As the youngsters have fun, they begin to learn about tempo, accents, intervals, styles, rhythm, duration. The vocabulary and concepts and techniques of the arts are part of Oregon's benchmarks. About 20 children are involved in an accelerated-reader program. They inhale selected books at their own pace, check their comprehension by taking tests at a school library computer and earn small rewards as they amass credits. The computers keep track of leaps and stumbles, pinpointing where each child needs helping hands.
Children learn to become comfortable with higher numbers by decoding their names.
In a computer lab, teams of youngsters build charts and graphs as they compete to figure out the cost of taking a band on a concert tour. First-graders figure the right combination of change to get candy out of a machine or which numbered marbles to knock out of a ring so that the rest add up to an even number. Wherever the visitor looks, he sees enrichment. It's a summer program for winners. Robert Landauer is editorial columnist of The Oregonian.