Super Star Phonics Language Arts Review 3A and 3B are educational lessons on CD-ROM that help users learn and review fundamental language arts skills. These discs offer an engaging sports theme and animated young adult characters that teach students through interactive games, mini lectures (called "coach time"), and activities. To use this program, you will need a computer running Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7 or MAC OS X Version 10.3 or later, with basic peripherals such as a CD-ROM drive, sound card, keyboard, and mouse. 

Level 3A introduces word families and patterns, syllables, antonyms and synonyms, homophones and homographs, classifying and sorting, prefixes, root words, and suffixes, as well as reading comprehension strategies and spelling. This level targets students in grades 7-12, but is also appropriate for adults who need remediation or those whose first language is not English. Because this level is based on third grade standards, it would benefit younger children as well. Level 3B targets ages 11 and up and is designed primarily as an introduction or review of grammar concepts such as nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs and their tenses, punctuation and capitalization, and subject-verb agreement. This level also includes types of literature, writing a paragraph, and spelling and reading comprehension strategies. 

Each leveled disc boasts over 12 hours worth of games and interactive activities, and there is a password-protected section that allows the parent/teacher to manage up to 50 students. In this section, the parent/teacher can print activity pages and awards, check individual student or class progress, and view an extensive user guide complete with lesson plans and additional activities. Super Star Phonics Language Arts Review is perfect for all types of learners, but especially visual and auditory. The program is easy to use and tells the user where to go and what to do every step of the way. 

My children in grades 4, 8, and 10 all had a good time playing with both levels of this program. We used it as a supplement to our current Language Arts curriculum. The program helped to reinforce what my older children already knew and introduced my younger student to information we had not yet covered, such as the types of literature, and it aided in explaining what we were currently learning about writing skills. The graphics used in the program were well done and streamed smoothly with no choppiness, unlike other programs we have tried in the past that were graphically intense. 

After fully reviewing this program, I was very pleased with it and would have no problem recommending it to others. At $32.95 per level, this program may not be cost-effective for all families, but the plus side is that the discs can be used repeatedly for subsequent students. So over the long term it would be a great investment. Overall, I give Levels 3A and 3B of Super Star Phonics Language Arts Review a well-deserved A+! 

Product review by Dawn Huffmaster, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, March 2010