Click here to see a list of the "Top Literacy Apps"
Apps for Beginning Readers:
(Taken from Illinois Reading Council Column: Parent Involvement in Reading, Great Apps for At Home Literacy Learning, by Laurie Elish-Piper, with Lorena Lule and Marishonta M.M. Wilkerson, Guest Contributors)
The Writing Machine $0.99 PreK-1
This app is for children who are just beginning to learn the alphabet. They can tap on any letter of the alphabet and a picture of a word that starts with that letter will appear. Next, they can see the word being written, and they can hear the word spoken aloud.
ABC Theatre: The Alphabet Song Free PreK-1
This app is for children who are just beginning to learn the alphabet. It has games for which children have to trace the letters, and then the letters are read aloud to them. There are also alphabet songs that children can sing along with in this app.
What’s the Word? Free K-2
The app will show four pictures that have one word in common; the player has to guess what the word is and fill in the word space with letters from the letter bank. It is easy to use, and children can earn rewards for the words they spell correctly.
Word Wizard $2.99 K-3
This is a good app for teaching phonics and spelling skills. A natural sounding American or British voice pronounces letter sounds or names. It includes pre-made spelling quizzes and the option for parents to create spelling quizzes with the words they choose.
Ace Writer-Dolch Sight Words HD $1.99 PreK-3
This app includes vocabulary lists from pre-K through 3rd grade levels. The apps has a child’s voice say the words out loud, and the child traces the words letter by letter on stimulated lined writing paper. The child can have the word repeated unlimited times and erase letters to try and improve handwriting.
K 3 Sight Words $0.99 K-3
This app allows the child to hear the words, repeat the pronunciation, and then see the words. The child can go back to review previous words or continue to move forward. This app does not include games or activities; it simply helps the child to learn sight words.
Reading Raven $3.99 PreK-1
This app teaches lessons that focus on phonics. A voice pronounces the letter sounds, and the child has to match the sounds it hears with the actual letter. This app contains hundreds of activities.
Learn with Homer Free PreK-1
This app has short passages that children can read by themselves, or the app can be read to them aloud. The passages are informational about topics such as animals. There is a section with short stories, poetry, folklore, folk songs, and nursery rhymes. There is also a phonics/learn to read section in the app that costs $1.99
Wonderful Interactive Storybooks $4.99 PreK-2
Story samples are provided free, and individual titles can be purchased for $4.99 each. Titles include books from the Arthur and Berenstain Bears series as well as traditional stories such as The Tortoise and the Hare. Each story has music and audio (in English, Spanish or French), and includes interactive features such as clicking on a word to hear it read aloud and animation.
Apps for Developing Readers
Second Grade Reading Comprehension $2.99 Grade 2
This app has about 20 fictional stories of 150 words each with eight follow up questions to practice comprehension. The child is allowed to create and add stories to the app. This app promotes self paced learning. The child can sync all stories, questions, and lesson to a drop box to import them to another device.
Third Grade Reading Comprehension $1.99 Grade 3
This app has 100 concise short stories (50-70 words each) and there are four questions for each. There are seven different reading groups/levels within this app all targeted to 3rd grade.
The Opposites Free Grade 2 and up
This app has 10 different levels. A male or female voice pronounces each word, and the child has to match the opposites. There is a dictionary option from which the child can choose words and read the definition. This app helps to expand vocabulary.
Sentence Builder $5.99 Grade 1 and up
This app has three levels and gives the child 4-6 columns of words. The child spins the words in each column and stops on the word that he or she wants to use in creating a sentence related to the illustration provided. The columns include pronouns, nouns, verbs, and prepositions. The app has a voice that will let the child know if the sentence is incorrect. It allows multiple attempts and will also praise the child when the sentence is correct.
Chicktionary $1.99 Grade 2 and up
This app is fun and exciting for all ages. This app gives the child a set time to create words with the seven letters provided. The more words created the more points the child earns. The app will not allow incorrect words to be posted. It is a learning game/activity that encourages spelling.
Young Reader $3.99 2 and up
This app has over 130 classic children’s books. The child can control and set the speed to how many words per minute they want to read. There is a highlighted box that moves across each word to show the child which word should be read in order to keep up with the selected speed.
