Great Apps to improve reading,
writing, & spelling
Whether you’re the parent of a child or an educator that works with students on a
daily basis, you’re undoubtedly always looking for new tools to help these
bright young kids meet their potential and work to the best of their ability.
While there are numerous technologies out there that can help, perhaps one of
the richest is the iPad, which offers dozens of applications designed to meet
the needs of students. This article highlights just a few of the amazing apps
out there that can help students improve their skills not only in reading,
writing, and spelling, but also get a boost in confidence and learn to see
school as a fun, engaging activity, not a struggle.
Helpful Tools: These tools are useful for both educators and students, aiding in
everything from looking up a correct spelling to reading text out loud.
1.
Speak It!: Speak It! is a great
text-to-speech solution that can allow students with reading disabilities to
get a little help with reading when they need it.
2.
Talk to Me: Talk to Me is another text
to speech application. It can be used to read words out loud as they are typed,
which can help students to better correlate the letters and words with how
they’re pronounced.
3.
Dragon Dictation: Dragon Dictation works in
reverse of the two apps we just listed. Instead of reading text out loud, the
application writes down spoken text. For students who struggle with writing, it
can be a great way for them to jot down ideas or get help learning.
4.
Dyslexic Like Me: Explaining dyslexia to a
child can be hard, but this application can make it a little easier. It’s an
interactive children’s book that helps students to understand dyslexia and become
empowered to overcome their learning disability.
5.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary: If spelling is a problem,
it’s always a good idea to have a really great dictionary on hand. This app
from Merriam-Webster can provide that.
6.
Ditionary.com: If Dictionary.com is your
go-to place for definitions and spelling help, this app can be a great way to
bring that functionality to your iPad or iPhone.
7.
Prizmo: With Prizmo, users can scan
in any kind of text document and have the program read it out loud, which can
be a big help to those who struggle with reading.
8.
Flashcards for iPad: This app makes it easy to
study words, spelling, and other things that young and LD readers might need
help with.
9.
Soundnote: Using Soundnote, you can
record drawings, notes, and audio all at once, balancing reading-based skills
with those that are auditory and visual.
Fundamentals: These apps help teach the fundamentals of reading, writing, and spelling
to any young learner, but can be especially helpful for those who are
struggling.
10.
Alphabet Zoo: Alphabet Zoo is a great
tool for helping young readers to recognize letter sounds. Using text and
pictures of animals, kids can build their reading skills while having fun.
11.
Find the Letters HD: A favorite of special
education teachers and psychologists, this app asks learners to find letters
and numbers in a coloring grid. It helps build skills in spatial positioning,
depth orientation, form discrimination, and concentration and attention.
12.
First Words Sampler: Preschoolers with a reading
disability can get a head start on improving their skills with this app that
teaches them about letters and words using fun graphics and sounds.
13.
Montessori Crosswords: Embrace the Montessori
method by using this app to help youngsters improve their spelling and reading
skills through engaging phonics-based exercises.
14.
Read & Write :Students can practice
reading and writing letters using this application. Users can trace letters,
learn letter sounds, and get illustrations to go along with each part of the
alphabet.
15.
Sound Literacy: With a portion of the
proceeds from this app going to the Dyslexia Association, there’s no reason not
to sign on. Even better, the app is incredibly useful, employing the
Orton-Gillingham method to help students recognize the spellings of English
phonemes.
16.
weesay ABC: Using pictures, words, and
sounds, this application makes it easy for young students to practice and learn
their ABCs.
17.
abc PocketPhonics: This app is a great tool
for teaching reading disabled students the fundamentals of letter sounds and
shapes.
18.
The Writing Machine: By correlating pictures and
words, reading text, sounding out letters, this tool helps students develop
early literacy abilities with greater ease.
19.
WordSort: One of the top educational
apps out there, this game helps kids to learn how to identify parts of speech,
like nouns, adverbs, and verbs, as well as emphasizing grammar skills.
20.
ABC Phonics Word Families: Using analogy phonics
(or word families) this application teaches young learners to see and hear the
patterns of commonality in a set of words. With flashcards, spelling words,
scrambled words, and games, this app is a must-have for helping students.
Reading: These excellent iPad apps can be a big help to students who need a
little extra support when trying to read.
21.
