ClueFinders 4th Grade Adventures: Puzzle of the Pyramid

In this adventure, a wicked archaeologist unleashes chaos. Kids will strengthen reading and math skills while solving puzzles and collecting clues.

Younger children can find learning through multimedia software difficult, but ClueFinders 4th Grade Adventures wraps its educational material up in an adventure game, the idea being that you hardly notice the educational parts. To that end, our clue-finding heroes get into all sorts of scrapes during their adventures. In this CD-ROM they--and Socrates the dog--find themselves on an archaeological dig in Egypt. While there, they discover an evil archaeologist's plot to unleash chaos on the world. Needless to say, the ClueFinders set out to foil his plans.

ClueFinders 4th Grade Adventures incorporates challenges that test skills in logical thinking, math, science, geography, and language. There is a document for parents explaining how these skills are addressed in each of the activities, and the effects achieved by switching between the four difficulty levels in each of them.

A bonus CD, the ClueFinders Adventure Kit, comes with ClueFinders 4th Grade Adventures, offering various fun activities, such as an adventure logbook with which to record your own escapades. --Sandra Vogel

Journey to exotic Egypt on an archaeological dig with the ClueFinders. Your mission: to uncover a sinister plot to unleash a dangerous ancient force upon the world. The ClueFinders need your help; but be warned, you'll need spirit, spunk, and smarts to solve tricky challenges along the way. From building a bridge to interpreting mysterious scrolls, every activity is a thrill-packed learning opportunity, tailor-made for eager fourth graders. Kids explore 21 dynamic activities made just for fourth graders, and progress through four increasingly challenging skill levels. Along the way, they will build more than 60 essential fourth-grade skills in math, language arts, science, geography, and problem solving. There are tricky spots to get around, with a boost from the detailed built-in help feature.

The learning process can be extended after the computer is turned off with the Real World Adventure Kit included in the program. It lets kids create cool maps for treasure hunts with the Map Maker. The Logbook and Calendar can be used to plan activities, keep on schedule, and record daily thoughts and achievements. Create, encode, and print top-secret messages with the Encoder/Decoder, and make good dollars-and-cents sense with the Money Tracker. The Sound Transformer can change the sound of your voice, your dog's bark, or any sound you can record.