Learning how to read can be challenging for any child. The best way to make reading fun is to incorporate some technology into their home reading time. There are a ton of reading apps for free that are interactive and make reading fun for everyone.

There are some apps that target specific reading skills and there are some that try to approach multiple skills at once. With the huge library of reading apps, it can be hard to find the right one or the one that actually works. We’ve done all the work for you and checked out the best reading apps for free to download:

Best for Phonics:

Phonics is the ability to identify a letter and match it to the correct sound. When kids learn phonics, they learn how to sound out words and figure out what word they are reading.

Homer– This app is a good beginner reader app to help with phonemic awareness and phonics. The app has drawing games and “brain games” to help kids learn phonics in a fun and interactive way.

Chicktionary– For beginning readers, game-like apps are the best way to get them to learn effectively. Chicktionary is a spelling game that also helps new readers with phonics. Kids have to spell as many words as they can with the letters on the chicken eggs. If they make a mistake, the chickens squawk at them.  

Best for Sight Words:

Sight words are an important first step in the reading process. New readers often start with being able to identify sight words which are commonly used words. By the end of kindergarten, your child should be able to recognize over 50 sight words and by first grade that number doubles to over 100 sight words!

Sight Words & Phonics Reading– This interactive app is filled with different word recognition games such as matching and spelling games to help your child learn their first sight words. It is filled with fun and colorful animation to make this a multisensory experience for your child.

Endless Reader – Making reading fun is Endless Reader’s ultimate goal. This app specifically helps children learn hundreds of sight words with the help of the Endless monsters. Your child will play fun games that help them learn various sight words and also helps them learn to read sentences that use these sight words along the way.

Best for Reading Comprehension:

Reading comprehension is one of the top reading skills that students need to master in order to read successfully. It is one thing to be able to identify words, but your child needs to be able to understand the meaning of those words to understand the text.

Reading comprehension is the goal for those learning to read. Being able to actually understand what a text says and to be able to think about connections is a sign of successful reading skills.

Rewordify – Sometimes your child might have difficulty reading more complex texts because of more advanced vocabulary. Rewordify takes complicated texts and simplifies them into more understandable sentences. This is a great tool for middle school and high school students who are reading much longer more complex reading materials.

MindMeister – A big part of reading comprehension is being able to make connections within the text and also to outside knowledge. MindMeister is an interactive mind mapping app that can help your child organize their thoughts and understanding about a text. This is a great way to check if your child actually understood what they read and to help them with reading. comprehension in the future.

Best Overall:

While many of these apps address specific reading skills, your child will likely benefit from an app that addresses all the aspects of learning to read especially if you find that they are struggling.

Readability – This app works like a virtual private tutor for your child. They get reading help instantly and right at their fingertips. Readability has a collection of original stories at a variety of reading levels. It uses A.I. and speech recognition technology to help give your child real-time feedback and error correction. As your child reads the story aloud, the app listens and lets them know of any errors they make as they read. You can also have the option of the app reading the story to your child as they follow along. The app also provides you with progress reports so you can check how your child is doing and improving.

Using technology to help your child learn to read makes reading fun and something they actually enjoy. Try out several or all of these apps to help boost your child’s motivation to learn to read and see their confidence in reading increase. Try Readability for free now!