Parents may have tried nearly every suggestion to help their struggling reader at home. They’ve read to children and asked key questions. They have gone over lists of sight words. Parents have helped children sound out words. They’ve chunked text.

And now they’re exhausted.

Having a struggling student can be difficult for parents, especially when they don’t know how to help their child succeed and hit benchmarks. When parents have literally exhausted their efforts to help their child read, here’s what to know about online programs for struggling readers: free trial offers, virtual tours, and games all can be used anywhere.

Free Games

When parents think of reading tools to help their child to read, free online games is probably the last tool that comes to mind. However, playing reading games via apps could help children with some reading skills.

While these apps probably won’t tackle in-depth reading lessons or focus on comprehension, they can help with letter recognition, sounds and even sight words. Games can be used for these skill-and-drill topics where memorization plays a role in mastery.

Most kids learn the alphabet via memory. We’ve all had the alphabet memorized since probably our preschool days. Knowing the alphabet helps us recognize the letters that play a part in every word.

But the sounds of those letters are a major aspect in reading, too. Knowing letters is only one component in phonics mastery.

Game-based apps offer lessons on letter recognition or maybe even sound matching. Depending on the device a parent owns (Apple, Android, etc.), there may be different available games.

Parents should choose educational games based on their child’s needs and where they need the most practice. Look at app reviews and read the app’s description, too.

For younger children who still need to memorize a list of sight words, games could help! Some games are only focused on sight words. They might be matching games or something unique. Do a quick search for “sight word games” via a phone or tablet store for apps.

The best part about educational games via apps is that many are free to download. Parents should be cautious, though, about in-app purchases. Kids might be able to charge a parent’s account for items within the actual game.

Some parents don’t worry about these purchases, but other parents don’t want their child to be able to click and purchase. Parents can disable the in-app purchases, however, via their phone.

Lesson-Based Apps

Parents also could subscribe to lesson-based reading apps like Readability. These apps aren’t designed as a game. Instead, they are designed with a multi-modal approach to teach reading and help struggling readers gain proficiency and confidence.

Readability includes a built-in AI tutor that acts as a lesson guide or instructor. The tutor is programmed with voice-recognition software and it learns each child’s unique voice. This is important as lessons via Readability are read aloud.

If a child stumbles or has trouble sounding out a word, the tutor will recognize this and provide assistance. When a child completes a story, the tutor also will ask questions to test a child’s understanding. In this way, the tutor—and Readability—is able to measure a child’s comprehension of what they have read.

When children show that they can read fluently at their current level and have understood what they have read, the program will advance them to another more difficult level. However, children stay at a level until they display mastery of both fluency and comprehension.

So how do parents know how their child is progressing?

Parents can access the Parent Dashboard in Readability; only parents can view this portal. The Dashboard shows reading data for their child, and this data includes the current reading level, fluency (measured in words per minute) and how long they actually used the program.

Parents can transfer all this reading data into a report to share with the child’s teacher, too. This can help the teacher know what level the child should be at in the classroom, and it could help both the parents and teacher discern any discrepancies in reading level.

Are Lesson-Based Reading Programs Free?

Parents who want a more traditional approach to helping their child gain reading proficiency may opt for lesson-based programs. But how much do reading apps like Readability cost? Are they free like most games?

Many reading programs—including Readability!—include a free trial period that allows parents and children to use the program to better understand how it works…and if it’s a good fit. Readability offers a seven-day free trial period.

After the trial period, Readability charges per month for a subscription. A Readability monthly subscription is $19.99. However, one account can be used for up to three readers. This means that parents who have multiple children who need reading help can sign up for one subscription for all three children.

What About School Reading Programs

Parents who are looking for free reading programs might wonder if they can access the reading programs their child uses at school. This depends on the school district.

For example, some districts provide students with the passwords for certain classroom computer programs to allow them access at home. However, some schools might not allow this.

In addition, some schools may want to avoid handing out passwords to certain programs or providing access to certain programs for other reasons. With programs like Accelerated Reader where children need to take quizzes after reading a book, schools could worry about children cheating on these quizzes at home.

Parents can always drop an email to their child’s teacher to find out if their child can access reading programs at home.

Using Reading Games with Reading Programs

Some children might struggle with every aspect of reading. Parents could decide to use both reading games and a reading program like Readability.

All practice can be beneficial for children. Reading games can help them learn sounds and letter recognition in a fun way. These games also could make memorizing a list of sight words much more enjoyable, too.

Parents also shouldn’t stop reading to kids when using apps and reading programs. All reading can help children. Encourage children to read nightly or read to them!

When encouraging their children to read independently, parents should ensure that their child is reading a book at the appropriate reading level. Parents also should encourage children to pick their own books.

Remember to Make Reading Fun

When children are struggling in any subject, it might feel as though parents need to buckle down and be super serious about the subject. They may make reading lessons required to ensure children can make progress.

Reading should be fun, though. And parents need to remember that while reading is vital to learning, the joy also shouldn’t be lost.

Find ways to ensure that children find happiness in reading. Watch the movie after reading the book. Cook up some fun foods from the story. Or take a book field trip.

Parents also can help children build their own reading fort for a cozy cool reading area. And, of course, children should see parents enjoying a book, too! Parents can set a great example by showing their children that they love a good book!