and stick it on the front cover of their agenda.
The actual 3rd grade section, "Galactic Library" is pretty kid-friendly. Once you log in, you select "Galactic Library" and just follow the directions. I like that FCAT Explorer does vocabulary, phonics, and comprehension. When a student answers a comprehension question incorrectly, the program highlights the part of the passage where the answer can be found, in yellow. This helps the kids "go back and find the answer".
For answers they get correct the first time they answer it, they get a diamond. If they get it right on the second try, they get a green circle, and if they get it wrong no matter how much help the computer gives them, they get a red circle.
It also features the ability to login as a teacher and check the progress of your students.
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