Frankie's Dog House

Frankie's Dog House is an activity in JumpStart 1st Grade. It is designed to teach math and language arts concepts for first graders. It is accessed by clicking on the sandbox in the playground.

Premise
Frankie has his own sandbox in the school's playground. He has buried many items there, but can't remember where they are. The player uses a detector to locate the items that Frankie wants.

Description
This activity has two modes: in one mode, the player finds numbers for Frankie and receives math points, in the other mode, the player finds objects for Frankie and receives reading points.

Frankie will ask for a certain number or object, which will appear in a thought bubble above his head. The player moves the detector around the sandbox to find buried numbers or objects. When the detector moves over something, it beeps, and then a voice emits from the detector and gives the player a clue about the buried item. The clues describe the numbers or objects with comparisons. For example, a number clue may state that the number is higher or lower than another number, while an object clue may state that the object's name has the same beginning or ending sound as another word. The player must find the number or object that Frankie asked for based on the clue.

Once the player has found all of the numbers or objects, a short animation plays that shows dog bones appearing in the sandbox that spell out the words "You win!".

Difficulty level differences

 * Level one: The player must find 3 things, and receives 5 points upon completion
 * Level two: The player must find 5 things, and receives 10 points upon completion
 * Level three: The player must find 8 things, and receives 15 points upon completion