The Waterford Early Reading Program teaches children to read by involving them in songs, games and stories. Throughout each computer session colorful characters dance across the screen almost as if they were visitors from a Saturday morning cartoon. The characters entertain while educating. A magic hat out of which flow the letters of the alphabet. A Syllable Safari in which children are taken through a jungle and are asked to identify syllables in the words for jungle animals and plants.
Every response made by the children is recorded by the computer.
The Waterford computer program adjusts the level of difficulty in what it asks of children, based on the responses it receives. She noted that students receive positive feedback in a number of ways. For example, the first time a child spells his or her name correctly, a certificate honoring the child appears. Students hear songs and instructions throughout each session, allowing them to hear how words rhyme. For example, children are shown that although bug and mug are spelled differently they are the same in terms of rhyme.