Penguin Leveled Readers Free K-3
This reading app is like a Kindle for children. The pages of the books are read aloud to the children if they want to listen to them. Some of the books are free, and some of the books must be purchased.
Word Wonderland Primary $1.99 K-3
This app contains games, at three different levels, for 15 phonics skills. It includes more challenging phonics skills such as r-controlled vowels and diphthongs.
Wonderful Interactive Storybooks $4.99 PreK-2
Story samples are provided free, and individual titles can be purchased for $4.99 each. Titles include books from the Arthur and Berenstain Bears series as well as traditional stories such as The Tortoise and the Hare. Each story has music and audio (in English, Spanish or French), and includes interactive features such as clicking on a word to hear it read aloud and animation.
Apps for Older Readers
Bluster Free Grades 4-6
This app helps children play games with prefixes, suffixes, homophones, rhyming words, adjectives, and synonyms. Children can play by themselves or with a partner. They have a word bank and have a to choose three words from the same category.
Aesop’s Quest $0.99 Grades 2-6
This app has short stories that are read aloud to the child. After reading/listening to a story, the child answers comprehension questions about the story. If the child can answer all the questions correctly, he or she earns points in the game before moving to the next story. If the child did not answer all the questions correctly, then he or she has the choice of rereading the story or re-answering the questions.
Jungle Journey $4.99 Grades 4-5
This app teachers sequencing and cause-effect skills through a game format. The child can play against the app or with others to answer questions and race through the jungle.
Mini Mod for Inferences Lite $3.99 Grades 2-6
This app teaches inference skills through a bingo style game. Three levels are available that span from 2nd through 6th grades.
Enchanted Dictionary $1.99 Grades 6 and up
This app teaches core vocabulary in math, science, social studies, and language arts. It contains over 800 core academic vocabulary words needed for success in middle and high school.
Free Books – 23,469 Classics to Go Free Grades 5 and up
This app contains 23,469 free books in an e-reader format that allows browsing, searching and bookmarking. Many of the books are also available in audio-book format. The young readers section contains classic children’s novels. This is a great way to build a huge library of classic books for the whole family for free!
Apps for Beginning Readers:
(Taken from Illinois Reading Council Column: Parent Involvement in Reading, Great Apps for At Home Literacy Learning, by Laurie Elish-Piper, with Lorena Lule and Marishonta M.M. Wilkerson, Guest Contributors)
The Writing Machine $0.99 PreK-1
This app is for children who are just beginning to learn the alphabet. They can tap on any letter of the alphabet and a picture of a word that starts with that letter will appear. Next, they can see the word being written, and they can hear the word spoken aloud.
ABC Theatre: The Alphabet Song Free PreK-1
This app is for children who are just beginning to learn the alphabet. It has games for which children have to trace the letters, and then the letters are read aloud to them. There are also alphabet songs that children can sing along with in this app.
What’s the Word? Free K-2
The app will show four pictures that have one word in common; the player has to guess what the word is and fill in the word space with letters from the letter bank. It is easy to use, and children can earn rewards for the words they spell correctly.
Word Wizard $2.99 K-3
This is a good app for teaching phonics and spelling skills. A natural sounding American or British voice pronounces letter sounds or names. It includes pre-made spelling quizzes and the option for parents to create spelling quizzes with the words they choose.
Ace Writer-Dolch Sight Words HD $1.99 PreK-3
This app includes vocabulary lists from pre-K through 3rd grade levels. The apps has a child’s voice say the words out loud, and the child traces the words letter by letter on stimulated lined writing paper. The child can have the word repeated unlimited times and erase letters to try and improve handwriting.
K 3 Sight Words $0.99 K-3
This app allows the child to hear the words, repeat the pronunciation, and then see the words. The child can go back to review previous words or continue to move forward. This app does not include games or activities; it simply helps the child to learn sight words.
Reading Raven $3.99 PreK-1
This app teaches lessons that focus on phonics. A voice pronounces the letter sounds, and the child has to match the sounds it hears with the actual letter. This app contains hundreds of activities.
