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Here's what's in Good Sam the Samaritan 

• Luke 10 --a narrated 3-D animated retelling of the story in three different versions with study notes
• Sam Cam --video interviews with the story characters, and a game in which students must counter excuses for not being Samaritans by selecting the right encouraging Bible verses
• Good Sam Land --a very kid-friendly interactive map with intriguing story related Holy Land photos and graphics with narrated study questions about the story's background, the roots of Samaritan/Jewish conflict, and questions about cultural and religious prejudice ( a really good section for older students especially).
• Who Wants to be a Samari-tan! --play Yakzoot the camel in a strange parable gameshow that includes memory verse scrambles
• SaMtv --an Mtv style music video that wraps up the lesson with a snappy tune and images to reflect on. SaMtv also includes follow-up discussion activities.

Good SAM has an onscreen 3-D Animated Teacher named Bildad the Bible Explorer (pictured at top of this page). Bildad's job is to introduce program content, offer insights and ask questions. Bildad is jovial, warm, a bit of a crack-pot who loves God and can see to the heart of things. He's also wise. The classroom teacher will facilitate many of the discussion questions Bildad throws out. Along the way, questions are presented for possible discussion, and you can always count on Bildad the Bible Explorer to have a few things to say.

Good Sam is especially easy for first-time computer teachers to teach with.

Sam's presentation is more than a multimedia storybook with clickpoints and games. Instead, Good Sam CD will lead students through the story and help them to explore "what's behind the story" through several multimedia activities. Good Sam is part storybook, part reference work, part quiz program, part discussion starter and part reflection tool. It even has a cool music video about being a Samaritan which you and your students can talk about (and print the lyrics). ..In other words, "Good Sam is packed."

The Good Sam CD is designed primarily for use in an educational setting. But it's fun at home too.

Good Sam was designed for 2nd through 8th graders but can easily stretch to Kindergarteners and Senior Highs. Good Sam's animated teacher, narrated Luke 10 retelling, and narrated study notes in Sam Land make much of the program suitable for younger children. (We design our software to stretch downward without being babyish to youth).

Good Sam can be completed in about 30 to 40 minutes, depending on how much time the class takes to discuss the questions raised within the program. It can also be stretched over two or more class periods. Good Sam is laid out like a lesson plan with a "direction in mind," -a logical progression along the lines of Learn it, Understand it, Live it.

If you take your time, there is enough material in Good SAM to last at least two class periods. We've tucked into the screens dozens of questions and discussion provoking elements. Teachers of younger children will find plenty to use and enjoy, though some content and vocabulary will be too difficult for them. (They'll like the presentation, though, even if they do not understand as much). Some extra content has been put in SamTV section for older students, and those who want to explore the story deeper. SAMTV even includes a list of Follow-Activities for your classroom.

Ideally, a prepared 'live' teacher will be exploring the CD with students right at the computer. But we also designed Good Sam with inexperienced teachers in mind. Bildad the Bible Explorer ask questions and make comments just like a teacher would. At the opening he even suggests the path through the program for optimum use. Inexperienced teachers simply need to help students respond to material as it is presented.

Click any of the icons below to see enlarged screenshots from the Good Sam CD:

More about Sam Cam ...."The Inside Story"....your students will view video interviews with the story's characters and wrestle with questions raised by the interviews. (The questions are presented onscreen.)   "The Priest" Interviewed parked in the handicapped spot, he defends his actions that day. "The Robbers" Clueless about God's laws. "The Lawyer who interviewed Jesus" His "Statement to the Press" interview is an attempt to distance himself from Jesus. Other video interviews include: The woman innkeeper, and Good Sam the Samaritan himself. View SAM CAM SCREENSHOT

Target Age Range: Age 8 through 16. Younger and older students will also get a kick out of much of Good Sam's content.

System Minimums: Windows 95/98/Me/XP/Vista, Mac OS 7.6+, 8 or 9, (see OS X note) 200mhz minimum, 266mhz or higher recommended, 32 mb RAM minimum, 64 RAM recommended for easy performance, 24x CD minimum, higher recommended. Four megabytes of videoram MINIMUM, 8 recommended. Sam will run under OSX if you have a version of X that allows you to boot to version 9. If your newer version of Mac OSX doesn't reboot to 9 and only switches to "classic mode" to run Sam, then one section (Samland) of the CD won't work.

Good Sam CD is the first of many CDs designed by Sunday Software. In it we made a conscious decision to raise a new standard for Christian software. It begins with our revolutionary lesson design and discussion starting content, and extends to the rich quality of our graphics and audio. Good Sam is the very FIRST Christian interactive software ever to feature a lesson plan design, 3-D animation of a Bible story, and an onscreen animated teacher. Good Sam debuted in Fall 2000 and was updated in the Winter of 2002 and remains one of our most appreciated CDs for its humor and easy lesson design.

Order: Good Sam the Samaritan

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