As an early childhood professional, you know how important it is for children to build foundational skills in literacy and mathematics. With these skills, children set the stage for their future success as they learn to think critically, comprehend the written word, and solve problems.
Yet, as important as literacy and mathematics are, providing classroom activities that support their development and keep children engaged in learning can be challenging for many.
Kaplan and our educational technology partner, Alive Studios, provide an immersive and engaging curriculum support program to help you introduce foundational literacy and math concepts in fun and exciting ways. With Learning alive™ Zoo Keeper 8.0, you can use the power of 3D augmented reality to captivate children and hold their attention during circle time and group activities.
Continue reading to learn more about Learning alive Zoo Keeper 8.0, how it benefits children in the preschool classroom, and how you can incorporate the 3D augmented reality features and lessons into your daily lesson plans.
What is Learning alive Zoo Keeper 8.0?
Learning alive Zoo Keeper 8.0 is a supplemental instructional support program that uses 3D Augmented Reality technology to help children build foundational literacy, mathematics, and science skills. Children will interact with 3D animals as they learn new concepts, collaborate with their classmates, and experience the fun side of education. Learning alive Zoo Keeper 8.0 combines Letters alive Zoo Keeper 8.0 and Math alive Zoo Keeper 8.0, which you will read about later in this article.
How does Learning alive Zoo Keeper 8.0 benefit children during the preschool years?
Children learn best when they fully immerse themselves in an experience. With Learning alive Zoo Keeper 8.0, children will immerse themselves in a world of 3D animals and interactive lessons to learn vital foundational concepts such as:
- Letter recognition and phonics
- Counting and sorting
- Adding and subtracting
- Spelling and punctuation
- Teamwork and collaboration
There is so much this program can do to enrich children's lives and educational experiences in your classroom. Take a look at the two programs within Learning alive Zoo Keeper 8.0 and how you can use them to enrich your daily lessons and activities:
Letters alive Zoo Keeper 8.0
While some children have no trouble learning to read and write, others need explicit, carefully sequenced instruction to grasp literacy concepts. Over the last few years, data collected from The Science of Reading tells us that children learn best when you combine these five components:
- Phonemic Awareness - The ability to identify and manipulate sounds in spoken words.
- Phonics - Understanding the link between written words and spoken language.
- Fluency - Reading words, phrases, sentences, and stories correctly.
- Vocabulary - Knowing what words mean and how to say/use them correctly.
- Comprehension - The ability to understand what you are reading.
Letters alive Zoo Keeper 8.0 brings these five components to life by using interactive activities and 3D animals to engage children and hold their focus. When you purchase this program for your classroom, you will also get:
- 26 Alphabet cards that help children build the foundations of letter recognition, phonics, sentence building, reading comprehension, and more
- Downloadable lesson plans you can print so that children can work on them at home or in the classroom
- Zoo Keeper Lesson Plans, aligned to ELA standards, that you can incorporate into your weekly/daily small and large group activities
- Activities that teach science concepts such as how animals move, where they live, what they eat, and the sounds they make
- 97 Pre-K and kindergarten sight word cards that build a broad vocabulary
- 84 Word Family Cards that teach children word patterns and help with spelling and sentencing structuring
- The Letters alive Zoo Keeper 8.0 software on a flash drive so that you can activate the augmented reality features from any Windows and Mac computer that meets specs.
- A Quick Start Guide to help you implement the new program into your classroom lessons
- A 60-day Student Progress Monitoring trial so you can assess how well Letters alive Zoo Keeper 8.0 is working in your classroom
Math alive Zoo Keeper 8.0
Developing mathematics skills is crucial in early childhood. These skills help children think critically and use logic and reasoning to solve problems. However, research reveals that children do not receive nearly enough exposure to foundational mathematics concepts in the early childhood setting.
