Learning to read is a major milestone in every child’s life. But, teaching a child to read is not easy. Parents may not know where to begin when it comes to teaching their children how to read. Furthermore, many schools fail to provide children with the tools or instruction they need to develop important reading skills.

Thanks to technology, parents won’t have to worry about their kids falling behind in reading. Now, children can use an educational reading app to improve their reading skills.

What Is A Reading App?

Readability is a reading app that is designed to help children improve their reading skills. The app uses advanced speech recognition and artificial intelligence to listen to your children read and correct pronunciation errors in real time. The feedback is instant so children can immediately recognize and correct their mistakes.

The virtual tutor makes learning to read easier than ever before. But this isn’t the only way that reading apps benefit children. Readability is available for smartphones and tablets, which makes reading more accessible to children. Using a reading app, children can work on their reading skills anytime, anywhere.

When Is A Child Ready to Start Reading?

There are certain behaviors that a child may engage in that indicate they are ready to start reading. Some of these “pre-reading behaviors” include:

• Becoming aware of printed text on labels, packaging, signs, and papers.
• Manipulating sounds on their own. For example, a child might sing “Hannah Hannah Fo-Fana, Banana-Fana Mo-Mana,” which indicates that they recognize rhyming and how to manipulate the word “Hannah.”
• Understanding the concept of reading. Children may start to learn how to hold a book right-side up or move their fingers from left to right as they follow along with a story.
• Separating syllables. Children that are able to segment words into syllables may be ready to start reading.

Keep an eye out for these pre-reading behaviors. Most children start to develop these skills in their preschool years. However, every child is unique, so as a parent, it’s up to you to determine when your child is ready to start reading.

Learning How to Read With A Reading App

The Readability app can help children drastically improve their reading skills. Here are some of the skills that children can master with a reading app:

• Learning the ABCs
• Saying the Sounds
• Reading Rhymes
• Understanding the Story

Learning the ABCs

Kids need to be introduced to the ABCs before they can start learning how letters come together to form words.

Learning each letter means knowing what the letter looks and sounds like. The key to mastering this skill is repeatedly exposing your children to the letters and their sounds using the Readability app.

The app’s virtual tutor will read stories aloud to your child while they follow along on the screen. This feature gives your child the opportunity to see what the different letters and words on the screen look and sound like when read aloud. Over time, they will start to memorize these letters and sounds.

Saying the Sounds

Listening to stories is a great way for children to ease into reading. However, it’s important for children to read stories aloud on their own in order to practice sounding out words.

Using the app, children can read stories aloud and receive feedback from the virtual tutor in real time. If your child mispronounces a word, the virtual tutor will correct them within seconds, so they can learn from their mistakes.

This exercise helps children become more comfortable with sounding out words—even those they are unfamiliar with—so they can broaden their vocabulary and enhance their reading skills.

Reading Rhymes

There’s a reason why so many children’s books contain rhyming words. Learning how to rhyme can help children understand the different sounds and structures of words. The Readability app will introduce children to many different rhyming stories, so they can quickly master this skill.

Understanding the Story

Kids should be able to do more than simply read words aloud—they also need to understand the story they are reading.

The Readability app allows children to read stories written for a wide range of grade levels. It’s best to start your child at their grade level. Then, the app will notify you if it’s time for your child to advance to the next level based on their performance.

Having such a wide variety of content on the app ensures that children never have to read a story that is too advanced for their skill level. This way, children who are using the app are only introduced to content that they are capable of understanding.

Each story also features colorful illustrations that help the reader understand what’s going on. These illustrations, combined with the age-appropriate content, help readers improve their reading comprehension skills.

How Can Parents Track Their Kids’ Progress?

Parents can closely monitor their child’s progress using the Readability app. The app allows parents to set certain goals for their children related to their words per minute, accuracy, and duration. Parents can track their child’s progress towards meeting these goals simply by opening up the app.

The app also provides customized reports for parents that include valuable information on their child’s performance. This makes it easy for parents to track their children’s progress over time and see how much their reading skills have improved.

How Can Parents Encourage Reading?

Some children fall in love with reading, whereas others will not. Either way, parents should make an effort to encourage their children to read on a regular basis. Here’s how:

• Create time for reading in their daily routine. This ensures that reading becomes a habit.
• Help them improve their reading skills. Some children may avoid reading because they are not good readers. If this is an issue, continue to work on improving their reading skills.
• Set up a cozy, comfortable area for reading. Your children won’t think of reading as a chore if they actually enjoy relaxing with a book. 
• Recognize your child’s accomplishments. Make sure to celebrate when your child meets certain goals. This type of positive reinforcement will encourage them to keep going.
• Let them choose what to read. Children are more likely to enjoy reading if they’re interested in the story. 

Follow these tips to help your child discover the joy of reading at a young age.

Introduce Your Child to the World of Reading

Teaching your child how to read is not easy. But fortunately, parents don’t have to face this challenge alone. Use the Readability app to help your children develop the skills they need to become proficient readers. It doesn’t matter where your child is in the process of learning to read—readers of all skill levels can benefit from the Readability app. Take the first step towards fostering a love of reading in your children by downloading the Readability app today.