Blio: Blio offers all the same
features of any basic e-reader, and also a few things that make it unique.
Through synchronized highlighting and a serial presentation view, the app helps
those with reading disabilities make sense of the text, something many other
similar apps don’t offer.
22.
Read 2 Me: For those who have
difficulty reading, apps like Read 2 Me can be a godsend. The app comes
complete with an entire library of texts, all of which can be read out loud.
23.
Read2Go: If you use DAISY (Digital
Accessible Information System) books in your classroom, Read2Go is one of the
best and most accessible ways to read those books on iOS.
24.
AppWriter: Designed with reading and
writing disabilities in mind, this text editor for iPad integrates numerous
accessibility features into standard text editing functionality.
25.
Audiobooks: Sometimes students with
reading disabilities might just want a break from reading books the old
fashioned way. That’s why this amazing collection of free audiobooks can come
in handy, offering access to classics like Romeo and Juliet and Treasure
Island.
26.
Bob’s Books: Bob’s Books uses
phonics-based interactive games to help kids learn how to read. Activities will
help young learners to sound out words, spell, and make connections between
letters and sounds.
27.
iStoryTime: There are numerous titles
to choose from in the iStoryTime series, all of which allow kids to have the
book read to them or to get help reading it themselves.
28.
MeeGenius! Kids’ Books: MeeGenius is another series
that’s perfect for practicing reading skills. Those with trouble reading can use
illustrations and helpful word highlighting to get help, or just have the book
read to them until they’re confident enough to do it on their own.
29.
Reading Trainer: While this app is designed
to help average readers boost their reading speed and ability, it can be useful
to those who struggle as well, as many of the skills taught can help just about
anyone become a more confident reader.
30.
See Read Say: This application will help
to ensure that young learners are familiar with all of the Dolch sight words
(the most common words), using games, activities, and tons of practice.
31.
Stories2Learn: Why use existing stories to
help troubled readers when you can build your own? This application lets you
develop your own text and audio stories, including messages, topics, and other
things that can help keep kids interested.
32.
eReading series: The eReading series from
Brain Integration LLC, helps young readers at all levels of proficiency learn
about topics like Greek Mythology and Gulliver’s Travels. Users can have the book
read to them, or practice reading without the help, too.
Writing : Here are some apps that can help teach, assist,
and make writing more fun.
33.
iWrite Words: Named by The
Washington Post as one
of the best apps for special needs kids, this game-based program helps
youngsters learn to write their letters through a fun and engaging setup that
uses illustrations and animations to keep things interesting.
34.
AlphaWriter: Using Montessori-based
learning methods, this application helps kids to learn how to read, write, and
spell phonetically. It also teaches lessons on consonants and vowels, letter
sounds, writing stories, and much more.
35.
Sentence Builder: Through this application,
elementary school children will learn how to build grammatically correct
sentences, with a special focus on using connector words.
36.
Story Builder: After kids are done
learning how to build sentences, they can move onto this app which combines
those sentences into one coherent story, complete with illustrations.
37.
Writing Prompts: Having trouble thinking of
things for students to write about? This app removes that roadblock and offers
up numerous ideas for short writing assignments.
38.
Idea Sketch: This mind-mapping app can
help learning disabled students make sense of their ideas and organize them in
ways that they can easily translate into written work.
39.
Storyrobe: Teachers and students can
build and share their own unique stories through this application. Integration
with YouTube and email makes it easy to share and revise, too.
Spelling: These applications can be excellent tools for
improving spelling skills.
40.
American Wordspeller: Looking up a word in a
dictionary isn’t that simple if you have no idea how to spell it. This app
removes that problem and employs a method that lets you much more easily pinpoint
how to spell just about any word.
41.
Word Magic: Created by the parents of a
five-year-old, this app for young learners help kids learn words and how to
spell them correctly. It uses lots of positive reinforcement, rewards, and fun
pictures to keep things interesting to learners.
42.
Typ-O: Poor spellers can rejoice
over this great application that help you spell words correctly in any
typing-related program on your iPhone or iPad.
43.
A1 Spelling App: This application is a great
way to help poor spellers begin to learn the correct spelling of common words,
increasing difficulty as kids master words.
44.
iSpell Word: iSpell Word is designed to
help kids learn the spellings of simple English words. It uses games to teach,
with each level of the game employing more difficult words so kids are always
challenged.
