TOS Review: Dig It, Roman Town

 

My boys have been learning a lot about archaeology from a new computer game by  Dig It. It’s called Roman Town and it’s all about a 1st century Roman town named Fossura. As you work to uncover artifacts you learn about early Roman customs, how they may have lived, the type of art they produced, how their buildings were built and decorated etc. You also have the opportunity to uncover games played by kids in Rome, and even play along if you like. Let’s take a closer look.

LETS GO DIGGING BOYS AND GIRLS

 

As you begin to dig you’ll be given some helpers and tools to make the digging easier, just like a real archaeologist. The side bar shows you how many men you have to dig with and which tools are available. The flags tell you where to dig.

YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU’LL UNCOVER

Maybe some pottery (above) or perhaps some bones (below)

Notice the picture of the pottery, the side bar shows that this artifact was found in pieces and you must put it together. It’s this and other activities that really help kids learn. With every piece you uncover there is an explanation about the piece and an option to learn even more.

NOW WHAT DID THE ROMANS DO WITH THIS?

After recovering all of the artifacts there are also some mandatory activities that must take place before you move to the next level, know as Dig Site. There are six Dig Sites.

The learning activities are anything from sorting the pieces according to their make up (metals, pottery, bones, etc) to crossword puzzles and true or false quizzes. After completing all the activities and becoming fully acknowledgeable about what you’ve just discovered, you unlock your report.

TIME TO REPORT ON OUR FINDINGS

Once you complete the report correctly, you move on to the next Dig Site.

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This game is designed for grades 5th – 8th but honestly I enjoyed it and learned from it, as did my 3rd grader

  I will say that if your child can’t read, he can’t really learn without you. I would love to see this with sound, but as for now, you must read everything and some of the words stumped me

The cost of Roman Town on CD is $39.99 and there is an Educators edition for $299 and also an Educators Manual in download form for $19.95. If you buy before February 21, 2011 and use the coupon code “TOS2011” you can get the CD version for $19.96

If you’d like to hear what other homeschoolers had to say, click here.

**Disclaimer: As a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew, I received this product free of charge, in exchange for my honest opinion/review. For more honest reviews from real homeschoolers, visit the TOS Crew website.