"Natural Disasters" is a collection of nine books and nine corresponding tests developed by Learning Magic, Inc. and utilizing the SoftTouch, Inc.®'s electronic book application My Own Bookshelf®, and their assessment application Test Me Score Me®, respectively. The tests should be administered in Test Me Score Me® after students have read and assimilated the nine books in this collection.

Please note: The textual content in "Natural Disasters" books and tests can easily be changed to meet the needs of individual students. For tips on how to do this and for terms of use for revised versions, click here.

Important: You need a copy of Test Me Score Me® v. 2.1 to run the nine tests . See the SoftTouch-based Products pages on this site for information on purchasing Test Me Score Me and bundles with this CD and/or the two book collections. If you have version 2.0 or earlier of Test Me Score Me, call SoftTouch, Inc. at 877-763-8868 for a free upgrade.

The books, which introduce students to nine different types of natural disasters, install together as a single bookshelf that is then available from the Read menu in My Own Bookshelf®. Students can choose books about blizzards, wildfires, hurricanes, droughts, floods, volcanic eruptions, avalanches, thunderstorms and tornadoes, and tsunamis.

Books are written at a second to third grade level and provide self-selected reading content that is aligned with national standards for Reading and Earth Science. High-quality photographs bring the material alive for the student. As each page displays, it is read out as the words are highlighted. Students can also read the words silently.

Diagrams and animations are used in some books to help explain these natural phenomena. Movies and appropriate sound effects also add impact to the learning experience.

When students have read the books, they are ready to take the corresponding tests. Tests are arranged in a filing cabinet that imports as a unit into Test Me Score® Me v. 2.1. At this point the tests are ready to administer. They may be assigned one at a time, or multiple tests may be given in a session.

A test page consists of a photograph, a question relating to the photo, and three text answer choices. Tests average six pages in length, and use photos similar to those in the books. While tests are ready to run as soon as they are imported, the educator or staff member can easily edit or change both questions and answers to meet their students' needs.

The question and answer choices read out automatically. Students can click the question to hear it read again. Once a student clicks a choice, the other two choices are removed. There is the option to give the student feedback or not as answers are chosen.

Data collection is automatic within Test Me Score Me. Test results can then be printed out and placed in a student's portfolio to assess comprehension in both literacy (reading) and science.

The application Test Me Score Me® is required to run the nine tests. Books will open in the included Bookreaders, but for self-selected reading and to make edits, you will need My Own Bookshelf®. Both products are available from Learning Magic, Inc. For details on bundles, click here.

Samples And Resources to Download

Sample Books To Download!