45.
Jumbline: If you’re looking to make
reading, writing, and spelling into a game, this app can help. It’s full of
word games that ask players to use speed, smarts, pattern recognition, and
spelling skills to win.
46.
Spelling Bee Challenge: Kids can have fun taking
part in a mock spelling bee using this application that boosts both spelling
and vocab skills.
47.
Word Fall: In this educational game,
words fall from the sky and players must collect letters to form basic words.
48.
WordLadder: This highly challenging
word game will get older readers thinking about how words are spelled and how
they can be connected and changed to form new words.
49.
ACT Spell: Developed especially for
learners with disabilities and special needs, this tool helps develop motor
control, word recognition, spelling, and reading skills.
50.
Word Wizard: Lauded by The New York
Times, this
word-focused app lets kids hear the sounds of letters and words through a
movable alphabet while also engaging them in spelling practice and games.
Reading
comprehension is a matter of decoding, reading speed, and critical thinking
about the text, all of which can improve with tiered practice. So below, in an
order of general complexity, are 15 apps for improved reading comprehension,
ranging from word and sentence fluency, to recall, to critical thinking skills,
to reading speed. By the nature of
reading and literacy progress, most are indeed for K-5 and SLP, but the latter
apps, especially Reading Trainer, Compare Twist, and Enchanted Dictionary, can
be used through high school in the right context.
Idea:
Focusing on non-fiction texts and assessment, with the ability to create your
own lessons (text + assessment).
Idea:
Like SentenceBuilder, this app focuses on sentence fluency. The
who/what/where/why/when of each sentence are color-coded to emphasize word
function.
Idea:
Similar to the previous two comprehension apps, this provides short passages
and brief assessments at their conclusion. Comprehension here is addressed
through brief bursts of non-fiction text with the expectation of assessment at
the end.
Idea:
Helping students compose grammatically correct sentences, which helps both
reading and writing fluency.
Idea:
Provide an easy-to-use framework to help learners create and understand stories
and basic narrative sequence.
Idea:
With 6 available levels, the idea is to add gamification and interactive
elements to story recall and comprehension.
Idea:
Brief passages with multiple-choice recall at the end, but the added twist of
competition, where up to 4 players can compete to answer recall and
comprehension-based questions. May scare some students off, but some may thrive
with this approach.
Idea:
Comprehension is enforced through short passages with accompanying visuals, and
persistent multiple-choice based assessment. Available grade levels from
Kindergarten to early middle school. (The link above will take you to grades
2-3; see others in “More apps by…” area.)
Idea:
A wide variety of stories that encourage comprehension by sheer opportunity for
practice. Progress can be set to automatically forward to parents and teachers,
and you can also create your own stories to use as well.
Idea:
Comprehension is addressed here by breaking the process of reading down into
blends, word fluency, sight words, and then general recall, with suggested
activities to improve general fluency.
Idea:
Improve common narrative comprehension by improving fluency with sequencing
(chronological, narrative, etc.)
Primary
Audience: K-8; Idea: High-quality,
animated content with assessment across content areas.
Idea:
Improving general and academic vocabulary across content areas for improved
fluency and comprehension.
Idea:
Use compare and contrast practice to improve fluency and comprehension, and
general academic progress. Teachers can create their own lessons, comparing and
contrasting everything from musical genres and cell types to geometric shapes
and Shakespearean sonnets.
As anyone with a toddler knows, iPads are addictive for children. They
seem to have some sort of special radar that lets them know when an iDevice is
within their reach, and they’ll do anything they can to get their hands on
them. Resistance is futile, but instead of lamenting excessive screen time, you
can make your child’s iPad addiction a productive one with educational apps,
including those that promote early reading.
With these 20 apps, children can learn how to write letters, improve
phonics fluency, and even write their own books. Read on to find the very best
iPad apps for developing young readers, and feel free to share your own
favorites in the comments.
ABC
PocketPhonics: Kids can develop skills in letter sounds, writing,
and first words with ABC PocketPhonics. Independent research has shown kids
using this app can learn even faster than they would in a classroom lesson.
Parents and teachers alike love this app as an early childhood learning tool.
