It is important for children to pick up on reading and comprehension skills at the right age. This is because reading skills go way beyond just the ability to read and write; they are fundamental to effective communication and critical thinking. Fortunately, in today’s digital age, numerous apps can help children improve their reading skills. These apps provide a fun and effective way for children to cultivate a habit of reading.
1. AdaptedMind
Designed by Stanford, Berkeley, and Harvard alums, AdaptedMind is an app that provides lessons to improve different sets of educational skills in children. It mainly comprises lessons and activities on math, reading skills, science, and social studies. This app excels in designing its lessons as interactive games, sustaining the children’s interest in learning. The reading lessons and activities offered by AdaptedMind, which mainly includes stories and vocabulary lessons, are ideal for children from grades 1 to 6. The app also includes a point system that helps mentors and parents keep track of the child’s progress.
2. Readability
With features such as speech recognition and AI, Readability is one of the promising apps for improving reading skills. It comprises lessons and tutorials on reading for kindergarten children and those from grades 1 to 6. This also makes Readability an ideal app for early readers. Some of its top features for improving reading skills include AI-based guided interactive reading, interactive voice-based quizzes, and captivating stories with beautiful illustrations. Readability also includes a feature that requires children to read aloud while the app checks for their pronunciation and offers corrections. In addition to these, the app features a parent dashboard that allows parents and mentors to monitor their children’s progress.
3. Endless Alphabet
Endless Alphabet stands out among children’s literacy and reading apps for its specific focus on vocabulary development. The app comprises puzzles and amusing animations that help children learn new words, pronunciations, and definitions. Unlike many educational apps, Endless Alphabet does not incorporate a points or grading system, which helps maintain a fun and stress-free learning environment. This approach encourages children to learn at their own pace.
4. Read Along
Developed by Google, Read Along is a free reading app for children. It comprises numerous stories and word games in nine different languages, including English. Much like Readability, the app encourages children to read aloud and offers assistance with words or pronunciations that they find challenging. While it does have a reward system for children who perform well, the app also encourages them to read and study at their own pace. In addition to stories, the app offers puzzles that help enhance vocabulary and word recognition. Also, Read Along requires no internet connection to use after downloading. Children can use the app without any WiFi connection or interruptions once installed.
5. Spelling & Phonics
Parents and mentors seeking the best phonics apps for children to enhance their reading skills should consider Spelling & Phonics. The app mainly has games and puzzles that help children learn new words, their right usage, and their correct pronunciations. It also includes games that help children spell correctly. The app also has bright graphics and easy-to-navigate menus and icons, so children do not struggle to use and learn from it. For parents and mentors, the Spellings & Phonics app also displays report cards so they can easily track their progress and check for the areas that require further improvement.
6. Lexia Core5
Children from kindergarten to grade 5 primarily use this app, which specializes in creating personalized study plans tailored to their strengths and weaknesses. Lexia Core5, with its puzzles and interactive lessons, also identifies skill gaps and challenging areas and adapts its next lessons accordingly. The lessons and activities it provides help develop children’s phonological awareness, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension skills.
7. Starfall
Starfall, which is ideal for children up to grade 5, is also worth considering for developing reading and comprehension skills in children. Starfall consists of several interactive activities and songs to help children develop vocabulary, grammar, and phonics, ultimately improving their reading skills. As an added advantage, along with reading and vocabulary lessons, Starfall also comprises math lessons and activities.
8. Duolingo ABC
Duolingo is among the most popular apps for adults who wish to learn a new language. The developers of that app have also designed a learning app for children called Learn to Read – Duolingo ABC. The app has over 700 reading lessons, which help children develop reading and comprehension skills. It also promises to make learning a fun experience with short lessons and interactive games and stories.
In addition to these apps, parents and mentors should consider introducing their children to dictionary apps like the Merriam-Webster dictionary. Children may encounter unfamiliar words when reading physical books or other offline content and have difficulty finding their definitions. A dictionary app can help them look up new words quickly, allowing them to continue reading without feeling discouraged.