REVIEWS
Superficially, Developing Tray may appear to be a glorified Hangman game. However, this program focuses on thinking about and analyzing texts within any subject. It is the ultimate cloze procedure program; it supports reading development and is based on the commonly held belief that reading is not primarily a visual task but one in which readers anticipate and confirm meaning through the use of syntactic, semantic, logical and stylistic cues. In this, the new version loses none of its original power in helping to develop reading strategies of text prediction from clues revealed in context and syntax. It also lets you explore texts collaboratively. However, like all software tools, it is still down to the skill of the teacher to encourage the development of fruitful strategies and tactics.
The teacher can make the task easier for pupils, but the reward system favours predicting the letters (thus gaining points) over "buying" them (with spending points).
Developing Tray always works best in collaborative situations where the discussion generated broadens the language experience to include listening and talking, as well as reading and writing.
