LeapTrack Reading Pro Reading Instruction System

By Jeffrey Hastings -- School Library Journal, 6/1/2006

LeapFrog SchoolHouse, 6401 Hollis Street, Suite 100, Emeryville, CA 94608 (800) 883-7430 www.leaptrack.com/readingpro $1,865 without Quantum LeapPads, $2,695 with Quantum LeapPads.

As you may have heard, struggling young readers can no longer be left behind. The people at LeapFrog SchoolHouse are hoping that lots of schools will choose their newly released LeapTrack Reading Pro system as a means of bringing struggling readers in grades three through eight back up to speed.

At the heart of the bundle are sets of print materials—a sequence of books featuring high-interest nonfiction articles and related skill cards—that are designed to spring to interactive life when used with the Quantum Pad learning system. If you haven’t used one, the Quantum Pad looks sort of like a small laptop but unfolds to reveal little more than an electronic stylus, an on/off switch and a recessed “nest” into which the reading system’s worksheets and spiral-bound books are placed.

The stylus pen is actually a little RF antenna. When you click on something with the pen, the Quantum Pad is able to triangulate its location based upon its reception of multiple radio signals—kind of like a GPS system in miniature. As I checked out the sample instructional materials, I used the stylus pen to select activities, indicate answers, and click on words and phrases to listen to pronunciations and definitions. As with every LeapFrog product I’ve tested, the unit delivered good audio quality both when using the built-in speaker and the supplied headset. And the voices employed in the software sound clear and expressive, never mechanical.

LeapFrog has obviously put a lot of thought into the reading program’s instructional design. Placement testing determines which of the six levels of entry into the instructional sequence is best for each student. Activities within the 28 units of study focus on previewing selections, comprehension strategies, and word analysis. Using the LeapTrack software on a PC or Mac, teachers can monitor student progress on a skill-by-skill basis. When a student repeatedly fails to master a particular skill, the teacher is alerted and a supplementary intervention is suggested. Detailed reports can be created to document individual and group progress—a big plus in our increasingly data-driven profession.