Learn with Homer Free PreK-1
This app has short passages that children can read by themselves, or the app can be read to them aloud. The passages are informational about topics such as animals. There is a section with short stories, poetry, folklore, folk songs, and nursery rhymes. There is also a phonics/learn to read section in the app that costs $1.99
Wonderful Interactive Storybooks $4.99 PreK-2
Story samples are provided free, and individual titles can be purchased for $4.99 each. Titles include books from the Arthur and Berenstain Bears series as well as traditional stories such as The Tortoise and the Hare. Each story has music and audio (in English, Spanish or French), and includes interactive features such as clicking on a word to hear it read aloud and animation.
Apps for Developing Readers
Second Grade Reading Comprehension $2.99 Grade 2
This app has about 20 fictional stories of 150 words each with eight follow up questions to practice comprehension. The child is allowed to create and add stories to the app. This app promotes self paced learning. The child can sync all stories, questions, and lesson to a drop box to import them to another device.
Third Grade Reading Comprehension $1.99 Grade 3
This app has 100 concise short stories (50-70 words each) and there are four questions for each. There are seven different reading groups/levels within this app all targeted to 3rd grade.
The Opposites Free Grade 2 and up
This app has 10 different levels. A male or female voice pronounces each word, and the child has to match the opposites. There is a dictionary option from which the child can choose words and read the definition. This app helps to expand vocabulary.
Sentence Builder $5.99 Grade 1 and up
This app has three levels and gives the child 4-6 columns of words. The child spins the words in each column and stops on the word that he or she wants to use in creating a sentence related to the illustration provided. The columns include pronouns, nouns, verbs, and prepositions. The app has a voice that will let the child know if the sentence is incorrect. It allows multiple attempts and will also praise the child when the sentence is correct.
Chicktionary $1.99 Grade 2 and up
This app is fun and exciting for all ages. This app gives the child a set time to create words with the seven letters provided. The more words created the more points the child earns. The app will not allow incorrect words to be posted. It is a learning game/activity that encourages spelling.
Young Reader $3.99 2 and up
This app has over 130 classic children’s books. The child can control and set the speed to how many words per minute they want to read. There is a highlighted box that moves across each word to show the child which word should be read in order to keep up with the selected speed.
Penguin Leveled Readers Free K-3
This reading app is like a Kindle for children. The pages of the books are read aloud to the children if they want to listen to them. Some of the books are free, and some of the books must be purchased.
Word Wonderland Primary $1.99 K-3
This app contains games, at three different levels, for 15 phonics skills. It includes more challenging phonics skills such as r-controlled vowels and diphthongs.
Wonderful Interactive Storybooks $4.99 PreK-2
Story samples are provided free, and individual titles can be purchased for $4.99 each. Titles include books from the Arthur and Berenstain Bears series as well as traditional stories such as The Tortoise and the Hare. Each story has music and audio (in English, Spanish or French), and includes interactive features such as clicking on a word to hear it read aloud and animation.
Apps for Older Readers
Bluster Free Grades 4-6
This app helps children play games with prefixes, suffixes, homophones, rhyming words, adjectives, and synonyms. Children can play by themselves or with a partner. They have a word bank and have a to choose three words from the same category.
Aesop’s Quest $0.99 Grades 2-6
This app has short stories that are read aloud to the child. After reading/listening to a story, the child answers comprehension questions about the story. If the child can answer all the questions correctly, he or she earns points in the game before moving to the next story. If the child did not answer all the questions correctly, then he or she has the choice of rereading the story or re-answering the questions.
Jungle Journey $4.99 Grades 4-5
This app teachers sequencing and cause-effect skills through a game format. The child can play against the app or with others to answer questions and race through the jungle.
Mini Mod for Inferences Lite $3.99 Grades 2-6
This app teaches inference skills through a bingo style game. Three levels are available that span from 2nd through 6th grades.
Enchanted Dictionary $1.99 Grades 6 and up
This app teaches core vocabulary in math, science, social studies, and language arts. It contains over 800 core academic vocabulary words needed for success in middle and high school.
Free Books – 23,469 Classics to Go Free Grades 5 and up
This app contains 23,469 free books in an e-reader format that allows browsing, searching and bookmarking. Many of the books are also available in audio-book format. The young readers section contains classic children’s novels. This is a great way to build a huge library of classic books for the whole family for free!