A Unique, Research-Based Approach to Teaching Children to Read
At phonics.org, we evaluate phonics programs designed for children—empowering you to make informed decisions about the most suitable apps for your child’s learning journey.
In this article, we provide an educational review of the Reading.com app for early literacy instruction.
What is Reading.com?
Discover a research-based approach to literacy with the Reading.com app. This is a dynamic program that’s designed for joint engagement between literate adults and children. Unlike typical edutainment apps, Reading.com focuses on the essential foundations of learning to read.
This user-friendly app follows a systematic and sequential learning method, accompanied by four additional games and printable activities to use during practice. Grounded in the science of reading, Reading.com meticulously incorporates all crucial components for a comprehensive and effective learning-to-read experience.
If you’re not certain how to teach your child to read, don’t panic! The Reading.com app can walk you through the process step-by-step.
What Does Reading.com Do Well?
Overall, the Reading.com app offers an approachable and proven method of early literacy instruction that keeps children engaged and motivated.
Engagement
Engagement lies at the heart of the Reading.com experience, as lessons are thoughtfully crafted to encourage active participation. The app facilitates a dynamic learning process where the child takes an active role in sounding out words and reading sentences or books, all under the supportive guidance of a parent or adult.
The games, lessons, and songs are catchy, easy to follow, and visually appealing enough to catch the eye of any young learner.
Lesson Plans
There are a total of 99 lessons that are placed sequentially in an interactive “map.” Each lesson takes about 15-20 minutes to complete with a child. Each specific lesson plan has components that are related to core reading skills.
When using the app, kids and their parents (or another adult) work together to learn and move through each lesson on the map. The lessons are clear and easy to follow, containing helpful tips for adults to support and guide their children through the learning experience.
Type of Phonics Instruction
The Reading.com app uses synthetic phonics which combines individual letters and sounds to read and spell words. There is evidence that this type of phonics has the greatest impact on learning to read and spell, making it an ideal choice for a reading app.
Unique Letter Sound Instruction and Review
Learning accurate sounds for each alphabetical letter is foundational in learning to read and spell. Reading.com lessons always begin with the Alphabet Song to accurately review letter sounds. This catchy song is enacted by cute, animated letters and reveals the sounds that each letter represents. Letter sounds can also be reviewed and practiced in the “Party Time” and “Hungry Cloud” games.
In the Reading.com lessons, children explicitly learn the names, sounds, and formation of letters. A distinct aspect of the Reading.com app is the focused practice of letter sounds, where children are prompted to articulate the sounds slowly and then quickly.
This practice teaches children the difference between continuous sounds and stop sounds. This is an important detail for children and adults to notice as a child’s reading skills develop.
The blue underline represents a continuous sound, while the red dot indicates a stop or fast sound.
Another positive feature of the app includes its refrain from generating letter sounds for the child. This approach allows for the respect of family pronunciations, enabling adults and children to practice sounds with articulation that aligns with their preferences, dialect, and understanding.
Letter Formation
Letter formation is explicitly taught in the lessons and reinforced in the game “Space Trace.” Reading.com ensures accurate modeling and teaching of letter shapes, with a specific emphasis on lowercase letters. This is particularly beneficial given that 95% of printed text is made of lowercase characters.
The app’s approach to letter shapes strikes a balance, offering flexibility for children with varying fine motor skills while maintaining enough structure to ensure proper letter formation.
Reading Words
Once acquainted with some letter sounds and shapes, children receive explicit guidance on blending them to read words. This practice is so important when learning to read!
The app emphasizes continuous blending or connected phonation at the early stages, which is the easiest method for children to learn. If you’re not sure what this means, don’t worry. An instructional video within the app illustrates this skill clearly.
To make sound blending more tangible, the app incorporates a sliding bar beneath the words, encouraging children to move it with their finger as they say the sounds. This interactive approach helps solidify the skill of blending. Children can start with a slow slide and gradually increase speed until the word is successfully read. The child controls the pace and repetition they need to read the word accurately.
Grown-ups can look for small tips to help support their child/student.
Important Irregularly Spelled Words
The Reading.com app addresses the challenge of irregularly-spelled words in English, introducing them gradually as needed.
For instance, for the word ‘is,’ the app highlights the exception by presenting the slider bar in a distinct color (orange). Adults are prompted to verbalize the exception and state the new word, while the child retains the ability to sound out the word using the slider. This is a helpful way of slowly integrating common yet irregular words when reading.
