For example, when they click on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, they can view a video clip of people at the wall. They can also get a brief history of the war and what Vietnam is like today. The package provides a separate full-color book containing a factual story about each wall. The stories are also available within the program, and as with all text, students have the option of hearing them read aloud or reading them silently to themselves. Imbedded into the text are links to word definitions.
Navigation is as easy as clicking on a wall in the Table of Contents.
Other features include a map showing the geographical locations of all the walls, links to relevant Web sites, and a note-taking tool for writing and saving facts, thoughts, or ideas. The first shows similarities between the world's walls. The second part presents activities specifically related to the individual walls. Although it is designed primarily for grades 4-8, many of the activities can be adapted for younger learners, and students of all ages will enjoy the stories and colorful illustrations of the Talking Walls book. Another idea is to have students choose one of the walls in the program and write a short story in the first person about an interaction with the wall.