Evaluated by Schoolzone on behalf of the Department for Education and Skills (UK Government).
What is Color is a book with a CD. The CD-ROM contains an animated version of the book with simple interactive features.
The content of the book tells the story of light and color in an easy to understand format for this age group.
The story is told by Poppy the cat and Cuddles the dog. They show where light comes from and how the light is made from invisible colors. They tell us how Isaac Newton used a prism to separate the light into colors. What is Color has cross-curricular links with art, science and literacy. The text appears in speech bubbles making it suitable for shared or guided reading. Although covering a difficult subject, the contents are put across in a clear and enjoyable way making it understandable for all abilities.
The software is uncomplicated to use and even the youngest children were able to navigate the program with ease.
I have shown What is Color to Year 1 and Reception, they found the story fascinating and loved the 'tadpoles' of light. The story had an impact with the children and later in the day I was told that all the light had gone into a pair of shoes to make them black.
