Amazon.com: JumpStart Advanced 5th and 6th Grade: Software

7 Reviews

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

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3.7 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews)

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Some nice stuff, but JumpStart has done much better, June 10, 2009

A Kid's Review

This review is from: JumpStart Advanced 5th and 6th Grade (CD-ROM)

Yo! I'm StoryMaker. I've been a JumpStart fan for a long time, and I got the JumpStart Advanced 5th & 6th Grade package for Christmas a while ago. It has been fairly good, but JumpStart has done better. I'm going to review each disc individually, so this will be more like 3 reviews stuck together. If you don't have that much time on your hands, just skim through it or read only a few sections. Let's get started!

DISC 1: JUMPSTART 5TH GRADE
Jo Hammet, 5th Grade kid detective, gets up one morning and turns on the TV to see the Mystery Movie Marathon. Oops, it looks like the TV isn't working because the station got blown up. Or something like that. I haven't played this in a while. But anyway, Jo is determined to solve the mystery and she has a crazy adventure talking to talking rats and fighting goonies with jellyfish (or were they squids?) on their heads in an attempt to stop the off-his-rocker Dr. X. So, you need to use 5th Grade skills like art history, math, art history, math, art history, and math so you can save the day. Yup.
JumpStart 5th Grade is a fun game. Its plot line is rather addicting, and it's very fun to watch someone play it as well. The activities are interesting and educational, and it's a rather funny game too. Yeah, there's a little repetition, and it's not as clear as most JumpStarts, but the plot line is good and the educational games entertain and teach. When I was in 5th Grade, I was surprised about how well it fit my grade level. Of course, there's one whopping problem: THE CROSSWORD PUZZLE OF DOOM. Yes, indeed, the infamous art history crossword. In order to solve it, you need to search each corner of the museum, and it probably takes at least an hour the first time you do it. Really, that puzzle is one tough jawbreaker. In fact, there's one answer you have to find - a painter. However, he only painted one picture in the whole museum, and it's in a very obscure corner.
Overall, JumpStart 5th Grade is a fun game, great for a 5th Grade boy or girl. Just be prepared to do one loooong crossword puzzle.

DISC 2: JUMPSTART 6TH GRADE
Oh dear. ART, an evil spaceship computer (sound familiar? Like maybe from a futuristic movie?), is trying to conquer the world using polluting robots (sounds familiar? Like maybe from a certain blue hedgehog's universe?). It's up to the EarthQuest gang to stop the chaos.
This game would be really good. The games in it are pretty good and educational (though not as creative as most JumpStart activities - there's a whole truckload of "use the pod to select the answer"), the storyline is fine, and I especially like how you get to fight and trap each robot, then use them to attempt to pinpoint ART's location. However, there's a problem - the games are insanely long. You need to play them tons of times to win. And if you stop in the middle, you lose your progress. In addition, some of the questions asked are fitting for the level, but some are overly challenging. My older sister, who is above 6th Gade, has some difficulty with it. Another problem: this game has a "tutor", which is supposed to help you when you are having trouble. Sounds good? Well, it could be, but isn't. If the tutor pops up, you will lose a good amount of progress, and the tutor doesn't help much anyway.
Overall, if you have a lot of patience, I imagine JumpStart 6th Grade would be very worthwhile. But if you don't have much patience, it's not very good.

DISC 3: EXTREME FIELD TRIPS
Two things for you to know right now: 1. Extreme Field Trips was once called Adventure Challenge and sold with earlier packagings of JumpStart 5th Grade. 2. It has mere crumbs of educational value. It's mostly non-educational arcade games. You get to play an educational Pacman game to get tickets, but the game can get messed up and not give you the tickets you earned unless you do more work. Also, though some of the questions fit the age level pretty well, others don't ("Who painted the Mona Lisa?"). What I like is, as you play games and complete your magazine, you can get some pretty cool fun facts and funny advertisements. Overall, an OK game. Just not very educational.

My review probably sounded pretty negative, but don't get me wrong - this product is fun, with good merit and value. However, a few of the CDs might stay on the shelf for a while. If you can get it cheap, go ahead and buy it. Some of the games can be very fun. Just don't expect it to be the best thing you ever bought. Also, check out other JumpStart products, and ClueFinders as well. Signed, StoryMaker. "Gotta trust the kid's review!"

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Jump Into Education by Playing, August 26, 2005

Deborah Marine "justdmarine" (Georgia, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: JumpStart Advanced 5th and 6th Grade (CD-ROM)

In tradition with it's previous grade Jumpstart Advanced bundles, this 5th grade package offers the lure of "gaming" while teaching essential skills. Through investigations in rare art, geography, and math as well as history and science, the fifth grade student must acquire the clues necessary to solve a mystery in order to "beat the game". The games are up to date with fifth grade interest in some areas, offering virtual skateboarding and other treats to keep the mind tempted. The only trouble I ran into while running the program at my home Daycare was the occasional program glitch concerning math answers; the right answer would not be accepted by the program and would result in a stalemate between user and PC. Other than that, a purchase well worth the money!

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, April 10, 2007

S. Sampson "mom of 3 boyz" (Alaska, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: JumpStart Advanced 5th and 6th Grade (CD-ROM)

We are a homeschooling family with three boys ages 10, 8 and 6 and have enjoyed almost all of the Jumpstart programs we have purchased in the past. (We own Toddler up to 6th grade) and have used them as supplements to other curriculums. My 10 yr and 8 yr old son both enjoy this game, although my 10 yr old son complains that the beginning crossword puzzle is very "tedious". He says once you get past that part, the games are fun, engaging and challenging. My 6 yr old son also enjoys watching his older brothers play. I would recommend this program.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars We love it!
I bought this for my 5th grader to improve her reading along with everything else. She loves to play it and we both have learned more about art and geography than we ever dreamed.

Published on October 7, 2009 by J. Wildman

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun and learning
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Published on July 3, 2007 by 2much2domom

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Start
We love the Jump Start Series and Jump Start Advanced 5th and 6th Grade lives up to all its predessors. My 5th grader is at the top of her class with the help of these programs.