CM Magazine: Time 4 Teachers: 400 Language Arts Time Saving Blackline Masters.

________________ CM . . . . Volume VII Number 8 . . . . December 15, 2000

Time 4 Teachers: 400 Language Arts Time Saving Blackline Masters.

Time4Teachers (1898 Bonito Cres., Nanoose, BC, V9P 9J1), 2000(?).
CD-ROM, PC and Mac version, $45.00 ($200 for lab packs of five CD's and Site Licenses consisting of 8CD's and network permission are $350., plus S&H).

Minimum System Requirements

PC
Microsoft Windows '95 or '98.
Pentium Processor
Ram: 16 MB (32 MB recommended)
Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer v4.0
Word '97 or Microsoft Office '97

Macintosh
68040 or PPC
RAM: 16 MB (32 MB recommended)
Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer v4.0
Microsoft Word for Macintosh or Microsoft Office '98 Macintosh Edition.
Time4Teachers (CD-ROM)

Professional for Grade 2 - 7 teachers.
Review by Gail Hamilton.

**** /4

Designed for use with a number of platforms (Microsoft Word and Microsoft Office '98 for Macintosh and Microsoft Word '97 for Windows '95), this CD-ROM contains more than 400 time-saving blackline masters for language arts. Created by teachers, the timesavers can be adapted easily and quickly to suit an entire class or an individual student. A wealth of materials is provided: posters, banners, buttons, timetables, class lists, calendars, notes to parents and substitute teachers, assessment ideas for teachers and self-check lists for students, to name a few. There are activities for spelling, reading, writing (forms of poetry, story maps, letter-writing, for example) and research.
The CD-ROM is easy to use and lists all of the blackline masters alphabetically. Graphics and an attractive layout will appeal to teachers and students alike. For those fortunate enough to have access to a colour printer, there are several colourful borders, worksheets, bookmarks and buttons to reproduce. Though there is really nothing new in this collection of activities (and what a collection it is!), it is well worth the price on two counts: time-saving (after all, who can find, in a hurry, a specific page in a certain book?) and adaptability. With proven strategies to help teachers create, develop and implement an effective language arts program, this useful and practical CD will be a welcome addition to any teacher's bag of tricks.

Highly Recommended.

Gail Hamilton is a teacher-librarian at Bird's Hill School in East St. Paul, MB.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

Published by
The Manitoba Library Association
ISSN 1201-9364

TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR THIS ISSUE - December 15, 2000.