Speaking Starspell 1.0
by Gerry Kennedy
Speaking Starspell V1.0 from Fisher-Marriott
For PC Compatible running MS Windows
Speaking Starspell V1 is a spelling drill and practice game. It has hundreds of pre-programmed words arranged in defined categories. Many of the words have associated graphics. The voice quality is excellent, with good clear intonation. Every word is clearly enunciated. Starspell caters to primary school aged children as well as to junior secondary. You can select your own level as well as turn sound on or off. The rewards are very simple, with a voiced “good”, “well done” or “yes” indicating successful spelling of a word. Incorrect spellings are dealt with cleverly. The letters move up and then into their correct position in an animated sequence that clearly demonstrates how the word should have been typed. Students can use a keyboard, onscreen keyboard program (e.g. Clicker 5, Discover:Screen) or an IntelliKeys.
It provides the tried and tested “look/listen/cover/write” check format. Words are arranged in lists.
Early Practice |
Beginning Sounds (e.g. ‘b’, ‘c’, ‘d’, ‘f’ etc.) as onsets Rhyming Endings (‘ad’, ‘ag’, ‘am’, ‘ot’, ‘um’ ‘ap’ etc.) |
Single-Letter Sounds |
Short vowels (e.g. a e i o and u as well as short vowel plurals) Final Consonant Blends (e.g. ‘ll’, ‘ck’, ‘mp’, ‘nd’, ‘sk’ etc.) Initial Consonant Blends e.g. ‘bl’, ‘cl’ ‘tr’, ‘gr’, ‘sw’, ‘spl’ etc.) ‘y’ as a vowel (e.g. “y” as in ‘happy’, “y’ as in ‘fly’ |
Compound-Letter Sounds |
(e.g. ‘ch’, ‘sh’, ‘th’ etc.); Double vowels; Paired vowels Vowels with ‘v’, ‘w’, ‘y’, ‘gh’, ‘wh’, ‘ph’, ‘thr’, ‘shr’ etc.) |
Single-Letter Sounds altered by one letter |
(e.g. final ‘e’, soft ‘c’ and soft ‘g’ |
Silent Letters |
(e.g. ‘kn’, ‘gn’, ‘l’, ‘t’, silent final ‘e’, silent ‘c’ as in ‘sc’ etc.) |
Changes Before Endings |
(e.g. double consonant when adding ‘ing’, ‘er’ or ‘est’) Adding ‘es’ after ‘sh’, ‘ch’ Other Changes (e.g. lose ‘e’ to add ‘ing’, go to ‘ie’ when adding ‘s’, ‘—f’ and ‘-fe’ to ‘-ves’ |
Prefixes and Suffixes |
Prefixes 1 and Suffixes 1 and 2 |
Other Spelling Patterns |
‘u’ as in ‘push’, ‘a’ as in ‘father, ‘gh’ as in ‘ff’. NOTE: there are 20 spelling patterns in this list. |
Lists With Themes |
Ninety (90) common words; Useful Words; Words Frequently Misspelled Subject specific Words (e.g. English, Maths, IT, Art, Music, History, R.E., Geography etc.) Necessary Business Words 1 2 and 3, Do you double the letters? 1 2 and 3, Awkward words 1 2 and 3 |
Speaking Starspell is a straightforward package. The program starts with a list of headings, where you choose the one that you want. You click your choice and then it is highlighted. A subset of headings appears which relates to your choice. Again, highlight one and click OK. You are then presented with a set of lists. As you highlight a list, the words in the list appear. You click OK when you have highlighted the list you want. Spelling practice begins, using that word list. You can select Back at any time to go back to the previous level, if you change your mind or make a mistake.
A word appears and is clearly spoken. Some words have pictures. If the word list has a letter pattern, the pattern in the word will be highlighted. If you do not hear the word, you can click the Ear button to hear the word again. After a certain length of time, the word disappears. The user then has to spell the word, then click OK or press the ENTER key. If you spell the word correctly, you move on to the next word. If you are mistaken, Starspell rebuilds the word and you try again. This continues until you get the word right.
There are a number of user settings that can be changed and altered at any time to cater to individual or group needs. You can change how long the word shows, and many other features. Upon completion of a set of words, a window shows the list of words spelled that learner did not get right first time, and the time taken. To choose a different list of words, you simply click Menu. The user is encouraged to type a name. By clicking Print, the program will provide a record of the session, including the date, the learner’s name, the word list, and those words which need more practice. The user can obtain a printout by clicking Print at the end of a list. The printout will include the date, the name entered by the learner, the word list, and those words that need extra practice. In addition, the results from each session can be kept on file as a permanent record. The list and the learner’s name are kept. For diagnostic help, each attempt at a spelling is recorded.
To customise the learning strategies you have a number of options: changing word order; timing and animation speed; speech and sounds on or off. You can change the font, the size and shape of the letters and the colours as well as changing the colours used in the spelling practice. You can also restore default settings (i.e. restore timings, fonts, colours, etc. to their original values). Another option is to reset Sound Card. A great feature is where you can choose between UK and USA spellings and enable or disable the option to print results at the end of the practice. Teachers can create own lists or prepare one or more word lists from scratch. You are able to edit own lists and add more word lists or change your current lists.
Note: The latest version which has been improved and upgraded for Windows XP is Starspell 2.2. It has been completely re-written and has numerous new features and activities. It now includes words in context sentences, onset-rime activities, lists of words taken from the UK National Literacy Strategy documents, hangman and anagram games. It will also print out worksheets for you, to complete away from the computer. It is an ideal literacy package!