3. The Zoo Train Mix-Up

**GAME INTENDED FOR iPADS AND LARGE SCREEN PHONES**

The object is to load the suitcases labeled with letters (lower- and uppercase) or Animal pictures that start with the letters into the matching cars of the train within two different (60 seconds and 30 seconds) time limits. See the boxes on the wall with the trains? Click on one of them to determine how fast or slow you want to go! See the boxes of letters under the train boxes? There are 4 of them:

- Animal Picture Letters
- Merged Animal Letters
- Plain lowercase letters
- Plain uppercase letters

Zoophonia and Zeke Zebra give careful directions for this game. They are always ready to help you. Here’s what you do: Select the suitcase with a letter or picture on it that corresponds to the one on the boxcar. To do this, click on the suitcase you wish to move and drag it to the matching boxcar. If children need to hear the sound of the letter again, click on the suitcase and Zoophonia will Signal and sound for them! Remind children to Signal and sound with Zoophonia each time. The boxcars will “light up” when you are done! When you hear the letter’s sound, Signal!

Lesson Objectives. The child will:

- recognize the Animal Letters
- recognize letter shape and sound (lower- and uppercase)
- match initial sounds to letters.
- follow directions.
- make decisions.
- learn how to navigate and manipulate interactive elements on a screen using eye-hand coordination.

About Zoo-phonics

Teach your students the alphabet in TWO WEEKS! Faster than you ever expected your students will be reading, spelling and writing!

The Zoo-phonics Multisensory Language Arts Program is a kinesthetic, multi-modal approach to learning all aspects of language arts, including vocabulary development and articulation, based on phonics and phonemic awareness.

The principle of Zoo-phonics maximizes understanding, memory, utilization and transference to all areas of the reading, spelling and writing process in a playful and concrete manner.

Zoo-phonics is a method developed to make children strong readers and spellers using a “phono” (hearing), “oral” (speaking), “visual” (seeing), “kinesthetic” (moving), and tactile (touching)—whole brain approach. Students actually learn the sounds of the alphabet and advanced phonemic concepts through an easily understood, concrete method of presentation.

Zoo-phonics uses animals drawn in the shapes of the letters for ease in memory. A related body movement is given for each letter. This concrete approach cements the sounds to the shapes of the letters. Lowercase letters and their sounds are taught first (needed 95% of the time in text), capital letters and letter names are taught later.

Zoo-phonics also provides a springboard for all other academia such as math, art, music, cooking/nutrition, social studies, science, grooming, physical education and sensory/drama.

Every aspect of the program has been field-tested and found to be effective. Educational research repeatedly supports the focus of phonics in early reading programs, as well as the educational benefits of pictorial mnemonics and kinesthetic approaches to learning that are unique to Zoo-phonics.

Currently Zoo-phonics is used throughout the United States and internationally as a highly effective language arts program.