Thinkin' Things 1 2.0

Our children will live and work in an Information Age that we can only begin to imagine. As they master the basic skills of the three Rs, they must now also develop a broader, higher-level set of thinking skills that will transfer to the workplace of the future.

Edmark® Thinkin' Things was designed to offer young students experiences with a variety of thinking skills: memory, critical thinking, problem solving, and creativity - in short, all the twenty-first century skills that today's young learners need.

Set in Toony the Loon’s Lagoon, early learners encounter colorful, fun characters as they complete challenges that are automatically adjusted to meet individual learning needs. With all instructions spoken by the characters, reading is not required so that non-readers can participate fully.

FREE LEARNING GUIDE - A teacher's guide is available from the Thinkin' Things site. Click on the "Software MacKiev's Web Site" link at the bottom of this page.

Designed for: Pre-K-2, ages 3-8

THE FIVE ACTIVITY AREAS

1. TOONY THE LOON'S LAGOON: Students build auditory and visual memory as they repeat Toony the Loon’s musical patterns. They create their melodies with wacky xylophones.
2. ORANGA BANGA®: Students need to watch and listen carefully as Oranga Banga plays on his funky drum set and then repeat what he plays.
3. FEATHERED FRIENDS: Young learners create the missing bird in the series by understanding attributes, differences, patterns, and analogies.
4. FRIPPLE™ GUIDES: Students have a lesson in Boolean logic while filling customer orders for Fripples.
5. BLOX FLYING SHAPES: Students experiment with motion and shapes to create works of kinetic art blending music, art, science, and play.

FOR EDUCATORS - MORE ABOUT THINKIN' THINGS

Thinkin’ Things celebrates intellectual diversity by engaging different types of intelligence through various activities.

• A student’s musical and rhythmic intelligence may shine when working with Toony the Loon.
• Visual and spatial intelligence are stimulated through activities like creating with BLOX.
• Logical and mathematical intelligence is engaged with Fripple Guides and Feathered Friends.

Thinkin' Things also focuses on how students learn and offers warm experiences fostering self-confidence, exploration, creativity, and persistence. The software assesses a student's capabilities automatically adjusting the difficulty level as they progress. Teachers can monitor student progress using the "grow slide" function.

LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES

• Compare and contrast attributes
• Improve visual and auditory memory
• Hypothesize and test rules
• Strengthen creativity
• Create and discern patterns
• Complete visual analogies
• Strengthen ability to conceptualize and evaluate
• Recognize visual and auditory strengths