Breaking the Code Version 6.7

$2030, Win, Mac OS (CD-ROM)

Teaches: reading, codes, Egyptian hieroglyphics, ancient history

CTR Review

Note that this CD-ROM-based program is available online, at www.breakingthecode.com. Organized in a book-like fashion, this is a tutorial on how to understand Egyptian hieroglyphics. There are three chapters and two challenges, including a flashcard quiz. In Chapter One: Hieroglyphic Phonograms, children are read the story of how the French explorer Jean Champollion first figured out how to crack the code by using the Rosetta Stone. Kids are then asked to spell out two names by matching words to hieroglyphs. Chapters Two and Three consist of stories with hieroglyphs embedded in sentences. The Review portion of the program consists of a timed matching test. The CD contains a truetype font (Hiero) that you can install on your computer and use in your word processor. For a teacher doing a unit on hieroglyphics, this could be a useful program although we were less than impressed by the design (we would like more features such as record keeping).