Learning Ladder Year 6 is another excellent CD-ROM from Dorling Kindersley. It's aimed at children aged 10-11 and structured so that children listen to a lesson and then carry out exercises that help to consolidate the literacy and numeracy they are learning as part of the school curriculum. This CD-ROM would be invaluable for any child in Year 6 who is preparing for their SATs. Exercises can be done at five different levels of difficulty, so that children are challenged and continue to make progress. For every 400 points that a child scores, they are rewarded with new pictures to use with the printing machine. As they gather more pictures they can enjoy designing their own cards, invitations and labels, which can be printed out.
Children can also have lots of fun navigating around Science City and learning lots of facts along the way. For example, they can find out about animals, food chains and gravity. The progress tracker clearly shows how each child is getting on with a system of green and red lights. This would quickly show parents where more help is needed. --Amanda York
