an instructional software website....

I recently examined the instructional software website of www.riverdeep.com, the website famous for the 'Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?" game that I remember as so interesting when I was a young adolescent. In addition to the afore-mentioned game located under the website's Social Studies heading, instructional software is available for math, reading, science, and various other subjects. As a future English educator, I perused the reading offerings and found the 'Edmark Functional Word Series' that is designed for K-12 students. This product is designed to "teach the functional vocabulary necessary for independent community living" and features specific modules covering the following applicable areas: signs around you; fast food/restaurant words; grocery words; and job/work words. The product comes with over 1200 worksheets to teach and reinforce the various vocabulary words from the lessons. In my opinion, this is certainly a tool that could be utilized in a secondary classroom if a teacher is dealing with ESL students or students that are struggling with vocabulary. As drill-and-practice instructional software, it will provide immediate feedback to students and motivate students to practice through a variety of exercises.