Play &
Sing: Preschoolers can get interactive with this app that
encourages reading, teaches colors, letters, shapes, and even animals. Children
will trace numbers and letters, pick out colors, shapes, and animals, plus pick
out what’s next in a sequence.
Booksy: Students in Kindergarten to second grade can learn to read on this free
platform. Designed to help children practice and develop their reading skills,
students can download books that help to build comprehension, give cues, and
even track progress with detailed user stats.
My Word Wall: Children can develop early reading skills with the help of My Word Wall,
an educational app for budding readers. Students will hear, visualize, vocally
repeat, and write down letters and words to learn, plus get engaged with
educational activities that are great for all learning styles. Fun games and
structured learning make this app a great choice.
Letter Lab: An incredible tool for learning to write and recognize ABCs, kids will
trace uppercase and lowercase letters with their fingers on this app. Letter
Lab not only teaches kids to write, but also about real-world objects with an
audio component.
Story Patch: Teach students about the flow of stories by helping them to create their
own. Story Patch for the iPad makes it easy for children to create their very
own picture books. Customizable characters, hundreds of illustrations, and
built-in story themes make this a very fun and engaging reading and writing
app.
Learn to
Read!: Kids can get a head start on learning to read with
this app, designed for kids from Kindergarten to second grade. Using a flash
card deck of sight words, children will develop the building blocks of reading.
Voice prompts, examples, and easy-to-read text come together in this highly
educational app.
Phonics Easy
Reader: With the Rock ‘N Learn Phonics Easy Reader, little
ones can practice their phonics. Short vowel sounds, combinations, memory
words, and more are all covered in this app. Kids can choose whether a story
will be read aloud to them and highlighted, or if they’ll read by themselves,
tapping words when they need help.
ABC Alphabet
Phonics: An awesome phonics game app
for kids, Alphabet Phonics offers a great way to teach your child their ABCs.
Using sight, sound, and touch, this educational app is useful even at the
infant stage.
Reading Raven: Reading Raven is a beloved reading game app for the iPad. A favorite of
teachers and even Apple staff, the Reading Raven is a fun reading adventure
guide offering excellent features for kids, teaching phonological awareness,
full sentences, and even printing skills.
SUPER WHY!:
There’s so much to love
about this reading app. Featuring characters that many kids already love from
the SUPER WHY! TV show, children can choose from several different activities
that develop their vocabulary, reading, and writing skills. Letter hunts,
tracing letters, rhyming, and completing sentences are just a few of the ways
kids are engaged in active reading development in this app.
K-3 Sight
Words: Children can learn “sight words” with the help of
this app that focuses on words that must be memorized instead of sounded out.
With five different levels, young users can gradually build their skills and
word memorization.
Kids will have fun playing word search on this easy-to-use educational
app. Several different backgrounds and themes keep things interesting and
engaging.
Aesop’s Quest: In Aesop’s Quest, Aesop the Ant reads through stories, revealing clues
that help him in his quest. Little readers must remember important elements of
each story to help Aesop along the way, developing reading comprehension and
cognitive reading skills in a really fun way.
Read Me
Stories: Develop a daily reading
habit with this app that delivers a brand new book every day. Fun features
include text highlighting as it’s read and the ability to touch characters and
explore story lines.
Scholastic
Reading Timer: Encourage daily reading
with this iPad reading timer that keeps track of reading minutes and monitors
weekly reading goals. It works just like a real stopwatch, but it’s fun for
kids to see their reading minutes add up.
Kids Can
Spell: Using fun animal images, kids can learn how to
spell with this app. Through Kids Can Spell, children will see many different
animals with sounds and spelling lessons to back them up. They’ll check out
beautiful photos, then drag letters in place to assemble words. There’s even a
timed version for an added challenge!
Reading for
Details: Reading for Details is a
great app for helping kids build reading comprehension skills. Students read
passages, then test their understanding of the who, what, why, when, and where
at three different levels of reading difficulty.
Word Magic: Created by the parents of a 5-year-old, Word Magic was designed with young
readers in mind. Kids find missing letters that identify photos, featuring
attractive and funny pictures. Parents and kids alike love this learning app
for its positive reinforcement, bright colors, and simple design.
C is for Cow: With this app, kids can have fun learning phonetics and letter
recognition. Even very young children love to see the animals, repeat their
sounds, and learn their names.
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