Many young children struggle greatly with learning how to read and with general reading comprehension. However, the best way for them to improve their skills is through regular practice and instruction, even and perhaps especially when they’re outside of the classroom.
If you’re a parent, then you know that getting your child to practice reading or even to read with you can be a challenge. Most kids would rather spend their time playing games on a tablet or staring at a computer screen.
But, thankfully, technology has come a long way over the years, and now your child can combine their love of technology with reading practice. You just have to point them toward the right apps, games, websites, and more.
Explore YouTube
Every kid loves YouTube and views it as a fun place to watch videos, listen to music, and more. However, it can also be an easy way to get your child to practice reading.
Head to the site, type “kids’ reading practice,” “read kids’ story,” or something similar into the search bar, and you’ll be bombarded with many great videos.
Whether your child wants to hear a story read to them, needs practice with the different types of words, or wants to be asked poignant questions about a story they’ve read, YouTube is sure to provide plenty of great resources.
Just make sure you help your child navigate the site, as there are often as many questionable videos as there are helpful ones.
Download Some Apps
While websites like YouTube are nice, sometimes you need to be able to hand your child a resource and then go make dinner or get your own work done.
Thankfully, there are some trustworthy reading comprehension apps that can come to your rescue! Do some research to find the ones that will work best for your child and their needs.
One great example that is growing in popularity is the Readability app, which uses responsive speech recognition technology to read to your child, to listen to them as they read, to provide feedback on how they did, and even to ask real questions (and “listen” to the answers!) about the passage or passages.
Check Out the PBS Site
While it’s no substitute for a dedicated reading app, free sites, such as the PBS LearningMedia site and others offer a fun way for your child to listen to interesting stories and basically just have fun with reading. And, the more your child uses resources like these, the more practice they’ll get with reading and, even more importantly, understanding what they’re reading.
The PBS site is particularly good at making reading fun with interactive videos, jam-packed with songs, eye-catching animations, and more. Just make sure your child engages with age-appropriate materials, especially since many of these sites are geared toward very young readers.
While learning to read is never easy, it’s nice to know that, unlike parents of the past, you’re not alone. You have a wonderful resource on the internet, in apps, and in modern technology in general. Make the most of it, and your child should benefit!
