Dino Beach

Game Summary:
This game consists of five question-and-answer activities that 
flow into one another and advance in difficulty as the game 
progresses. Your child is in phase 2-4. These phases are designed 
to move quickly through a very limited set of elements.

This game is intended for those children on the brink of fully 
comprehending letter-sound relationships and who are almost 
ready to form words. If your child has played the Phonics Toy 
successfully or has had some prereading instruction in school, he 
or she will be very comfortable with Dino Beach. 


Let's Play:

Phase two: 
In this phase a picture still appears in the surfboard but the 
meteors contain consonant onsets. Mick tells your child to "Find 
the letter that sounds like" the onset of whatever object is pictured 
in the surfboard. A correct answer will again result in 
congratulations from Elvis the Dinosaur or Jimi, as the red 
lightning bolts appear at the bottom of the screen.

If your child makes an incorrect selection, the same sequence will 
occur as was indicated for phase one. Mick will repeat the word 
being asked for and the word will appear in a yellow box. Your 
child will then have an opportunity to answer this question again.


Phase three: 
This phase begins when the pictures in the surfboard are 
accompanied by meteors that contain rimes, rather than onsets. 
Mick will tell your child to match the pictures in the surfboard 
with the rimes that are contained in the meteors. Any errors are 
followed by the already-established correction sequence. 

The first three phases of Dino Beach are intended to be played 
quickly, since the pictures provide a concrete reference point for 
your child. If your child has difficulty with any of these first three 
phases, they should go back to the Main Hub, single-click on the 
Phonics Toy screen, and play that game until they have gained 
confidence with letter-sopund correspondence. You will know 
when your child has entered the final two phases of Dino Beach 
when all of the pictures have been removed and only letters 
appear on the surfboard and in the meteors.


Phase four: 
For this more challenging phase Mick asks your child to pair an 
onset or a rime that is on the surfboard with a selection of onsets 
or rimes in the meteors to create the word he is playing. For 
example, if the surfboard shows the onset c, and Mick is playing 
the word cat, Mick asks your child to find the rime among those 
on the meteors that will complete the word cat. By this stage your 
child is mastering letter sounds and their combinations. If your 
child has difficulty with this phase, you may want to comfort him 
or her by returning to the Phonics Toy and playing along for a 
while. Five to ten minutes a day of practice will work wonders.

When this phase is over, a series of yellow boxes will appear in 
the center of the screen. In these, Mick will review your child's 
progress by slowly sounding out words that your child has learned 
in the game thus far. When this sequence has ended and the 
surfboard and meteors can be viewed once again, the most 
difficult part of Dino Beach will commence.


Printing Note:  
You can print this file, for your personal use, by loading 
HELPB.TXT into your text editor.

Copyright 1993 D.C. True, Ltd.

