Four great programs on one handy device

* Portable programs for:
* Simple spelling practice
* Magic E
* Structured spelling practice in sentences
* Vowels, CVC, consonant blends, rhyming skills, onset / rime

As a peripatetic teacher, have you ever wished that you could use some of your favourite spelling programs with pupils, but found that they are not available within school?

No problem - we've taken 4 of our best phonics programs and installed them onto this usb flash drive*. This means that you can plug this handy resource into any PC/Windows computer and run the programs without needing to install anything.

Some of the programs allow you to enter your own new content such as word lists or sound recordings - and this device has lots of memory available for holding such new material. So, you might prepare a lesson for a pupil who needs extra practice in a particular spelling pattern - just copy the words to the Toolbox and take it with you. All of the programs will generate pupil record files, and these too are stored on the 'dongle'.

* USB flash drives are sometimes known as a 'pen drive', 'thumb drive' 'memory stick' or 'dongle'. Please note that whilst this device will run quite happily on the majority of Windows/PC computers, it is possible that some resident anti-virus software may display a warning, or even prevent the Xavier programs from running. In this event, you should consult the owner/technician.

The programs in brief (please visit their individual pages or download the user guides below for full details)

Soapbox - an ultra-simple spelling practice program that has extensive recorded word lists graded by spelling pattern. Free from onscreen distractions, this program provides a utility for quick and easy spelling practice with positive reinforcement throughout. Whilst there are several hundred words provided within the program (each with a digital recording) it is very easy to add your own new content.

Sounds & Rhymes - an extensive range of presentations that introduce the sounds of the short vowels, onset/rime, CVC words, consonant blends, rhyming skills. It is not possible to add extra content to this program because it already holds many CVC words and every possible consonant blend word.

Magic-E - has a 'teacher' section which uses fun animations to illustrate the effect of adding that final, silent 'e' - and a platform game for practising the spellings of these tricky words. You may add your own new words to this program which is particularly suitable for use with bisyllabic words (we've included some as a demonstration).

Sentence Pumper - spelling practice in a sentence context. This weird machine will present sentences for look/cover/copy work, with a range of options to hide vowels or other letter patterns. We've included extensive sentence lists graded by phonic spelling patterns, and it is a simple task to add your own new content.

Need more information? Download the user guides and word lists:

You may download a package containing the user guides and word lists by clicking here.

Updates: Make sure that you have the very latest versions by downloading package #1 (7Mb) , below.
Release date is 29/10/2010 - if you have purchased your Toolbox after this date, you will already have these versions.

Xavier Toolbox Update package # 1

Some Images of the programs in action