A lack of exposure to mathematics in the classroom can occur for many reasons, but most often, it is because these concepts are not the most engaging for young children. Not to mention, many educators need help to develop mathematics-based activities that go beyond counting the number of blocks in a tower.
Math alive Zoo Keeper 8.0 makes learning fun and exciting by introducing children to a world of 3D animals and important mathematics concepts such as:
- Recognizing and writing different numbers
- Solving simple addition, subtraction, and word problems
- Sorting and classifying objects based on shape, size, weight, etc.
- Number values and counting
- Creating patterns and graphs to organize data
- Identifying shapes and the position of objects in their environment
When you purchase this program for your classroom, you will get:
- 42 Number cards, including two sets of numbers 0-20, that help children build the foundations of mathematics such as counting, sorting, adding, subtracting, etc.
- Seven 2D and five 3D shape cards to help children differentiate between objects
- A blank card you can use during lessons to teach mathematics concepts such as greater than and less than
- A "count to 100" card that you can use to help children count by ones, fives, tens, etc.
- Activities that introduce children to math sentences and simple equations that require critical thinking and logic skills
- Digital Zoo Keeper Guides that simplify your weekly lesson planning process
- The Math alive Zoo Keeper 8.0 software on a flash drive so that you can activate the augmented reality features from any Windows and Mac computer that meets specific requirements.
- A Quick Start Guide to help you implement the new program into your classroom lessons
How do children interact with the Learning alive Zoo Keeper 8.0 program?
No matter which of the Learning alive Zoo Keeper 8.0 programs you are working on in your classroom, children can interact with the games and activities in a number of fun and engaging ways.
Children can listen to stories featuring Amos Alligator and watch his adventures on your classroom screen. Children can add cards to the tracking mat or tap your classroom screen as they spell words and solve simple math problems. They can also view animal habitats and the movements of the 3D animals as they materialize on the classroom screen.
How can educators use Learning alive Zoo Keeper 8.0 in the classroom?
The Learning alive Zoo Keeper 8.0 program is perfect for large groups, small groups, or 1:1 center time. If you use an interactive classroom panel, you can introduce children to letters and numbers during morning circle time with the help of 3D augmented reality animals that will come to life on the screen.
Create a "technology station" in your classroom and equip it with a computer or interactive panel for small group lessons and 1:1 activities. When it is their time to visit your technology station, children can interact with the educational activities in a more personalized setting as they develop early literacy, mathematics, and science skills.
Which devices support the Alive Studios 8.0 software?
The system requirements for the Alive Studios software are the same for Learning alive Zoo Keeper 8.0, Letters alive Zoo Keeper 8.0, and Math alive Zoo Keeper 8.0. You must ensure you have the following before purchasing any Alive Studios 8.0 program for your classroom.
Windows Requirements:
- Operating System - Windows 7 (and higher), 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64)
- Processor - Intel i5 or better or AMD equivalent
- RAM - 8GB or higher
Graphics Requirements:
- OpenGL 4.1 (or better): You must have your system's most recent graphics driver. If you do not, you can download this for free online.
- RAM - 512MB or higher
- Supported Graphics Cards - NVIDIA or Radeon Discrete graphics. Or, Intel HD graphics 4400 or better.
Mac Requirements:
- Operating System - Mac OS 10.11 (El Capitan) or higher
- Processor - Intel i5 or better or Silicon M1 or M2 (Silicon processors require the free Apple Rosetta emulation software).
- RAM - 8GB or higher
How do I purchase Learning alive Zoo Keeper 8.0?
Learning alive Zoo Keeper 8.0 provides children with engaging, interactive experiences as they develop foundational literacy and mathematics skills. To purchase this program for your early childhood classroom, visit our website.
The partnership between Kaplan and Alive Studios goes far beyond curriculum support programs like Learning alive Zoo Keeper 8.0. You can introduce children to various educational experiences involving 3D augmented reality rugs and student journals. To learn more about the entire Alive Studios product line, click here.