Digital Books
The Reading.com app offers two distinct types of books (60 texts in total) to allow children to practice their word reading skills:
- The first, a co-read, involves the adult reading most of the story while the child reads previously practiced words or short phrases. This is an excellent approach that adults can apply to any book.
- The second type, a decodable book, is primarily composed of words that have already been explicitly taught and practiced, encouraging the child to sound out (decode) as they read—instead of simply guessing each word.
reads the enlarged word/phrase. The picture can be revealed after an accurate reading!
Pictures in the reading.com books are displayed after the child reads correctly. This prevents children from guessing the words based on pictures and encourages word reading. After reading, the child can then ‘scratch’ the picture to reveal its connection to the text.
Parents can then ask comprehension questions provided at the end of each book to further reinforce the child’s connection between word reading and understanding.
These digital books can be reread as many times as the child would like in the “Books” section. Rereading books supports faster word recognition and reading fluency.
Fun Rewards
The Reading.com app employs a thoughtful rewards system, integrating adult encouragement that strengthens the bond between the adult and child. Proximity rewards are tied directly to the child’s learning efforts, offering access to additional books and reading games, both in digital and printable formats.
The interactive map adds charming characters and items as additional rewards. This enhances engagement without diverting attention from the learning process. These rewards seamlessly contribute to the educational experience, fostering a positive and motivating environment.
Are There Limitations of the Reading.com App?
Let’s consider some of the potential limitations and setbacks of the Reading.com app for literacy instruction.
You Get What You Pay For
While the Reading.com app may come with a higher price tag compared to some alternatives, the investment is likely justified by the app’s exceptional quality and comprehensive approach to literacy.
In the realm of educational apps, one often gets what they pay for. The Reading.com app stands out for its effectiveness in teaching fundamental reading skills. While cost may be a limitation for some, the overall value and superior learning experience make it a worthwhile investment for those seeking top-notch reading and phonics resources. Plus, there’s a 7-day free trial if you want to try it before buying—for both annual and monthly subscription options.
Lesson Pace
One potential limitation of the Reading.com app is that the pace of the lessons may feel too rushed for some children. However, it’s important to note that there’s flexibility built into the program.
Parents and educators can adjust the pace of lessons based on the child’s readiness, with the option to revisit and redo former lessons. The practice area and printable materials offer additional avenues for reinforcement, ensuring that children can solidify their understanding at a pace that suits their individual learning needs.
Advanced Phonics Skills
While the Reading.com app effectively covers foundational phonics skills, some enhancements could be made if more advanced phonics instruction was an option. Specifically, there could be more direct guidance on decoding polysyllabic words and a slightly deeper dive into r-controlled vowels. Strengthening these areas could further enrich the app’s comprehensive approach to literacy development.
Literate Adult Supervision Required
A notable strength of the Reading.com app is its intentional design for use with a literate grown-up, typically a parent or guardian. This approach fosters a strong relationship between the adult and the child, promoting collaborative learning. The grown-up’s involvement also allows for a deeper understanding of the child’s progress and capabilities. However, this reliance on a competent adult can be limiting for some children, especially if they want to use a learning app but lack the right engagement with a literate guardian.
Distinctive Features of the Reading.com App
One common concern with educational apps is that they teach foundational skills incorrectly, potentially impeding the literacy growth of children. This isn’t a concern with the Reading.com app, as it teaches foundational skills accurately.
The Reading.com app stands out as a research-based and comprehensive tool for teaching children to read. Its systematic approach, engaging lessons, and well-designed games contribute to a dynamic learning experience. The incorporation of synthetic phonics, explicit letter-sound instruction, and practice of accurate letter formation follows the evidence of effective reading instruction recommended by the science of reading.
There are several unique features in this app including a slider bar to make sound blending more concrete and delayed pictures in books to discourage guessing of words. The decodable books, rewards system, and emphasis on foundational skills further enhance its educational value.
Educators should keep an eye out for the soon-to-be-released Teacher Edition of Reading.com. This edition will allow additional child profiles and flexible lesson placements.
Overall, the Reading.com app excels in providing a valuable and effective platform for early literacy development. To learn more about reading and phonics instruction for kids, browse the phonics.org library.
Reading.com App Rating
- Quality of Literacy Instruction: 4.5/5
- Usability: 5/5
- Engagement: 5/5
