Top 5 Must-Have Apps for Teaching Kids to Read

Learning to read is probably the most important thing kids will do early in life. Think about it: every other subject or topic kids will learn in both school and life is fully dependent on a child’s ability to read. And quite a process it is from sound and letter recognition all the way to fluency! That’s why it’s absolutely critical that parents are armed with the very best tools to support their kids’ learning every step of the way.

As a parent, you might be wondering what resources you need to ensure reading growth and success. It can be tough to decide which resources to use when there’s a dizzying number of choices to choose from. Luckily, the hard work has already been done for you and the top 5 must-have apps for teaching your little learners to read are ready to use!

The Reading Apps Your Kid Needs This Fall

The Talented and Gifted App by Kids Academy

First and foremost we’d like to speak about the Talented and Gifted program by Kids Academy, for we consider it the premiere app to support your child’s learning! Kids learning games and apps come in many forms, some of which are only meant to teach reading, and others that serve as comprehensive all-in-one learning platforms. Kids Academy: Talented and Gifted is the latter; it is a web portal containing resources for children and their parents as well as an amazing apps for teaching kids reading and writing. While the app does offer a complete curriculum that covers all subjects, its attention to details for each subject provides a rich learning experience in every topic.

The great thing about this app is that it allows kids to learn in different ways, which include a personalized plan that teaches children reading skills by integrating both reading and writing lessons along the same learning path.

But apart from its integrated lessons, the Talented and Gifted app also offers a course that specializes in foundational reading skills such as letter recognition and phonics and works all the way up to sight words and more advanced reading skills. The activities in the app also allow kids varied opportunities for demonstrating skill mastery; they work with texts, answer questions, match pictures, and more!

The Talented and Gifted app also includes a fun gamified learning path that makes children feel more like they are progressing along a video game as they master tasks in the process. Here you can find free and useful reading worksheets that can also be accessed offline through the website.

With so many options on how to learn, not only can parents determine the most effective method to meet their child’s needs, they will also have access to a huge library of learning videos, games, worksheets, and assessments that provide meaningful learning experiences and offer immediate feedback!

Homer Learn & Grow

Like the Talented and Gifted app, Homer Learn & Grow is a big name in the educational app industry and is also a comprehensive all-in-one learning app that offers learning games and materials for early learners. Homer’s approach is similar in that it is organized into lessons that introduce reading topics, allow for practice and application of those skills, and prepare kids for transferring the information they learn to new contexts. While the Talented and Gifted app is our preferred choice, Homer Learn & Grow is a formidable option.

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Starfall Learn to Read

Unlike the above two apps, Starfall Learn to Read is focused primarily on reading, and doesn’t offer a comprehensive platform that covers other subjects. It started as a web-based program and has more recently branched out into creating an app for mobile use. Its biggest advantage is that it is a low-cost program, and offers high-quality games designed to boost early reading skills. While the games are exciting for little learners, the program doesn’t offer full lessons, videos, or worksheets.

Hooked on Phonics Learn & Read

Hooked on Phonics has been a major name in education for years and offers an app that corresponds with its many resources and materials that schools use to teach early reading. This app teaches reading strategies and skills using videos, and offers practice via games, as well as through on-screen stories and books. If you’re looking for a household name that millions of students have benefited from, Hooked on Phonics is always a good choice, but may be a bit costly, too.

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Reading Ninja

Does your kid love to play the popular game Fruit Ninja? If you have a reluctant learner, this app may be one to add to your phone or iPad to encourage kids to have a little fun while learning to read. This app is not a standalone reading curriculum, but instead supports reading skills through gamified learning. Perhaps not the best choice if you’re looking for the one and only reading app your child needs, but it is certainly a wonderful option for supplementation.

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Reading apps and resources are not all equal, but now we hope that you have the learned more about some of the best apps available on the market today.